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Throughout the week, LDN will bring readers detailed
information based on an interview with 911 Coordinator Cheryl
Hedrick and Operations Manager Becky Langley, along with messages
written by the dispatchers and information provided by Langley.
Cheryl Hedrick is the 911 Coordinator. Her career
with Logan County began in 1991 when she started working in the
Logan County Circuit Clerk’s Office as the Felony Clerk. After being
there for a while, she moved over to the Logan County State’s
Attorney’s Office. In 2006 she made another move to the Logan County
Emergency Management Agency/ Emergency Telephone Systems Board.
When Hedrick arrived at the dispatch department it was under the
management of the Logan County EMA/ETSB Director Dan Fulscher.
In 2019, after the retirement of Fulscher and the election of Mark
Landers as Logan County Sheriff the dispatch department made a shift
from EMA to the sheriff’s office.
With the department falling under the umbrella of the sheriff’s
office, there was a re-alignment of positions and titles. Hedrick
then became the 911 coordinator. Simply put, the coordinator is
responsible for all the working parts of the system. From hardware
to software all equipment concerns and changes are in the hands of
Hedrick. While that is the official description, the job entails a
lot more than just making sure all the equipment is working. And, in
addition, she serves as the liaison to the sheriff/911 on the ETS
Board.
Becky Langley is the operations manager for 911
dispatch. As such her primary responsibility is to take care of and
manage staff, but again she has many more duties including many
administrative duties such as payroll and bookkeeping.
Langely has been with the county for the past 16 years. She began
her career in the Logan County Jail, but after three years moved to
911 dispatch. She worked several years as a dispatcher and in 2017
under Fulscher was appointed to the position of supervisor.
With the restructuring of the department under Sheriff Landers, her
title became operations manager in 2019.
Langley also sits on the ETS Board representing Logan County
Dispatch.
Both Hedrick and Langley are capable of stepping in and working
directly in dispatch when needed. Langley actually has the
department’s fifth call station in her office and says any time she
hears that things are getting hectic in the call center she can
swing her chair around and pitch in with the calls coming in.
In the call center there are nine dispatchers who typically work two
to a shift.
Tim Centers has been with Logan Dispatch for 12 years.
Josh Polley has served the county in the 911 call center for seven
years.
Sydney Zamora has been with 911 for five years.
Suzi Gasparini is a four year veteran of the dispatch office.
The final five who each have been with the department for two years
are:
Regan Dahm
Lindsey LaFrance
[to top of second column] |
Sarah Combs
Shannon Harris
Cathy Hopp.
Langley said that the future plan is to add two more staff members
and to fill two newly created positions of “Floor Supervisor.” With
the addition of the floor supervisor, each shift should move from
two people to three. There is a very good reason for adding the two
new supervisory positions, which will be explained in a future
article.
Langley said that education requirements for being hired as a 911
staff member are not restrictive. The job description requires a
high school diploma or equivalent. When seeking new staff, the more
important considerations are the overall display of intelligence and
ability to multi-task by the applicant. An aptitude for computer
operation and an ability to clearly communicate are the most
important as well as a desire to serve the community with
compassion.
The Logan County Dispatch utilizes a software specifically designed
for 911 call-taking called Priority Dispatch. That system is used
worldwide in 54 countries. More than 80 million calls per year are
taken worldwide using the Priority Dispatch protocols.
New employees with 911 begin their career with a three day training
session with Priority Dispatch. At the end of the session they must
pass a certification test. When they have passed the test, that test
is then filed with the state of Illinois and the staff member
officially becomes a certified 911 dispatcher.
In addition, the dispatcher must go through a re-certification with
Priority Dispatch every two years. In the meantime, there is ongoing
education for the dispatchers from the first day of work. The
ongoing education is done via online trainings.
Dispatchers also have to train and be certified in Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation (CPR), emergency first aid, and use of an Automated
External Defibrillator (AED).
The first two tips of the day come from veteran dispatchers Tim
Centers and Josh Polley:
Tim Centers
“Logan Dispatch is an office of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office. On average
Logan Dispatch receives 2,000 calls for service a month. These calls can range
from non-emergency nuisance calls like barking dogs to emergency calls such as
structure fires, in-progress crimes, and medical calls.
“We dispatch for two full-time and two part-time Law Enforcement Agencies, two
full-time Fire Departments, 14 Volunteer Fire/Rescue Departments and the Logan
County Paramedics.
“We are here to help you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Be safe out there Logan County and always remember, we will be here in your
times of crisis.”
Josh Polley
“Do you know about Nixle?
“Nixle provides a mass communications hub for government agencies to provide
secure and important information in real time. We utilize Nixle in Logan County
to warn residents of impeding severe weather, road closures, water work issues,
and important police activity. Nixle alerts can be sent out via text, email,
voice, web and social media sites.
“As a resident, you may sign up for free.
“There are a couple of ways to register: you can text LOGAN911EMA to 888777 from
your mobile phone, or you may go to http://www.logancountyil.gov/ema and click
on the link on the right side of the website. Once you are registered, you will
receive a confirmation message on your phone and will start receiving important
messages when they are sent out.
“This is an important service that allows residents to stay informed with the
latest and most reliable information.”
In the next segment of the Dispatch Week series, Becky Langley has authored a
history of the Logan County Dispatch Center and offers a teaser of some topics
that will be discussed in future segments, including plans to improve services
to the local community through some valuable software upgrades.
[Nila Smith with excerpts from Tim Centers and Josh Polley] |
