Fire chief Scott Atkins said Dadeville Volunteer Fire Department will have to scrape by on a weak radio channel for another few months after learning what the cost of repair would be.”I finally got a quote back late yesterday and I’m afraid it’s not going to be an option,” Atkins told the mayor and city council Tuesday. “The total quote was $20,000.”Atkins said the quote includes $15,000 in parts and $5,000 in labor, which would involve climbing the water tower behind the fire station where the broken antenna is located. Upon hearing the price, Mayor Jimmy Frank Goodman loudly cleared his throat while several other meeting attendees dramatically clutched their chests.  Earlier this month, the new fire chief approached the mayor and city council to address several issues he’d discovered, including the fact the fire department has been relying on weak radio communications ever since its main radio antenna was storm-damaged in April.”We have had communication problems,” Atkins said at the March 9 council meeting. “We cannot talk to one another.”For the past 11 months, the fire department has been using a different radio channel with a shorter tower that does not reach its entire coverage area, Atkins reported. While Tallapoosa County’s E 9-1-1 emergency dispatch system will soon be updated to a new digitized system, that update is several months away.Earlier this month, Atkins said the update wasn’t expected for another five months at least.”I can’t wait till August to have communications; we’ve got to be able to talk,” he said. At the time, Atkins expected it to cost between $500 and $5,000.On Tuesday, however, Atkins said the new system was only two or three months away, making the $20,000 repair not worth it.”If this was going to be a system that we’d use for years and years and years that would be one thing, but we’re just trying to make it until the county swaps over to the new system which will be two or three months,” he said. “So, I don’t see spending the $20,000 for just two or three months.”Atkins said he had one more solution to look into but “I guess right now we’re stuck with what we’ve got,” he said.Atkins, formerly assistant fire chief at Opelika Fire Department, was appointed Dadeville fire chief on March 3. His appointment filled a vacancy left by former fire chief Keith Wilkerson who the council removed by unanimous vote last month.Later in the meeting, Goodman thanked Atkins and the fire and police departments in general in his mayor’s remarks. Goodman also assured Atkins his lack of funds wasn’t a lack of endorsement.”(Atkins) has found a couple of the firetrucks that are in danger of needing work real bad, tires and so forth,” Goodman said. “Chief, you’re doing a good job, just don’t get discouraged. We move slow because we are short of funds. But we are definitely behind you 100%.”The mayor told the fire chief he only refuses to pay for some things “because we write the check and they throw it back at us.”Goodman also addressed some complaints about the police department he said he received over the weekend.”Unfortunately, it was some of my folks that did this,” Goodman said. “But you can’t pick your family. But if we all just worked together, try to come together as one, and treat everybody the way that they need to be treated, let’s let the police do their job; let’s let the fire department do their job.”

A special committee to study the feasibility of moving the city’s current in-house police dispatch to the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office is being formed immediately, according to Mayor Michelle Roman.Roman said the committee will include aldermen, representatives of the city’s police and fire boards, police and fire unions, county legislators and representatives of other nearby municipalities.The move is in direct response to a recommendation made late last week by State Attorney General Letitia James, who released a detailed report on policing and dispatch actions taken by Lockport Police Department and Niagara County Sheriff’s personnel on the night of Troy Hodge’s death in the city in June of 2019.
While James concluded there was insufficient evidence to establish any crime was committed by responding Lockport officers nor Niagara County Sheriff’s deputies, she also “encouraged” the LPD to discontinue its in-house 911 dispatch operations and use the Niagara County Central Dispatch Center.Alderman Rick Abbott said Tuesday that he was planning to bring the dispatch move up for discussion at the very next council work session. It was originally talked about at length a few years ago, he said, during the last contract negotiations between the city and its police union. At that time, Abbott said the sheriff’s department and county officials negotiated a new dispatch agreement with then mayor Dave Wohleben.“They said they would provide the service for free and committed to giving the city its own dedicated phone line,” Abbott said.“The Attorney General’s report says we should have services go to the county. They have a state-of-the-art communications room. The equipment we have (at the LPD) is 30 years old. It made sense then and it makes sense now.”City Clerk Paul Oates said the current city/police union contract was ratified in 2016 and expires Dec. 31, 2023.Abbott said he thought the dispatch move was a done deal, but it subsequently nixed by the city’s police union, which included in its new contract the stipulation that any such move would need to be negotiated first with the Lockport Police Benevolent Association.“We can’t afford as a city to upgrade our system,” Abbott said, estimating the costs anywhere between a quarter million to a half million dollars. “We would still need to absorb the start-up cost for radios and computers, but this way we get more cops out on the streets.”

