Dispatchers may be the “spokes” people of emergency services.
While law enforcement, firefighters or ambulance crews are the ones visible on the scene, like the outer rim of a wheel, the dispatchers are at the center.
“We’re the little hub in that wheel,” 14-year dispatcher Barbara Stich told Neosho County commissioners Friday morning.
Incoming 911 Director Lori Nally has introduced five of the county’s eight dispatchers to county commissioners, and Stich, Kim Wilson and Alicia Myers met the board Friday morning.
“Our voice is at the dark,” Stich said. She answered questions from the commission about how the dispatch center works.
Two people work the center each shift, and Stich explained how they take an emergency call, locate the caller, and notify the proper agency. The 911 system is able to locate emergency callers, often even those on cell phones.
When asked what surprises her the most, Stich bluntly said public stupidity. She said parenting has become a greater issue over the past decade.
(Read more: The Chanute Tribune)