Dispatcher week was celebrated April 9-15 at the Winner Police Department.
Full staff is 10 employees and the dispatch center is down one.
Deb Bice is the supervisor with Andrea Ptacek as the assistant supervisor.
The staff includes: A. J. Wiley, Ron High Rock, Clint Sinkular, Cami Woodward, Ashley Moseman, Misha Smythe, Michele Hagenlock and Tasha Welch, part-time.
The center in Winner dispatches for six counties including Tripp, Gregory, Lyman, Haakon, Mellette and Bennett. The population center served by this dispatch center is 23,000.
In 2016, there were 10,458 911 calls and over 57,000 administration calls.
There is always two persons working in the dispatch center 24/7.
Employees go through two weeks of 911 training in Pierre and also do three days of EMD (emergency medical dispatch).
Bice says this is a nice week to honor the dispatchers for all the work they do. Gifts and treats are provided to the workers during this week.
A dispatcher is generally the first point of contact, the true first responder and the unseen hero. A dispatcher’s job is a complicated one. It is exciting, rewarding, fulfilling and becomes a way of life. It is also stressful, exhausting, thankless and forgotten by many.
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