ANN ARBOR, MI — Ann Arbor officials have laid out a proposal for an unarmed public safety response program to have non-police professionals respond to certain 911 calls.Mayor Christopher Taylor and other City Council members are co-sponsoring a resolution on the council’s April 5 agenda to direct City Administrator Tom Crawford to establish a program by the end of the year in collaboration with the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office and others.If the resolution is approved, Crawford would be tasked with exploring opportunities for unarmed responses to calls through Metro 911, possibly forming partnerships with community service providers and identifying which responses now handled by armed police could be carried out by experts in areas such as mental health, public health and human services.That could include handling non-emergency medical calls, complaints about homeless encampments, medical transport requests, some mental health crisis calls and similar calls with no suspected criminal activity or clear and present threat to the physical safety of others, the resolution states.“Police officers everywhere are tasked to perform many functions better suited for non-police persons with expertise in public health, mental health and human services,” Taylor said. “We recognize that challenge and are looking for ways to effect a continuum of response so that we can better serve people during calls for service that do not require police officer involvement.”The resolution directs the city administrator to include funds for such a program in the 2021-22 budget.If such a program is not possible by the end of 2021, Taylor and council members want the administrator to report back on any obstacles and recommendations for overcoming them.They also want the city’s police oversight commission to be consulted in the process.The first four council members to sign on as co-sponsors with Taylor are Erica Briggs, Jen Eyer, Travis Radina and Linh Song.Radina, D-3rd Ward, said he spoke with residents on the campaign trail last year about the need to fundamentally change the city’s approach to policing and public safety.“This resolution is a critically important step in that direction and will hopefully help to rebuild community trust,” he said. “For far too many of our neighbors – especially some BIPOC, LGBTQ and neuro-diverse residents – the presence of armed police does not make them feel safer in our community.”Ann Arbor survey shows disparity in how white and Black residents feel treated by policeBy reimagining Ann Arbor’s public safety model to include a response from public health, mental health and human services professionals when appropriate, the city can divert more residents from the criminal justice system and get them the support and resources they need, Radina said.Song, D-2nd Ward, said the resolution is about matching services to needs.“In conversations with Asian and Asian American community members and leaders, it’s clear how there’s a hesitancy to engage the police, even in the wake of hate crimes and harassment,” she said. “I hope we can demonstrate a more expansive understanding of policing as it impacts communities of color. This would be a good start.”The resolution was developed in collaboration with the city administrator and Police Chief Michael Cox, and Washtenaw County Community Mental Health and the Sheriff’s Office have reviewed it and expressed support, Taylor said, adding he also has spoken with county officials and has reason to hope there will be a mirroring county resolution.Taylor said he’s optimistic that, with collaborative relationships among Ann Arbor police, Community Mental Health and the Sheriff’s Office, they’ll be able to launch a program that gets people the help they need and improves public safety.The city does not provide direct public health, mental health or human services programs and those services instead are provided by Community Mental Health, the Washtenaw County Health Department, the county’s Office of Community and Economic Development and nonprofit agencies.The successful deployment of non-police responders will require close coordination with Metro 911 dispatch, law enforcement and other agencies, the resolution states, noting dispatch services are provided by the Sheriff’s Office.The Ann Arbor Police Department and Community Mental Health already partner via a crisis support team to coordinate responses to calls for service involving people in mental health crisis, and the city supports community members who need access to services, avoiding incarceration when possible, the resolution states.Officials now want to expand on that to have more responses to 911 calls by non-police professionals with extensive training and expertise in different areas.“During even non-confrontational police-public interactions involving public health, mental health and human service needs, the presence of a holstered firearm may give rise to feelings of unease and intimidation, particularly among persons from BIPOC communities,” the resolution states, adding civilian fatalities and injuries have resulted from police engaging people with mental illness when police response was not necessary.MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:Ann Arbor residents can call 911 to report abandoned rental scooters, officials sayRecords shed more light on outcomes of citizen complaints against Ann Arbor policeAnn Arbor PFAS levels rise again. City says it’s coming from Wixom.Judge signals intent to order cleanup plan in Ann Arbor dioxane pollution caseEPA open to Superfund cleanup in Ann Arbor if state is on board

