I was reading the copy of the Democrat Dave put up in the "Eatmon Stoops to New Lows" thread. I saw where Goodloe is pecking on E-911 again for dispatching mistakes of recent and past, as well as the center being "in the deepest hole in Marengo County".
As a Paramedic formerly employed and running the roads of Marengo County, I wanna say that E-911 was a God send for Marengo County. The entire county was mapped out and roads that previously had no name or people never knew existed were explored, mapped, and documented for all emergency responders in the county. Every house in the entire county tthat was inhabited and even some that weren't were given a unique address that a responder could locate if they knew how to read the mapbook. We were able to locate calls easier after the implementation of E-999 than we were before.
What pisses me off more than anything is the politics that have always been in play with E-911. The E-911 system in Marengo County will never be any better than the E-911 board appointed to oversee it or the Conty Commissioners who appoint the E-911 board members to the board. Politics have been in play @ Marengo County E-911 since Eleanor Park first stepped into the driver's seat and politics, in part, is what got her removed from her job. Since then Marengo County E-911 has done a backslide into oblivion.
Floyd Wilson, a 911 dispatcher from southeast AL was hired in to replace Park. He stayed for a year. In the year he was here, he managed to get a Computer Assisted Dispatch system in place, something that Eleanor Park was working on before her departure from the helm. That was suppose to be a plus for the system. It isn't a plus if employees have not been thoroughly trained to operate it and interpret the information it provides.
The system is further crippled by the fact that previous and interim directors have not taken the time to keep the E-911 database updated completely. The system has been further crippled in that the E-911 Board of Directors have failed in the past year to advertise and appoint a new director for the center, operating under the direction of an "interim director" appointed in December of last year. Wilson resigned in October of 2005. The center ran basically unsupervised until Lisa Mangum, a staff dispatcher was appointed interim director by the Board in December 2005.
There is no education, ongoing or otherwise, to help the employees there better themselves and to prevent dispatch mistakes headlined by Goodloe Sutton in his paper at least on a monthly basis.
Our E-911 system has failed to take advantage of post 9/11 FEMA grants to install communication equipment to enable every emergency service in Marengo County to communicate with each other on one single channel in the event of a catastrophy. Choctaw County has such a system in place for a few years now, paid for by FEMA money. The ambulances, fire departments, every law enforcement agency in the county, Georgia - Pacific paper mill, and other emergency response organizations in the county can communicate with each other on one big system now, regardless of what radios they use to communicate amongst themselves with. This is a feat our E-911 system cannot even begin to accomplish.
I have publicly defended the Marengo County E-911 system on numerous occasions, both on this site and in the newspapers. I can't defend it anymore. I cannot in good conscience defend the apathetic way in which this system is being run and administrated by the current E-911 Board and the County Commissioners who appoint the board members. It is time for all people of Marengo County to start calling their commissioners and asking for changes to be made in the way our E-911 system is being run, even if it means replacing the entire E-911 Board. Each and every one of us depend on E-911 to answer our calls for help and direct appropriate emergency resources to our aid in times of emergency. If the system doesn't function as it is suppose to, it endangers each and every person who lives or travels through Marengo County.
Think about it.
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So what can We do as citizens to help correct this even more and also how can We help to better facilitate this organization!! If there is anyway I can help let Me know as I feel this is critical to Our County!!!
Grandkids and kids all make Us feel younger than We actually are!!!
Stick, you are very correct in all that you have said here. I've known you for some time now and you also worked at the call center for a bit as well. You definately know what is going on there. My question is why not see about being director yourself. I know you and I know that you would do a heck of a better job because you not only know what you are talking about but you could also pass that education on to those that work there. It would take some time to bring it all together to get it to where it needs to be but I believe that you are the type of person that could and would get it done. Think about that.
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I have had expperience with both Choctaw and Marengo counties E-911 services. My mother-in-law lived with us for a while, and I had to call for an ambulance twice while she was with us. Both times, they were here quickly. I was at my Mother's house in Demopolis last Thanksgiving and had to call 911 for her. Mama lives very close to the hospital there. I was amazed when I called and the dispatcher told me that there was no ambulance available. She said that she would try to get one to me soon. I thought, he** I'll just put her in my car. The dispatcher called me back and said that she had located an ambulance and it would be there is 2 minutes.
I sat there with my mama for nearly 15 minutes before the ambulance finally got to her house. I was shocked at the attitude that the dispatcher had with me. I mean, crap, my mama has breathing problems and I am told there is no ambulance - but I am suppose to sit and wait for one any way!!!!!!!!
By no means am I a Rocket Scientist, but I know when something is not right. Marengo County needs help, in the fastest way, for their E-911 system. I hope that the problems can all be worked out before there is a law suit involved.
I'm a new soul!
