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February 16, 2009

Agencies cooperate during storm

By BOB GIBBINS

The Jan. 26 ice storm may quickly become a fleeting memory for most Cherokee County residents, now that their electricity has been restored and life has returned to normal.

But there’s one thing about the storm that the county’s 911 dispatchers won’t soon forget : the spirit of departments helping people in need, and working long, hours without complaint.

911 Coordinator Darryl Maggard said dispatchers stayed busy for the first three days while conditions were at their worst.

“We answered 930 emergency [911] calls and took 2,800 regular calls during those three days,” he said.

He and 911 dispatcher supervisor Terry Sherman lauded the group’s efforts. The dispatchers said the credit extends beyond the confines of their room.

“Several of the volunteer fire departments went above and beyond,” said Theresa Alberty, who dispatches for the sheriff’s office. “The Illinois River Fire Department spent hours clearing [State] Highway 10 so ambulances could get through to make emergency runs.”

Alberty and Danai Cole, who dispatches for Cherokee Nation EMS, said sheriff’s deputies and Cherokee Nation marshals saw to it that people who needed to get to shelters had transportation to do so.

“Cherokee Nation had a chainsaw crew that was out cutting trees,” Cole said.

Alberty said the emergency services effort wasn’t just a one-time occurrence.

“They’d get done clearing an area and call us and want to know where they need to go next,” she said. “Cookson and Welling fire departments spent a lot of time out helping.” Alberty said she recalls the Department of Transportation crews and Cherokee County District 3 working well with 911 dispatchers. “They weren’t sitting back waiting on us,” she said. “It was, ‘Where do you need us to go next?’”

Cole said the American Red Cross was quick to open shelters in Tahlequah and Cookson and help people who lost power.Maggard and Sherman said the dispatchers commented to them several times about how smoothly everything was handled.

“I think we all learned something from the 2007 ice storm,” Maggard said. “We were better prepared for this one, and it showed.”

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