The Larimer County commissioners voted Tuesday to contribute $250,000 toward completion of a backup dispatch center that will benefit emergency agencies across the county.The Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority is creating the backup at its new offices at the 2534 development in Johnstown — a building that it shares with the Larimer County Emergency Operations Center that is expected to open this summer.
The telephone authority, a governing body that administers 911 programs for all emergency agencies within the county, is on the second floor of a two-story building. Officials’ plan is to create a backup dispatch center at that site that can be used by any emergency agency as needed.
A dispatch center answers 911 calls and ensures that police, fire and medical crews respond to help.
“It helps to take that load off any one dispatch center,” said Lori Hodges, the county’s director of emergency management.
Right now, there are five dispatch centers that operate within Larimer County — Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Collins, Loveland and Estes Park police departments and at Colorado State University. If one is overloaded with calls or physically evacuated, the others step in to help and give dispatchers a place to work.
Over the summer, when the town of Estes Park was evacuated due to wildfires, its dispatch center was relocated to Fort Collins’ 911 call center because the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office was already handling a large number of calls related to the two raging fires.
The system works, but not seamlessly, because there is time needed to set up dispatchers from one center into another, to get them in place in a new location, explained Kimberly Culp, chief executive officer of LETA.
“They fold into the operation,” Culp said. “They have to sit down at someone else’s console, someone else’s equipment. … It isn’t in the ready position.”
Plus throw in the pandemic — a time when emergency operations were trying to keep outside or new people from entering the dispatch centers, to keep distance and safety precautions.
This backup center will be available if a dispatch center needs to evacuate, if agencies need extra work stations to have extra dispatchers on duty during an event, or if officials need to move dispatch for one major emergency to a separate location, said Culp.
It will ensure that, no matter what happens, dispatch service will continue without interruption for all communities within the county, Hodges said.
“If we have learned anything from the challenges presented to us in 2020, it is that we must have continuity in our critical systems, and we must be able to adapt to a changing environment,” according to memo given to the county commissioners about the contribution.
“Larimer County is rapidly evolving, and the population of Larimer County is expected to increase by 25% by the year 2040 for a total population of 480,126,” the memo stated.
The Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority is building the dispatch center and outfitting it with equipment at its new location in Johnstown with hopes of having it ready this summer, available to spring into action when needed. The cost is $1.3 million, most of which will come out of the authority’s budget and with the $250,000 from Larimer County.
The telephone authority is funded by a monthly surcharge all customers pay on each mobile phone, internet or land line. In Larimer County, the 911 surcharge fee is 70 cents, which Culp said is much lower than the average $1.35 fee among other regions in Colorado.
“We’ve been planning and saving,” said Culp. “This is a critical need we’ve been planning for.”
The $250,000 that Larimer County is contributing will come out of the money set aside to build and open the emergency operations center. With efficiencies and grants, the county will not use the entire budgeted amount, and the commissioners voted 3-0 on Tuesday to give some of the surplus to the dispatch center project.
Culp said the county’s contribution will pay for critical radio equipment for the backup center, which should be open in July. And once opened, officials said, it will benefit the entire community.
“The public benefit is obvious,” said County Manager Linda Hoffmann.
“It’s just without question that this is something the community as a whole needs, and we are very fortunate to be in a position to make a contribution,” she said.

According to Stevens it is a $2.8 million project, $1.4 million will come out of the penny sales tax and the remaining balance will be funds from a general operation bond. He says four departments will call the new headquarters home: EMS, the coroner, 911 dispatch, and fire services. “It centralizes some of the public safety functions,” said Stevens. 

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PITTSBURG, Kan. — The city of Pittsburg and Crawford County have partnered to purchase a new emergency call-handling and management system that will allow residents to text urgent alerts to 911, public safety officials announced earlier this week.“The new system will allow dispatchers to text with people and help us better locate mobile phone calls,” said Jay Byers, deputy city manager, in a statement. “More importantly, it’s the platform for future technologies that will be coming down the road, like being able to send pictures and video from your mobile phone directly to 911 and other emerging public safety advances.”The city and county have been working for the past two years to replace old telephone systems with an internet-based 911 system. The new system provides everything that emergency dispatchers need to manage calls from any device in any format. Dispatchers at the Pittsburg Police Department and Crawford County Sheriff’s Office will be able to answer text-to-911 calls like any other call from their desktops. They also will be able to pinpoint landline and mobile calls.

Officials say the new system also will allow the city and county to expand their partnership to serve the region by allowing records and call information to be shared in real time.“This is another example of a partnership between the city and the county that focuses on public safety,” Crawford County Sheriff Danny Smith said in a statement. “We wanted a system with more redundancy in the event of a failure on either the city’s end or our own. Should one system go down, the city and county call takers could work at either dispatch center with little interruption of service. This technology enhances our efforts to ensure a safety net is in place should the unthinkable happen.”The equipment was purchased using state funds earmarked for public safety.

