FROM THE DIRECTOR 1 SPECIAL REPORT 2-3 9-1-1 PANHANDLE HERO PUBLIC ED. NEWS 4 5 TERT INFORMATION TRAINING CORNER IMPORTANT CONTACTS 6 7 8 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 9-1-1 NOW From the Director 2009 SUMMER 2010 Mike Peters, Regional 9-1-1 Director Everyone remain calm! I am excited to have the opportunity to be a part of Regional 9-1-1 Network in the future. I will miss the leadership and direction that Greg has provided for the past 5 years. Hopefully some of his qualities have rubbed off on me. Greg has been a great mentor to me and I truly appreciate all that he has done for me and the Panhandle. Fortunately for me, not him, he is only moving from our building to the building across the alley. Without a doubt, his next choice for employment will be further from me. First of all, please continue to count on me to handle those things that I have always been doing. Nothing will change in that regard in the near future. Pam and I will do our best to keep the boat floating until we can find another staff person to plug some leaks. The largest leak at this point is for a GIS/mapping person. We have already begun the interview process to find a suitable candi- date. In regards to mapping we are looking forward to installing aerial imagery on each of your consoles. We have contracted with a vendor to assist in this ef- fort and I expect the data files to be received within the next few weeks. We may need to physically drive to each call center to install the imagery but this will allow your call takers to see homes , cars, etc. on their 9-1-1 map. If all goes well this “improvement” will be complete before your next newsletter. Another issue that needs to be addressed is the UPS units or large batteries that were delivered to each of your agencies. I have begun the installation of these units and will continue to coordinate that with an electrician of your choosing. Unfortunately this process goes a little slower as we are wearing more hats now. The 9-1-1 team here truly appreciates the impact each of you make to the wel- fare of Panhandle residents. Thank you for all of your efforts in making the 9-1-1 system work. If it were not for the agencies or the call-takers none of this tech- nology would solve anything. So thanks again for each of your contributions. If any of you have any concerns or if there is anything the 9-1-1 department can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact either myself or Pam Frisk. We will do our best to move this program forward and strive to make each of you as happy as possible.
Transcript
FROM THE DIRECTOR 1
SPECIAL REPORT 2-3
9-1-1 PANHANDLE HERO
PUBLIC ED. NEWS
4
5
TERT INFORMATION
TRAINING CORNER
IMPORTANT CONTACTS
6
7
8
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
9-1-1
NOW
From the Director
2009
SUMMER
2010
Mike Peters, Regional 9-1-1 Director
Everyone remain calm!
I am excited to have the opportunity to be a part of Regional 9-1-1 Network in the future. I will miss the leadership and direction that Greg has provided for the past 5 years. Hopefully some of his qualities have rubbed off on me. Greg has been a great mentor to me and I truly appreciate all that he has done for me and the Panhandle. Fortunately for me, not him, he is only moving from our building to the building across the alley. Without a doubt, his next choice for employment will be further from me.
First of all, please continue to count on me to handle those things that I have always been doing. Nothing will change in that regard in the near future. Pam and I will do our best to keep the boat floating until we can find another staff person to plug some leaks. The largest leak at this point is for a GIS/mapping person. We have already begun the interview process to find a suitable candi-date. In regards to mapping we are looking forward to installing aerial imagery on each of your consoles. We have contracted with a vendor to assist in this ef-fort and I expect the data files to be received within the next few weeks. We may need to physically drive to each call center to install the imagery but this will allow your call takers to see homes , cars, etc. on their 9-1-1 map. If all goes well this “improvement” will be complete before your next newsletter.
Another issue that needs to be addressed is the UPS units or large batteries that were delivered to each of your agencies. I have begun the installation of these units and will continue to coordinate that with an electrician of your choosing. Unfortunately this process goes a little slower as we are wearing more hats now.
The 9-1-1 team here truly appreciates the impact each of you make to the wel-fare of Panhandle residents. Thank you for all of your efforts in making the 9-1-1 system work. If it were not for the agencies or the call-takers none of this tech-nology would solve anything. So thanks again for each of your contributions.
If any of you have any concerns or if there is anything the 9-1-1 department can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact either myself or Pam Frisk. We will do our best to move this program forward and strive to make each of you as happy as possible.
Summer greeting’s from the PRPC 9-1-1 staff! I hope this newsletter finds you and your families in good health and happy times.
The 9-1-1 community in the Texas Panhandle is preparing for big changes this June. As many of you may know, Charlie Broomhead, Executive Director of the Potter-Randall Emergency Communications District is retiring on June 30 after 18 years of service to the people of Potter and Randall Counties. Charlie has done an outstanding job leading the District through the ever-changing emergency communications landscape. The staff, the telecommunicator com-munity, as well as the local officials and emergency responders will miss his expertise and advocacy for 9-1-1.
Effective June 15th, I will be resigning my position as PRPC 9-1-1 Program Di-rector. I have accepted an offer to become the next Executive Director of the Potter-Randall 9-1-1 District upon Charlie’s retirement. While I look forward to the challenges a new job brings, I will miss working with people supporting emergency communications throughout the Panhandle Region. I have a great deal of respect for the job you do protecting our friends and family.
