911 Center always ready to respond

COMMUNITY 911 Center always ready to respond

By TAYLOR BECK

tbeck@covnews.com

When there’s an emergency, we’re taught to immediately call 911.

Today, if residents of Newton County are in a dire situation, they can dial the three-digit number and, without fail, a local dispatcher will answer the call and do his or her best to meet the need.

But 911 hasn’t always been around.

In Newton County, the first 911 call was made Aug. 28, 1989, but before that day, residents had to call their respective police or fire departments any time they needed immediate assistance.

Since the center was established more than three decades ago, Covington-Newton County 911 has served as the sole answering point for the county, dispatching calls for agencies such as the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, Covington Police Department, Covington Marshal’s Office, Newton County Animal Control, Oxford Police, Porterdale Police, Covington Fire, Newton County Fire and Piedmont/Newton EMS. The center also works closely with the Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Bureau of Investigations and the Newton County District Attorney’s Office.

Covington-Newton County 911 Director Trudy Henry said the role of the 911 center and its dispatchers is more important than most people realize. She described being a dispatcher as a thankless position that often goes overlooked.

“We’re the one you’re going to call on your worst day,” Henry said.

Though the job description might sound easy, working as a dispatcher can be quite difficult.

“It can take a mental toll on you, for sure,” said Henry, who has worked within the 911 center for 26 years. She was appointed director in 2019.

“When you take those calls, most of the time you don’t ever get to know the end result,” she added. “You don’t get the closure, and that can be tough sometimes, depending on the situation.”

In 2020, the center reportedly received a total

Moving Forward!

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District 3 Cleanup • Saturday, June 12 at the NCSO Westside Precinct

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For Event Details and More Information: www.keepnewtonbeautiful.org newtonclean@co.newton.ga.us 770-784-2015

A Covington-Newton County 911 dispatcher answers a call. (Taylor Beck | The News)

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of 92,063 CAD (computer-aided dispatch) calls. Of those calls, the center generated 104,529 calls to local agencies. More than three-quarters of those calls were law-related, meanwhile only approximately 13% were EMS-related and roughly 9% were fire-related. More than 50,000 of the calls were put out to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office alone.

Despite a series of ups and downs that has accompanied the COVID-19 global health crisis, Henry said she’s proud of her team’s efforts.

“They do a phenomenal job in there,” she recently told The Covington News. “We have a great team. I can’t say enough good things about them, especially during this pandemic.”

Henry said the center has been “fairly lucky,” as only one dispatcher has contracted the novel coronavirus since the pandemic began. The person had minimal symptoms, she said, and returned to work without issue.

Due to the threat of the virus, the Covington-Newton County 911 staff was forced to split up and work from different locations at times. Administrators who once shared office space were forced to move to various spots across the county. In some instances, Henry said she transformed her vehicle into a makeshift office.

In order to curb the spread of disease, dividers were installed between dispatchers’ call desks and cleaning protocols were put in place. All staff members were urged not to go anywhere deemed unnecessary to avoid contracting the virus and/or spreading it among the staff.

Henry said the 911 center has been understaffed at times, so it was important to ensure everyone stayed healthy. There are minimum of five dispatchers per shift, Henry said, so missing just one or two people would be significant.

Amid the pandemic, Henry said the 911 center was playing an integral role in the installation of a new radio system for the county that she anticipates being ready to launch in March-April of 2022. To get the system operational, 10 towers had to be placed in various locations around the county.

Henry said the 911 center was also working toward unveiling a 911 text message system.

Infrastructure tops Oxford’s priorities

Welcome

The residents of Oxford, the Mayor and the City Council members would like to welcome you to Oxford. David S. Eady, Mayor

Council Members: Lynn Bohanan, George Holt, Laura McCanless, Avis Williams, Jim Windham and Jeff Wearing 770-786-7004 • www.oxfordgeorgia.org 110 West Clark Street

By TOM SPIGOLON

tspigolon@covnews.com

Oxford has several priorities that officials with the 180-year-old city hope will enhance its quality of life well into the future.

They include working to protect one of its natural borders, improving its sidewalk and water system infrastructure, and updating its farmers market — all to help maintain Oxford’s residential “atmosphere,” the city manager said.

The Methodist Episcopal Church chartered the city of Oxford in 1839 to be the original location of Emory University.

Emory later moved its main campus to DeKalb County just outside Atlanta but kept its original campus as a two-year liberal arts college for freshmen and sophomore students.

The city of Oxford is now centered on Emory Oxford College, which is where 25% of Emory’s undergraduates attend before completing their degrees at the Atlanta campus, according to information from the city.

Pepper said residents on a committee established to address sustainability issues are working on a state-aided program to halt the gradual degradation of Dried Indian Creek north of I-20 along Oxford’s eastern edge.

The Oxford City Council is working to protect the creek from further development near its shore

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through land purchases and donations and conservation easements, he said.

They also are working with the University of Georgia to assess the creek’s watershed area to understand what’s entering the waterway that eventually flows into the Yellow River, he said.

Oxford and Covington officials are in the “very early stages” of joint efforts toward protecting the creek south of I-20, he added.

Oxford’s sidewalk initiative involves replacement of its existing sidewalks and construction of new sidewalks along the east side of Oxford’s main thoroughfare, Emory Street.

It is working to build new sidewalks from Soule to Richardson streets, and along Emory Street’s west side from Soule Street to Watson Street at Asbury Street Park.

It also is working to add pedestrian lighting and a mid-block street crossing on Emory Street to enhance safety for walkers, Pepper said.

The 2021 budget includes $100,000 to make repairs to the existing sidewalk that runs along the west side of Emory Street from city-owned greenspace to Soule Street.

Pepper said Oxford also has applied for a federal Community Development Block Grant of about $150,000 to replace a part of a water main line off Oxford Road near the city’s west side.

The line serves about 75 homes in the areas of Keel Street, Beakhead Court and Perry Circle outside the city limits but in Oxford’s water service area, he said. The city’s 2021 Capital Budget includes $1.36 million to replace the water main section, which is more than 40 years old, city records show.

Oxford also wants to “build up” its farmer’s market, which the city now hosts informally by allowing vendors to sell locally grown produce on its greenspace area on many weekdays and Saturdays, Pepper said.

It now is allowing items like crafts and artwork and prepared food like jellies and jams to be sold, in addition to local produce, on Thursdays and Fridays from noon to sundown, and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m..

The city has created a “beefed-up” application process for vendors and has designated parking for the market off West Clark Street, Pepper said.

The Oxford Farmers Market’s Spring Festival is set for April 29 through May 1.