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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 10, 2019)
NEWS Wednesday, april 10, 2019 HerMisTOnHerald.COM • A7 Dispatchers on the line for drug bust By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER T hey sit at desks for their entire shift, but Uma- tilla County Dispatch- ers become closely famil- iar with almost every public safety incident in the county. Justin Russell, a sergeant with Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office Communications Division, recalled one of their busiest days in recent memory — when local law enforcement enacted Opera- tion Wildfire, a massive drug bust that resulted in nearly 60 arrests. “There were lots of arrests, and all that was dispatched through here by me and Sgt. (Karen) Prim- mer,” he said. “We were here for 14 hours and dispatching pretty much solid the whole time.” As officers from the Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team and local police contacted people associated with the opera- tion, the dispatch team was back at the office listening and connecting the dots. Each time law enforce- ment contacted someone to arrest them, dispatchers had to go and physically make sure they had that warrant. “We are the piece of the puzzle that has custody of the warrant,” he said. “When they contact some- body, we have to make sure we actually have that warrant.” Even if they aren’t swamped with calls, dispatchers are con- stantly thinking on their feet, as they take in 911 calls from 25 dif- ferent law enforcement and emer- staff photo by e.J. Harris Umatilla County Sheriff’s Department dispatcher Justine Griffith talks with a caller in 2017 at the Umatilla County Justice Center in Pendleton. gency medical agencies around the county. The dispatch center has 17 full- time employees, as well as three sergeants and a captain. When a call comes in, a dispatcher’s first job is to get the basics of the call — where the call is coming from, the reason for the call, and if there are any weapons involved. They learn police codes and emergency medical terms, and are responsible for getting information to the right ing them in CPR. The emotional component of helping someone through those experiences can take a toll on dispatchers, too. Jennifer Bostwick has worked as a paramedic for 28 years, and as a dispatcher for seven. The Pend- leton native has done that job on rural island communities in Alaska, cities in Texas, and around the state of Oregon. She has been with Umatilla County dispatch since July. parties. “There’s a lot of moving parts,” Russell said. The job requires extensive training, but parts of it can only be taught by experience. Dispatch- ers take non-emergency calls, and learn how to document and enter information into one of the many systems they use. But they also have to talk people through some difficult moments — whether help- ing them deliver a baby or instruct- Bostwick said she is most com- fortable in emergency medical dis- patching, because that’s where her background is. “EMS, rescue, structure fire calls,” she said. “I feel more com- fortable because I’ve been on the ground with those calls. Law enforcement is a newer addition to me, and it’s far more busy.” She said one feature of this area is the amount of mutual aid available. “The different departments kind of overlap with each other,” she said. “Here we have Pendleton Police, Hermiston Police, OSP is another layer. That’s different than being on an island.” Though the dispatchers deal with a range of calls, Russell said there’s always something new coming in. “Recently we had a plane crash in Hermiston,” he said. “That’s a pretty rare occurrence. We do a lot of training for scenarios like that.” He said that training helped them act quickly, and get people on the scene within minutes. No one was injured, and everything went well. Bostwick added that the job takes lots of ongoing training. “Just today, we were learning how to help people when they’re lost, and they call on 911, how to drop pins,” she said. “We went to a tactical dispatch class last year, and learned from each other.” “I learn something new every day,” she said. National Dispatch Week is from April 14 to 20. Tony Orlando comes knocking at Wildhorse Workshop training available A familiar voice from the ‘70s will take the stage at Wildhorse Resort & Casino. Tony Orlando’s 1973 hit, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree,” became his theme song. The familiar anthem of hope, homecoming, reunion and renewal was the No. 1 Bill- board song of the year. Other top hits by Orlando include “Knock Three Times,” “Candida,” “He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You)” and “My Sweet Gypsy Rose.” Orlando will perform live in concert Saturday, April 20 at 8 p.m. in the Rivers Event Center, located off Interstate 84, Exit 216, Mis- sion. A no-host bar will be available. The “Tony Orlando and Dawn” TV variety show ran from 1973-77 on CBS. It catapulted the duo from popular recording artists into major stars. They rank among the Top 100 Bill- board Magazine artists of all-time. Orlando is the recipient of three American Music Awards and two People’s Choice Awards for best male entertainer. In addition, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his achievements in the entertainment industry. Tickets for the 21-and- older show are $49-$69 and can be purchased via the Wildhorse Gift Shop or www.wildhorseresort.com. Veterans and active mili- tary personnel can receive a 20 percent discount for up to four tickets when buying at the gift shop. UPCOMING EVENTS to area teachers Area high school teach- ers have an opportunity to participate in an all-ex- pense paid workshop in Massachusetts. Participants during the 2 1/2 day training will learn how to use the Harvard Case Study Method devel- oped by Professor David Moss of the Harvard Busi- ness School. The League of Women Voters of Ore- Orlando gon are sponsoring the trip, which will take place in August. The local chap- ter will nominate one high school teacher — with a focus on U.S. history, gov- ernment or civics — from each district in Umatilla and Morrow counties to participate. For more information, contact Toni Lampkin at tonilampkin@gmail.com. Test-drives that turn into your go-to equipment: RDO does that. Tickets for all events on sale now in person at Wildhorse Gift Shop or wildhoresresort.com Join us for our Drive Green Event for test-drives, demos and incredible savings! 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