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Politics is in just about everything from what streets get paved in Demopolis, the EMS office, who gets private roads worked on, to the E911 system. Sutton keeps jawing on about E911 "being in a hole" and Keystone Cops like responses. I monitor the scanner from time to time and some of the dispatching are not clear. I am under the assumption that when a person calls 911 from a land line phone the physical address and location of that phone on the computer screen. The 911 operator/dispatcher is supposed to be able to be able to dertermine what responders are closest to the situation for the quickest response. This does not always happen. As for being in "a hole" the location of the center could be in Thomaston, Myrtlewood, Demopolis or even in Dixons Mills. It is the antenna system that puts the signal out. The radio stations in Demopolis have their main antennas located south of Linden but I have picked up their signals west of Meridian on I20 and north of Tuscaloosa on I 59/20. I personally know both Eleanor Park and Sylvan Mutschler. They both tried to operate their agencies the way they were supposed to and in both cases they did not have the support of the county commission. We need knowledgeable people in these jobs. Both of these jobs should not be staffed just to fullfill a requirement. The success or failure of these jobs can mean the difference of life and death. Maybe your life or one of your family members. Start voicing your opinion to the Marengo County Commission. Their next meeting is this Tuesday morning (Oct 10). Call the commission office in the annex and have them put you on the agenda. Ask for Dawn.
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I have had expperience with both Choctaw and Marengo counties E-911 services. My mother-in-law lived with us for a while, and I had to call for an ambulance twice while she was with us. Both times, they were here quickly. I was at my Mother's house in Demopolis last Thanksgiving and had to call 911 for her. Mama lives very close to the hospital there. I was amazed when I called and the dispatcher told me that there was no ambulance available. She said that she would try to get one to me soon. I thought, he** I'll just put her in my car. The dispatcher called me back and said that she had located an ambulance and it would be there is 2 minutes.
I sat there with my mama for nearly 15 minutes before the ambulance finally got to her house. I was shocked at the attitude that the dispatcher had with me. I mean, crap, my mama has breathing problems and I am told there is no ambulance - but I am suppose to sit and wait for one any way!!!!!!!!
By no means am I a Rocket Scientist, but I know when something is not right. Marengo County needs help, in the fastest way, for their E-911 system. I hope that the problems can all be worked out before there is a law suit involved.
That is something that anyone who has ever worked on an ambulance fears. There are two ambulances that have crews on them in Marengo County. One at the hospital and one in Linden. If a local doctor wants a patient transported to Birmingham for instance and the other ambulance is on a call in lets say Dixon Mills, where does that leave Demopolis or the other areas of the county? That is a problem not for E-911 but for the ambulance service.
When life gives you scurvy, make lemonade
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I am so glad that someone started a post on this topic. At the time that the Marengo E911 was set up I was the President of the South Marengo County Fire and Rescue Squad in Sweet Water and the President of the Marengo County Volunteer Fire Association. We thought the 911 was Godsend. We as fire departments and rescue squads looked forward to helping get this system up and running.
Well,, to our suprise,, we were told they did not need our help. The county commission had selected "very knowledgeable people" to be on the committee to get the E911 started. Our response was WHAT???? We, the emergency responders, would be the ones using the system and we were never ask our opinion or what we wanted the system to be able to do for us.
I agree with almost every word Stickman had to say and I will vouch that he has spent MANY years serving Marengo County. The first members of the 911board were just about as clueless in Emergency operations in Marengo County as someone who lives in Seattle. The only person that might have had a small clue was Chief Fuqua (sp) of Demopolis. NEVER ONCE did the Board setting up the system ask the fire departments or rescue squads to help. When was tried we were shut out. I loved Mrs. Parks to death but she just had no clue when she started. Margaret Wooley, a former dispatcher with the Dempolis Police Dept, was made the dispatch supervisor and I think Margaret did a great job getting the dispatchers started.
Most people do no know how dispatching took place prior to E911. People in Demopolis had 911 that rang to the police station but it was not Enhanced. Everyone else in the county either called the fire and rescue members at home or called the county jail and the jailors, or dispatchers there called on the radio, paged or called the members at home to get the departments activated.
Today,,, anyone in Marengo County can call 911 and if you call from a land line your phone number, address, and a list of responding departments to your address show up on a screen for the dispatcher to see. They can pull the address on a county map for cross referencing. The fire and rescue departments are paged by radio within seconds to a couple minutes with the EXACT address and can even receive a house description (assuming the database is correct). All sounds wonderful,,,?
The issue is the E911 center owns NO radios. For a department to communicate with 911 THEY must provide the resources to allow 911 to talk to you. The State of Alabama has a network of three repeaters in Marengo County for volunteer fire depts to use. Repeaters are located in Jefferson, Aimwell, and Shiloh. Assuming the repeaters are working and the radios at the 911 center can hit the repeaters all works well. Some departments have came up with their on systems to allow 911 to talk to them directly but at their own cost.
One thing that is incorrect in Stickman's post is there have been TWO grants used by E911. A homeland security grant was awarded to Marengo EMA which allowed an updated security system at the 911 center to provide dispatcher security and infomation security. A second grant from EMA did purchase the Intercommunability Dispatch board which allows the dispatchers to tie in different networks and radios to aid in dispatching. Have they received the formal training on this system yet? I don't think they have. Lastly the EMA Director has received funding for a Countywide EMA radio channel to help with communication in the southern portion of the county. This repeater is located in Coxheath. But again EMA had to pay for the radios, installation, and repeaters to make this all work.
