May 2014 911 Newsletter - El Paso

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May 2014
Telecommunicator of the Quarter..................Page 1
Plains to Peaks Dispatcher of the Year..........Page 2
Navigator 2014................................................. Page 3
911 Call Statistics.............................................. Page 4
Joseph Holliway Awarded Telecommunicator of
the Quarter
Joey Holliway of the Ft. Carson Emergency Communications Center was
awarded Telecommunicator of the 1st Quarter at the 911 Authority Board
meeting in April. His nomination reads as follows:
On January 29, 2014, the Fort Carson Emergency Communications Center
was experiencing a higher than normal call volume. At 1430 hours, the
primary crash phone was activated by the tower on the airfield. The plane
was inverted on the ground with two persons trapped. The actions and
response by Mr. Holliway was, to say the least, extraordinary. While obtaining
all pertinent information from the tower, he accurately and simultaneously
built the CAD call for service and alerted the crash station at the airfield. This
all occurred within 68 seconds. A unified command was quickly established
with successful rescue and security responsibilities completed and command
terminated in a little over an hour. It should also be noted that during this
time Mr. Holliway assisted with other emergencies occurring on the
installation, including a missing child, a child locked in a vehicle and a water
main break at the airfield, just to name a few. Mr. Holliway’s attention to
detail, multi-tasking skills, professionalism and dedication to the citizens and
soldiers he serves bring great credit upon himself, the Directorate of
Emergency Services and the United States Army. Congratulations Joseph!
Joseph Holliway (left) pictured
with 911 Authority Board
Chairman Michael Dalton (right).
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Plains to Peaks Dispatcher of the Year
Dave Langfels of the Fountain Communications Center was
awarded the Plains to Peak Dispatcher of the Year Award at a
ceremony that was held in Limon May 3rd. His nomination reads
as follows:
I am proud to submit Dave Langfels for the Plains to Peaks
Dispatcher of the Year Award. Dave has been with this agency for 2
years. He also spent 6 years as a volunteer with the Fountain Fire
Department.
During his two years with this department, Dave has progressed
through his training phase and has become a valuable member of
the Department. Dave is among the highest in emergency medical
dispatch scores for the center and the region. Dave has a 99.46%
overall total. His scores show a dedication to the patients that he
serves as a first contact in the medical profession.
Dave has also taken on the task of communications training officer.
This is no small achievement with only two years on the job. Dave’s
knowledge of communications and the procedures are evident with
the new employees he is instructing. Dave has a tremendous ability
to use his calm demeanor and teaching abilities to give every new
employee the tools needed to be successful in their new career as a
dispatcher.
Dave has also taken on instructing for the basic dispatch academy
that was started by this agency. Dave was instrumental in teaching
and creating the material needed for the class. Congratulations
Dave!
Luchia Tingley; Fountain Communications Manager (left), Dave Langfels;
Fountain Communications (center), Curt Lenning; Fountain Communications
Supervisor (right).
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How to move a program if it is displaying outside of the current monitors.
If a program is not displaying but will
launch, it may be because it is rendering
on a non-existent monitor. One example
would be Contact Map only displaying
the search box, but the map not being
visible. Another is CAD (especially the
queues or power line) appearing in the
task bar at the bottom of the screen but
when clicked they don’t appear on a
monitor. Generally, two things cause this,
a change to the monitor setup like an
addition/subtraction of a monitor, or the
user moving between positions with
different monitor dimensions. Fear not,
because there is a solution available. First
select/click the offending program in the
task bar to make it the active window.
Next hold the Windows key down (little
flag near the CTRL key) and press an
arrow key. Then release both keys. The
direction of the arrow determines the
position and monitor the window will be
displayed on. Not only will this trick move
the window onto an existing monitor it
can also be used to quickly move a
programs active window around your
desktop. One last item about Window
sizing. Some programs can be ‘snapped’
into place. Simply click and hold an open
window along its’ top border, just like you
would normally move a program around,
and then drag it until you come to the
edge of the monitor. You should see the
window resize itself to the new
dimensions. Release the mouse and the
window will assume the previewed
shape. Keep in mind that this doesn’t
work for every program and monitor
setup but can be a useful way to quickly
move windows around on your desktop.
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What Was Your Favorite Session at Navigator 2014? - Orlando, FL
Other than the opening session (which was fantastic), I
probably most enjoyed “Keeping afloat in a sea of
negativity. “ It was a chance to be honest about emotions
plaguing this industry and it provided good information
on dealing with the overly negative employees. Renee Henshaw, CSPD
My favorite was ‘QA Stress, The Sponge Effect’. The main
focus was on NENA’s Chronic Stress Standard. It has given
me some focus on how to divert some of the job related
stress away from me and allow me to concentrate on
doing my job with the best of my ability.
Connie Chavez, E911 Authority
Favorite session was actually a pre-conference session, Mr.
Disney's Dispatch Center, which shared lots of great ideas in
leadership, motivation, and customer service. The session
was awesome, with great instructors and participation from
agencies from all over the US and world, leaving me
rejuvenated and with a newfound passion for what we do
as dispatchers and trainers every day! Kim Boyd, CSPD
It has been a few years since I attended a Navigator’s
Conference. It was good for me to take that break and then
attend this year with a presentation and with an open mind
to the other sessions offered.
I, nor other attendees, were disappointed! This year’s
conference offered a wide variety of learning tracks and
was a great networking opportunity.
Ben Bills and I presented an unconventional session. It was
in the form of a game show and was very well received by
all in attendance (Including Dr. Clawson). Not only was it
educational, but fun for all involved. I must say though,
that without the computer expertise of Julius Torralba, it
would not have been possible. The graphics, sounds and
look of the presentation was professional and ran
smoothly.
It was a pleasure to represent the Authority in such a
positive light and I look forward to future endeavors such
as this.
Jeff Craig, Ft. Carson Communications
My favorite class was one of the pre-conference courses titled
"Disney's Dispatch Center." This class showed me how we can
incorporate Disney's customer service into our
communications center. One of the things I learned in this
class is the importance of reading PDIs, PAIs, and Case Exit
instructions slowly. We've read them all so many times that
we tend to rattle them off and it may be the first time this
person has ever called 911. We need to give our reporting
parties a good experience with 911 so they feel comfortable
calling us again if/when they have another emergency.
Jenna Armstrong, CSPD
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Contact Us:
El Paso-Teller County 911 Authority
2350 Airport Rd.
Colorado Springs, CO 80910
Ph: 719-785-1900
Fax: 719-579-6427
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Upcoming Events
Tues. May 27th - Weds. May 28th, 7am - 4pm EFD Cert Course
Weds. May 28th @ 10 am - DRC Meeting
Weds. May 28th @ 11am - PSAP Manager Meeting
Weds May 28th @ 1pm - 911 Authority Board Meeting
Thurs. May 29th - Fri. May 30th, 7am - 4pm EPD Cert Course
Weds. June 4th, 7am - 4pm EMD Refresher
Mon. June 9th - Friday June 13th, 8am - 5pm PSTBC
Tues. June 17th, 7am - 4pm EMD Refresher
Weds. June 25th, 8am - 5pm ProQA Scenarios
Weds. June 25th @ 1pm 911 Authority Board Meeting
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