Astoria Police Department Employees and Contractors Honored

On October 24, 2013 the annual awards ceremony for the Oregon Association of Public-Safety Communications Officers and National Emergency Number Association (APCO/NENA) was held. Several awards were presented to members of the Astoria Police Department and its contractors. Receiving awards were Jodie Frost, Summer Bartlett, Jeff Rusiecki, who are city of Astoria employees; Al Jaques (Project Manager – CM Services Co), Marcus Handy (Network Services Manager/MCSA – iFocus Consulting); CenturyLink; Day Wireless; and Watson Furniture. “These awards are a reflection of the daily work, exceptional professionalism, and character exhibited daily by the men and women of the department,” said Deputy Chief Brad Johnston. “We are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with so many great employees and contractors.”

APCO/NENA has two level of awards, Local and Statewide. Local Awards allow an agency the opportunity to provide recognition at a local level with the endorsement of APCO/NENA and are awarded for extremely noteworthy contributions. State Awards offer an agency the opportunity to recognize excellence in contributions, performance and achievements by industry personnel and partners – locally, regionally and statewide.

The APCO/NENA Technology Award was awarded recognizing the work of Emergency Communications Center Manager (ECM) Jeff Rusiecki, Al Jaques – Project Manager; Marcus Handy – IT Support; Scott Miller and Tim Kazee – employees of Century Link; Matt Enser and Tony Wherry – Day Wireless, Longview; Thad Parker – Watson Dispatch Furniture, and the Astoria 911 Dispatch Staff. This award was given for the project of moving a working dispatch center from their permanent home to a construction trailer that was located in the fire bay of the public safety building. On July 12th 2012 a 10×42 office trailer was positioned inside one of three working fire bays. The trailer was connected to a uninterruptible power supply, had over 100 Cat 6 data cables and radio umbilical were run overhead between the server/radio room and the trailer. On August 8, 2012 a team gathered at 11:30 PM and began the move. Starting at midnight a dispatch position was broken down then reestablished in the trailer. This requires several systems that interrelate but are the responsibility of different vendors to be coordinated between the various disciplines of the team. Once the first console was reassembled, tested, and ready a dispatcher was stationed in the trailer and the remaining consoles were moved from the dispatch center to the trailer.

For five months the center successfully operated while housed in the trailer. On the morning of January 4th the team completed the second move into the refurbished dispatch center. This dispatch center was not equipped with all new equipment but required the equipment relocated to the trailer to be relocated into the dispatch center.This entire operation was conducted while maintaining continuity of operations. No calls were missed, no radio traffic ignored. The ability of the multiple disciplines to work hand in hand to accomplish this smooth transition is a testament to the professionalism of all involved.

A Local Critical Incident Award was awarded to Communications Officer Jodie Frost. Ms Frost was recognized for her compassion and professionalism in the way she handled calls both of which involved gunshot injuries. The first was a fatal suicide and the second a self defense incident. During both calls Ms. Frost kept the callers calm, dispatched a myriad of first responders and kept information flowing between all responders aiding in their safety until the scenes were secured. Sadly, these tragedies occur. What they all have in common is that there a 911 dispatcher is usually the first point of contact and is relied upon by all to coordinate the responders while doing their best to ensure that everyone remains safe and the scene is stable.

Finally, Telecommunicator of the Year was awarded to Communications Officer Summer Bartlett. This top individual award recognized Ms. Bartlett for her outstanding work during two separate shooting incidents that occurred on different days when Ms. Bartlett was working alone. They were a testament to her multi tasking skills and her ability to remain calm. Both calls began with a lot of confusion as to what exactly had occurred. Ms. Bartlett expertly began to get information from the callers trying to develop a fuller picture of what had occurred, what resources were necessary, and what needed to occur to safeguard first responders. “Summer is an extraordinary dispatcher who truly cares about the citizens she serves in Clatsop County,” said ECM Jeff Rusiecki.” Her dedication, professionalism and expertise are highly commendable and in keeping with the highest standards of public safety dispatchers.”