One of the many positives about this change is that I can leave knowing the Program will be in competent and capable hands – Mike Peters has been pro-moted and will become the Program Director on June 7th. Most of you know Mike from the time he has recently spent installing the new equipment at your agencies. He will do an excellent job working for you. Together with Pam Frisk, I am confident that the PRPC 9-1-1 Program will not miss a beat in my absence.
It has been a pleasure working with you and for you over the past 13 years.
Thank you for that opportunity,
Greg
SUMMER 2010
GOODBYE FROM GREG GREEN
2
9 - 1 - 1 N O W C h r i s t m a s I n s e r t
SUMMER 2010 3
SUMMER
Hello all, my name is Belinda Daniels or
as many of you know me Boo. I’ve been a
telecommuicator for 28 years. I started
my career at Wheeler County Sheriff’s
Office in 1979 as a telecommunicator
and jailer. In 1986 I started at the
Shamrock Police Department and became
Communications Supervisor in 1991.
I am married to Joe Daniels which I
have the privilege to work with everyday.
I have 2 grown children, a son in Amarillo
and a daughter that followed the call for
public service and has been a telecommu-
nicator/jailer for the past 6 years. In
my free time I enjoy camping, fishing and being together with friends and family.
I feel very fortunate to have the job that I have and it has been a very important part
of my life, I really can’t imagine doing anything else. In the past 24 years I have been
lucky enough to meet a lot of amazing people and even run into people from my past. Re-
cently at a PRPC meeting in Amarillo I ran into Jerry Jansa who happened to be my band
director when I was in Jr. High at Mclean, Texas and it was such a pleasure to see him
again.
I would like to tell all new and inspiring telecommunicators that to never get discouraged,
no day is the same and people will come and go but they all leave their footprints and
memories behind and are all appreciated for what you do.
Thanks Boo, for your past and future years to 9-1-1 !
4
2010
XIT PARADE IN DALHART AUGUST 2009
MARCH OF DIMES WALK 2010 IN AMARILLO
EMS WEEK IN PAMPA APRIL 2010
5
In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita incapacitated many 9-1-1 communications centers along the Gulf of Mex-
ico. Many telecommunicators who stayed to work were also victims who lost family and property. They were un-
aware that telecommunicators could ask for assistance like police officers and fire fighters. Sister agencies from both
in and out of state sent telecommunicators to affected agencies so dispatchers could check on family and assess
damage to homes and property. However, because there was not a formal policy in place for telecommunicator de-
ployment procedures, FEMA would not recognize their efforts or reimburse responding agencies.
Now, through the efforts of dedicated professionals and countless hours of planning and development, Texas has a
governing body to assure resources are available to implement aid, follow FEMA and NIMS protocols, and provide
standardized training for all Texas telecommunicators
.
In June of 2006, National APCO and NENA selected a team of 9-1-1 professionals to develop a model recommenda-
tion for emergency deployment for telecommunicators. The team, called the National Joint TERT Initiative (NJTI),
developed training curriculum for instructors, facilitators, and students with nationwide standardization as the
goal. The mission, completed in May 2007, parallels strict FEMA and NIMS guidelines.
In May of 2009 The Regional 9-1-1 Network along with Potter/Randall 9-1-1 hosted their very first TERT class at
Randall County Sheriff’s Department with Jack Varnardo as the instructor.
The following Telecommunicators are on the Texas Panhandle TERT Team:
Carrianne Martinez from Pampa Police Dept Debbie McDonald from Pampa Police Dept
LeAnn Briscoe from AECC Pamela Frisk from PRPC Kelly Dougherty from AECC
Jerry Jansa from Castro County SO Jeremy Luetkahans from Randall County SO
Ronna McBroom from Randall County SO Carolyn Sabbee from Wheeler County SO
Carrie Gaines from Wheeler County SO Susan Richardson from AECC
and Jessica Martinez from AECC
Do you have what it takes to be on the Texas Panhandle TERT Team?
Step 1: Complete the prerequisites for attending the TERT Basic Course: • NIMS 100, 200 and 700 • CISM Group and Peer Training (preferred) • Minimum of two years' experience as a telecommunicator. Step 2: Attend the TERT Basic Course: July 17, 2010 8:30am-4:00pm at Amarillo College West Campus Building C, Room 102 Step 3: Stay abreast of developments in TERT qualifications, additional training, and Opportunities by keeping in touch with your county and regional coordinator(s). Pamela Frisk and Robbyn Hart Step 4: Keep your contact information current in the TERT database so when disaster strikes, we'll know we can count on you. Contact Laura Litzerman at 817-695-9205
For more info on TERT go to www.tx-tert.org OR www.njti-tert.org
SUMMER 2010 6
SUMMER 2010
See below the dates we have for upcoming classes. Please take advantage of any and all classes you
can. If you have any questions about the classes or would like to request a certain class,
please contact: Pamela Frisk at (806) 372-3381 or (800) 687-7911 [email protected]
TERT (8 hours)
Saturday
July 17, 2010 8:30a.m.-4:00p.m. Location: AC West Campus Bldg. C, Room 125 Instructor: Jack Varnardo
