Leaders say this is one of a handful of 911 centers in North Carolina to feature next-generation features.
CORNELIUS, N.C. — The Cornelius 911 Emergency Communications Center has completed a major technology upgrade that town leaders say places it among only a handful of 911 centers in North Carolina operating with advanced next-generation emergency communications infrastructure.
911 and public-safety networks have entered a pivotal phase. A convergence of technological breakthroughs and regulatory momentum is redefining how emergency-communications networks will be designed, deployed, and operated. These developments aren’t merely incremental—they’re transformative.
For years, Brown County has struggled to hire people to answer 911 calls and coordinate responses to emergencies. Its emergency dispatch center was among many that grappled with worsened staffing shortages after the COVID-19 pandemic.
But as the crisis eases nationwide, major shortages still beset Brown County’s 911 center. Despite past pay raises and other efforts, the county is missing more than one in three of its needed dispatchers. Industry experts say boosting pay isn’t enough to attract dispatchers nowadays. Departments must also boost morale, get creative with hiring and training and address the mental health toll the job takes.
CANFIELD — Cheri Smith sits at the dispatch desk at the Canfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol with a box of Cheerios nearby and 1980s music on the radio at a low volume.
It’s Thursday — the day before her official retirement date — but she will work for another two weeks because she wants to be sure the post is well staffed through the Canfield Fair.
Friday marked 40 years and one month since her career as a dispatcher began, and this is hardly the first time she’s put her colleagues first.
Billie Shepperd was planning her daughter Sheila’s 60th birthday party in June 2020 when the phone rang.
She had been imagining family members traveling from Washington, DC, to celebrate at the beach with crab legs and potato salad, when she picked up to hear Maria Shepperd, her granddaughter and Sheila’s daughter, sobbing.
Maria was alone, performing chest compressions on her mother after she had fainted and stopped breathing. The 13-year-old had called 911 — like tens of millions of people do each year when they need help — then called Billie from another phone as she spoke to the dispatcher.
WAMPSVILLE, NY — For the first time, Madison County leaders are linking potential 911 connectivity issues with proposed wind farms, saying the wind turbines will interfere with 911 communications.
Madison County says the proposed Liberty Renewals’ Hoffman Falls Wind Project will greatly impact public safety.