I did not address the ambulance or law enforcement issues as post is already to long and I'll leave that information to someone else to discuss.
I would love to see the 911 center moved to Linden but who is going to pay for it? The 911 budget does NOT have the money. This is another reason i Hate politics.
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I am so glad that someone started a post on this topic. At the time that the Marengo E911 was set up I was the President of the South Marengo County Fire and Rescue Squad in Sweet Water and the President of the Marengo County Volunteer Fire Association. We thought the 911 was Godsend. We as fire departments and rescue squads looked forward to helping get this system up and running.
Well,, to our suprise,, we were told they did not need our help. The county commission had selected "very knowledgeable people" to be on the committee to get the E911 started. Our response was WHAT???? We, the emergency responders, would be the ones using the system and we were never ask our opinion or what we wanted the system to be able to do for us.
I agree with almost every word Stickman had to say and I will vouch that he has spent MANY years serving Marengo County. The first members of the 911board were just about as clueless in Emergency operations in Marengo County as someone who lives in Seattle. The only person that might have had a small clue was Chief Fuqua (sp) of Demopolis. NEVER ONCE did the Board setting up the system ask the fire departments or rescue squads to help. When was tried we were shut out. I loved Mrs. Parks to death but she just had no clue when she started. Margaret Wooley, a former dispatcher with the Dempolis Police Dept, was made the dispatch supervisor and I think Margaret did a great job getting the dispatchers started.
Most people do no know how dispatching took place prior to E911. People in Demopolis had 911 that rang to the police station but it was not Enhanced. Everyone else in the county either called the fire and rescue members at home or called the county jail and the jailors, or dispatchers there called on the radio, paged or called the members at home to get the departments activated.
Today,,, anyone in Marengo County can call 911 and if you call from a land line your phone number, address, and a list of responding departments to your address show up on a screen for the dispatcher to see. They can pull the address on a county map for cross referencing. The fire and rescue departments are paged by radio within seconds to a couple minutes with the EXACT address and can even receive a house description (assuming the database is correct). All sounds wonderful,,,?
The issue is the E911 center owns NO radios. For a department to communicate with 911 THEY must provide the resources to allow 911 to talk to you. The State of Alabama has a network of three repeaters in Marengo County for volunteer fire depts to use. Repeaters are located in Jefferson, Aimwell, and Shiloh. Assuming the repeaters are working and the radios at the 911 center can hit the repeaters all works well. Some departments have came up with their on systems to allow 911 to talk to them directly but at their own cost.
One thing that is incorrect in Stickman's post is there have been TWO grants used by E911. A homeland security grant was awarded to Marengo EMA which allowed an updated security system at the 911 center to provide dispatcher security and infomation security. A second grant from EMA did purchase the Intercommunability Dispatch board which allows the dispatchers to tie in different networks and radios to aid in dispatching. Have they received the formal training on this system yet? I don't think they have. Lastly the EMA Director has received funding for a Countywide EMA radio channel to help with communication in the southern portion of the county. This repeater is located in Coxheath. But again EMA had to pay for the radios, installation, and repeaters to make this all work.
I did not address the ambulance or law enforcement issues as post is already to long and I'll leave that information to someone else to discuss.
I would love to see the 911 center moved to Linden but who is going to pay for it? The 911 budget does NOT have the money. This is another reason i Hate politics.
ALL emergency service agencies in Marengo County were consulted in the beginning!
There was a meeting between the E-911 people and all the emergency service organizations in Marengo County. It was conducted at the courthouse. Discussions were about what we as emergency services wanted, whether it be simply a call processing center or a dispatch center. The call processing concept meant that someone would be stationed in a call receiving center, answer E-911 calls, and rout them to the appropriate agency. This concept meant that Demopolis Police Department would have kept its own dispatchers and Marengo County Sheriff's Department / County Jail would have kept their own dispatchers. This would have allowed everything to work as before, except now we have added one more step in the call link. One more link in the chain that could fail. One more link in the chain that would otherwise delay a prompt dispatch of appropriate resources. Another downfall of a call taking center is that the volunteer agencies in the county do not maintain their own dispatchers. They relied on the County Jail to do their dispatching at that time. All present at the meeting decided and proposed to the E-911 Board they wanted a centralized dispatch system. This group consisted of representatives from all emergency organizations in the county including South Marengo. Well, a centralized dispatch system is what we got. We knew from the meeting the center was going to be placed in Demopolis. I still believe a centralized dispatch system was the best thing for the entire county, but no one said there wouldn't be bugs in the system.
What the E-911 Board did not want and still fights with the volunteer groups in the county is the attempts at micromanagement. There are a couple of groups in the county who want something different in the E-911 center. While E-911 is VERY aware of the co
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