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KEYSER, W.Va. — The Keyser City Council on Wednesday night unanimously approved the merger of the city’s emergency dispatch services with the county’s resources. City administrator Jeff Broadwater presented the memorandum of understanding with Mineral County Emergency Services during the board’s business meeting. During the Mineral County Commission meeting Tuesday, President Richard “Doc” Lechliter signed off on it from the county’s end.The subject of the merger, Broadwater said, is something that’s been in discussion sporadically for a decade. It will take effect July 1.
“It’s kind of come to a point where I think it’s in the best interest of the city to do it,” Broadwater said. In developing the MOU, Broadwater said he met individually with the city’s three dispatchers and all three were offered the chance to interview with the county 911 center. One individual did so and will be hired, Broadwater said, and the other two employees have opted to take a severance package and will remain employed through July 1.Through the agreement, Broadwater said, “basically we’re going to relinquish all control of the 911 communications.””The sheriff’s department and all emergency dispatch will be handled in the 911 centers as opposed to calling the city office … where citizens do now,” Broadwater said. “They’ll call 911 like the rest of the county.”The merger will cost the city a one-time fee of $70,000, he said. “What’s necessitating this, if you look back through our financials, the last three years we’ve (been) averaging about a $50,000 loss in the general fund for three years,” Broadwater said. “It’s a pretty staggering number. (City finance manager Bonnie Hannas) and I went through this last week, we’ve lost 53 employees in the last three years. … It’s like we’ve become a training ground.”They expect to save $150,000 through merging with county emergency services, Broadwater said.He said the agreement represents “a step in the right direction” for the city.

“It’s to the point where something needs done, and this is the logical next step,” Broadwater said. “It’s never an easy decision when we talk about the loss of jobs, but to be, to be quite frank about it, we’ve lost a lot more than that in jobs.”Mayor Damon Tillman noted that Keyser residents have already been paying for the 911 center, even though they did not use it.”It makes sense for us to do this,” Tillman said. “It’s better for the community, better for the officers.”Tillman agreed that this was the right time for the merger to take place.”It’s time now. The citizens have paid this fee for all these years, and we haven’t really used (the county system), the citizens of Keyser, but now we’re going to, and it’s going to be a good thing,” Tillman said.County emergency services director Luke McKenzie noted that the county 911 service has already been responsible for dispatching fire and EMS services within the city. The move, he noted, would only affect police services and would also be financially beneficial for the employee who chose to interview with the county.”We’re happy to do it. I think bringing everyone together on one group is going to be better for the entire county as well,” McKenzie said.County sheriff Forrest “Buddy” Ellifritz voiced his support as well.”It’s the right choice at the right time,” Ellifritz said.The council meets next on April 14.

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This photo of one of Fond du Lac County’s multiple dispatch stations appears in the Communications and Emergency Management department’s 2018 annual report. 

