Public Safety Telecommunicators Week celebrated in North Platte

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) - National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week is annually observed the second week of April, honoring Public Safety Telecommunicators for their commitment, service, and sacrifice.

National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week began in California in 1981. In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed a declaration for the week to be commemorated as a time to celebrate and thank telecommunications personnel across the nation.

This week, Mayor Brandon Kelliher proclaimed the week as telecommunicators week in the City of North Platte. “In honor of the men and women whose diligence and professionalism keep our city and citizens safe and urge all citizens to participate in making this week a successful celebration,” Mayor Kelliher said.

The individuals are honored to serve communities, citizens, and public safety personnel 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Often encountering individuals at their worst in tragic, frightening, and horrific situations. “We deal with people who are waking up to a loved one that is having a medical condition or has passed away, and we’re the first line. We have to have compassion and a lot of times we don’t get any follow-up. We’re haunted by some of these calls, we care about everybody that calls in and we even know some of those that call in,” Kellie Lane, a 14-year veteran of the North Platte 911 Center, said.

Telecommunicators at the City of North Platte not only dispatch Law Enforcement, EMS, and, Fire Crews but also service rural agencies in the region including the Village of Gothenburg.

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