Happy Telecommunications Week
This week (April 14-20, 2024) is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. This week-long event was created by Patricia Anderson of the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, California, in 1981. This special week is a time to commemorate the hard working individuals in our emergency telecommunication centers who dispatch our officers and first responders in our greatest time of need.
As you are all well aware, our world is ever changing and what it is today is nothing like what it once was. But one constant our community is truly blessed to have is a strong, determined team of communications deputies who despite what they face and what is going on around them... their number one priortiy is all of you.
You will never see their faces nor shake their hands. They sit in the background ready to take whatever call comes their way. They are the unnoticed investigators who create a scenario with the information they receive, the sounds they decipher in the background and the recognition of untold hints that lie between the lines. Using their training and experience they put together a story, prioritize the information to ensure they are dispatching the best response team possible. Their actions, together with deputies, fire and EMS services... saves lives!
It is very unfortunate that recognition for the duties they perform only comes around once a year. I know I have said this in the past, but I only feel it is fair to say it once again – I would like everyone to remember the next time you read the paper or watch the news displaying the officers and first responders who are courageously working to save the life of a loved one or find a missing child, that it all began with the silent, hidden and all too often forgotten hero who was sitting in the telecommunications center waiting to take your call.
I want to thank the amazing team of dispatchers who dedicate their lives to protect ours: Stephanie Bieneck, Tara Strey, Tabitha Sazama, Tasha Davis, Leah Schablow, Allyssa Camey, Katie Heiman, Marla Okerglicki, Tammy Cook and Kari Wojick. I want them to know that the sacrifices they make never truly go unnoticed. Each time a hand is shook, a pat on the back is given or tear of joy and thankfulness is shed, it is also because of them!
Please take the time to thank our Clark County dispatchers and all those in every city or county in the world. No matter where you are or what you are doing, rest assured there is one of them waiting by to take your call for help!
Captain Lea Sterry
Clark County Sheriff’ s Offi ce