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Issue:The Fond du Lac County Board unanimously approved two resolutions last week Tuesday that furthers the process of Ripon transferring dispatch service to the county, which could save the city about $4 million over the next 10 years.The Ripon Common Council went into closed session Monday night to discuss severance agreements for Ripon’s dispatchers.Background:Debates about whether to consolidate dispatch centers with Fond du Lac County took up much of the Ripon Common Council’s time in the months leading up to January.In fact, the Common Council voted on the dispatch change twice. The first time, the Common Council voted 5-3 to keep the dispatch center at its Jan. 12 meeting.However, the next meeting, the Common Council voted 6-2 to consolidate dispatch centers with Fond du Lac County.“The obvious financial benefit and, just as obvious, safety benefit of switching to the county for dispatch does not outweigh the difficulties that it will be to change a scheduling system that will be difficult to change,” Ripon Mayor Ted Grant said at the Jan 25 Common Council meeting. “I agree, but it is something that can be overcome and I’m confident that it can be overcome within that eight-month window.”Since voting to consolidate dispatch centers, the Common Council last month unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding between the city and Fond du Lac County regarding the transfer of dispatch responsibilities to the county.At the Feb. 22 meeting, City Attorney Lud Wurtz explained that the memorandum of understanding acts as a framework for how the dispatch transfer would work moving forward.Status:At last week Tuesday’s Fond du Lac County Board meeting, the board approved a memorandum of understanding between the county and city as well as an intergovernmental agreement related to dispatch.For many years, Ripon resident and County Board Chairman Martin Farrell explained that Ripon has been the only municipality in the county that was providing its own dispatch services while the county was handling all the others.“Now the entire county will be using the Fond du Lac County dispatch center,” he said. “All 911 calls will go there.”Additionally, County Board Supervisor Tom Dornbrook said the transfer of dispatch services would benefit both the city and Fond du Lac County to allow emergency services to be on the same page.“Financially, Ripon was struggling [in] upgrading their center and about 70% of [Ripon’s] cell phone 911 calls were coming to Fond du Lac County anyhow,” he said. “There was some resistance, but I think the above board, good-faith negotiations from our county team convinced the city council that this was best for them too.”Farrell agreed with Dornbrook’s sentiment, and commended Fond du Lac County Communications and Emergency Management Director Bobbi Hicken for going “the extra mile to bring the correct information to the authorities in Ripon.”What’s next?Under the agreement, the county will begin the process of preparing the transfer of the functions of Ripon’s dispatch center to the county-wide dispatch center, which will be led by Hicken. The communications and emergency management director will communicate with city officials and coordinate the transfer to determine the official transfer date.The agreement states that Ripon dispatch staff who choose to apply to work for the county communications center, which will require additional staff to take on Ripon’s dispatch duties, will be guaranteed an interview.In addition, operating costs related to the dispatch center will be Fond du Lac County’s responsibility by 2022, according to the agreement. Those costs include expenses related to staffing, equipment, operations and capital purchases.As a result, $200,000 will permanently be transferred from Ripon’s tax levy base to Fond du Lac County’s tax levy base in 2022, the agreement stated. Ripon will not see additional tax reductions afterward.Another outcome from the agreement is that Ripon will have three voting members on the county’s Administrative Review Board, with one representative from the Ripon Police Department, Ripon Area Fire District and Ripon Guardian Ambulance Service.“I’m confident that this is in the best interest of the city, in this respect, after the decision was made,” Wurtz said at the Feb. 22 Common Council meeting. “… It’s a very good way to accomplish this on behalf of the citizens.”Is there an issue you want us to update?If you’re wondering about something that was in the news but doesn’t have a resolution, send your idea to:Email: news@riponpress.com.Phone: 920-748-3017Mail: 303 Watson St., PO Box 262, Ripon, WI 54971

CHESAPEAKE, Va. – The City of Chesapeake said mobile testing with major mobile carriers is complete. This means they are now fully Text to 9-1-1 operational.City officials said residents in Chesapeake that are experiencing emergencies can now send text messages to 9-1-1 if they need help.Residents are asked to call 9-1-1 if possible, but if they are not in a position to talk on the phone they can text “911” in the “To” field of their phones.Senders will then be be prompted to provide the address of their emergency when their text is received by the Emergency Communications Center and will then be able to chat with the Public Safety Telecommunicator.

The remote event was a cooperation between ETSI, EENA (European emergency number association) and NENA (9-1-1 association) – this was the first time the European event partnered with NENA’s US ICE 9 event.
“Crossing borders and oceans, the event helped to ensure efficient, interoperable emergency communications for all citizens,” said EENA technical director, and ETSI EMTEL committee chair, Cristina Lumbreras. “We believe that the testing will make a significant contribution to public safety in Europe and the USA. NG112 is already transforming emergency response, improving accessibility to emergency services and allowing interconnections between public safety answering points. However, for next-generation communications to function effectively, standardisation and interoperability are crucial.”
The event tested technologies for content-rich, Internet protocol-based emergency calling.

WOOD RIVER — Work on several 911-related projects — including the closure of the Bethalto call center when it consolidates with Wood River — was discussed at Wednesday’s Emergency Telephone System Board meeting.Chairman Joe Petrokovich, who is also the 911 manager for the Wood River Police Department, said the switch is still set for 6 a.m. April 1.
“Ninety-nine percent of operational items are in place and ready to go,” he said. “There are a couple of minor logistical items we’re working out next week.”

Plans for the consolidation began in October 2018 when it was announced that the East Alton Public Safety Answering Point, or PSAP, would be closing and consolidating with Wood River. PSAPs are the 911 call centers.

“I was prepared to stay here for a couple of days. So, I came back up here and stayed and slept on a cot in the training room which wasn’t the best,” said Shonaci Rains, 911 operator and dispatcher for the Amarillo Emergency Communications Center “We didn’t know that the light had a sensor, so every time we stretched, turn over, or move, the light would come on while we were sleeping so I didn’t get much sleep.”

