TELECOMMUNICATORS WEEK 4/11/25 Jennifer
Brown, Clay County E911 Coordinator announced that Telecommunicator’s Week will
be celebrated Sunday through Saturday. National Public Safety
Telecommunicator Week is observed every year during the second full week in
April. National
Public Safety Telecommunicators Week was originally introduced to Congress in
1991 as a means of honoring everyone who works in public safety
telecommunications. Historically, the week has been marked by a letter
from the President of the United States congratulating the dedicated and
hard-working individuals who work in public safety telecommunications. This
week is an important reminder of how essential 9-1-1 call takers, police, fire
and EMS dispatchers, and related support staff are to public safety. The
following 9-1-1 Telecommunicators are being recognized for their dedication and
service; Jennifer Brown has been with the Flora Police Department since 2000
and was promoted to Supervisor in 2004. She came to the Department with a
degree in Law Enforcement. In 2005 she took over the roll as 9-1-1
Coordinator for the County. She also became an EMT-B in 2018 and is a
member of the Flora Clay County ESDA Unit since 1991. Michael
Dickerson began his career at the Flora Police Department in 2009. He
came to the Department with a degree in Law Enforcement and was an EMT-B for
Clay County Hospital. Michael is also a member of the Flora Clay County
ESDA Unit since 2003. Nancy
Dehart began her career with the Flora Police Department in 2018. Most
people still recognize her voice because she worked for Golden Circle Nutrient
Center for many years. Billy
Laughlin began his career with the Flora Police Department in 2020 and joined
Flora Clay County ESDA in 2021. Jennifer
Wainscott joined the Flora Police Dept in August of 2023. She worked for
many years in the customer service and management industry. Dispatchers
are the unsung heroes of Public Safety and are often referred to as the 1st
first responder to be on scene. They are there for you in your time of
need, dial 9-1-1 for Police, Fire, and Medical and they will answer your calls
24 x 7 x 365. Most
people that call 9-1-1 do so on their worst day and don’t understand why they
ask so many questions. They do so in order to get the best help to you in
a safe and timely manner. Please
remember that if you accidentally call 9-1-1, don’t hang up, stay on the line
and explain what happened. If you hang up, the 9-1-1 dispatcher will be
calling you back in order to verify if there is an emergency or not. If
you are having a controlled burn, please call in on the non-emergency line to
let the 911 dispatcher know so they don’t send out fire department to put out
your fire. Another request from 9-1-1 is please do not let your child
play with your phone as it is so easy for them to accidentally dial 9-1-1, when
they hear a voice, they hang up. For
non-emergency calls in Flora call 618-662-9111 and for non-emergency calls in
Clay County call 618-665-3316.