The ones who are always there to answer 911 calls are being recognized during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.

“On somebody’s worst day, I’m there. I get them the help that they need to make sure that they are safe and my officers are safe,” said Kallie Sherwood, Communications Operator.

As part of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, communications operators with the Buchanan County area Communications Center had a rare opportunity to get together Tuesday morning. Communications Center Manager Capt. Jennifer Protzman said some operators and officers that were former dispatchers filled in for the morning.

“This is only the second time that we’ve been able to meet all together as a group because we’re 24/7, 365, so this is really unusual and a real blessing that we’re able to do this,” Protzman said.

According to Protzman, there are 17 operators overall with four supervisors. They spent the morning doing team building exercises together, painting, writing about some of the calls they have answered and more.

Protzman said the week recognizing those in the telecommunications profession is held the second week of April and was started in 1981 by a sheriff’s office in California.

“It’s just a way to recognize the work and the dedication of our communications operators. They often go unrecognized… they’re the calm in the storm, when the chaos is going on,” Protzman said. “The officers are known as the thin blue line and the communications operators are known as the thin gold line, the ones that information comes to first and they… as far as safety, safety of the citizens and the officers, they’re our first line of defense, so to speak.”

St. Joseph Police Chief Chris Connally said they couldn’t operate without the ones taking the calls in the 911 Center.

“They’re key to effectiveness in serving the community and a lot of what they do improves the situation before our officers even get there at the scene or before the firefighters get there at the scene. They gather that vital information for the fire department, they deescalate situations before the police arrive,” Connally said. “Just everything they do, they’re part of the lifeline of the police department and the lifeline of public safety for our community.”

Kallie Sherwood has been a Communications Operator for several years. Sherwood said one of the calls that has stuck with her was one she received just a few weeks ago.

“We had an open 911 call from a cell phone, which happens all the time, GPS coordinates, no conversation. I was actually getting ready to hang up the phone and I could hear this man making noises,” Sherwood said. “I stayed on the line with him, we sent police, we sent an ambulance, because he was able to tell me ‘ambulance,’ but that’s all he could tell me. I didn’t know until the officer opened the door that he had actually hanged himself and the bow that he was hanging from broke and he was laying on the floor when they got there.”

Sherwood said while receiving calls similar to that one is a difficult part of the job, knowing that officers arrived in time and the man in that situation is alright and alive is one of the rewarding parts of the job.  

“It’s not for somebody that’s faint of heart. You have to have a thick skin because you’re going to be called every name in the book,” Sherwood said. “ You have to really do some soul searching before you decide if this is a career for you, and if it is, we welcome everybody.”

Those working in the Communications Center dispatch for the St. Joseph Police Department, Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department, St. Joseph Fire Department, and six rural fire departments. The center is also a public safety answering point for all 911 calls in the county.