Both Pismo Beach and Grover Beach have agreed to move forward with a plan to consolidate their emergency dispatch services, a move that officials say could improve emergency response strategies and potentially save money for both cities in the future.

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File Photo By Steve E. Miller

FIRST LINE A proposed agreement between Pismo Beach and Grover Beach would consolidate the cities’ emergency dispatch services.

At a meeting on March 22, Grover Beach City Council showed enthusiastic support for a proposal to fold the city’s dispatch services into those already offered by Pismo, allowing Grover to reduce its staffing levels and repurpose its dispatch facility into much-needed police briefing space. If Arroyo Grande decides to join the partnership when its dispatch contract with the SLO County Sheriff’s Office ends, city staff said that South County would have a true regional dispatch center.

“I think taking a regional approach makes a lot of sense, given the opportunity for better coordination between the two cities and possibly three in the future,” Grover Beach City Councilmember Anna Miller said at the meeting. “Having two dispatchers available at the same time equates to better coverage and results in safer communities for us all. So I am in complete support of the consolidation proposal.”

Through the proposed contract, dispatch services for Grover and Pismo would be conducted at Pismo’s emergency communication center effective July 1, while Grover’s would be transformed into a police briefing room and emergency backup facility. Both Grover and Pismo currently employ six dispatchers each, and through the partnership, that would be reduced to nine total positions. Grover Beach would employ four dispatchers at a cost of $540,000 in fiscal year 2022, and Pismo Beach would employ five for $637,150. Although that was estimated to save Grover around $209,730 in fiscal year 2022 alone, the city plans to retain two full-time records employees in an effort to keep the records department open to the public seven days a week. With those employees on board, the consolidation will actually cost Grover Beach an extra $47,931 in fiscal year 2021-22.

“So it is not at this time a true cost savings,” Grover Beach City Manager Matt Bronson said, “but it’s a nominal amount to pay more for a higher level of services.”

Regionalized dispatch services have proven to reduce risks and improve efficiency among involved agencies, according to a Grover Beach staff report, and there’s been a push nationwide for about the last two decades to consolidate neighboring emergency dispatch centers.

Grover and Pismo have mulled over the idea of joining forces many times in the past, and when the Grover Beach Police Department experienced a staffing shortage in its communications department in August 2020, it requested part-time dispatch services from Pismo Beach. The cities saw the initial month-to-month dispatch service agreement as an opportunity to test out the long-discussed consolidation. While working together for a limited time, Grover and Pismo both found that police response times and strategies became increasingly efficient and safe.

“Calls for service don’t just stop in one city,” Bronson said, “particularly in our Five Cities county area where something could happen in one city and then it quickly spills over into another city.”

Grover Beach City Council is slated to vote on the official contract between the city and Pismo Beach on April 26. Δ

CANTON, S.D. (KELO) — If you’re in an emergency, there’s another way you can contact 911 in South Dakota. The state launched its Text to 911 service earlier this week.

The feature can be helpful if it’s too dangerous to talk or if you’re deaf, hard of hearing, or have speaking difficulties.

Greg Poppenga is a dispatcher for Lincoln County Communications.

In his 19 years of answering calls, he’s come across some cases where a texting option could’ve come in handy.

“I’ve had a couple of calls where they’re really quiet on the phone so you know that evidently there’s something going on in the situation they’re in,” Lincoln County 911 dispatcher Greg Poppenga said.

If you’re in an emergency, public safety officials say you should still call 911 if you can. If you can’t, use the texting option.

911 dispatch: ‘Call if you can. Text if you can’t.’

“The key here is it doesn’t replace calling 911. It’s just something if the situation arises where someone’s unable to communicate verbally for any reason then this is a tool that could help us provide assistance to those people,” Lincoln County Communications supervisor Todd Baldwin said.

When a text comes into Lincoln County Communications from someone’s mobile phone, a dispatcher will hear the notification and it will show up on a screen.

“We have canned messages, plus the ability to communicate free form with those people,” Baldwin said.

Text to 911 use increasing but still behind 911 calls

Lincoln County Communications Supervisor Todd Baldwin says training for the new feature was simple.

“It definitely gives us another tool to provide a more efficient service for the public. In public safety that’s our goal,” Baldwin said.

The Department of Public Safety says Text to 911 is not 100% activated in Todd County yet.

Again, officials say you should call 911 if you can, and text if you can’t.

You can find information on how to text 911 here.