KCJIS Security Policy approved

The Kansas Criminal Justice Information System Committee has approved the 2014 KCJIS Security Policies.  A copy can be found on the Kansas APCO website at http://www.ksapco.org/KCJIS.html.

Website updates

Please bear with us as we update our website.  We are currently updating our website, and until the transition is complete, you may find errors or broken links.  Please be patient and it will be up and running soon.

Telematics provider changes names

From Scott Ekberg, Kansas 911 Coordinating Council Liaison - A telematics service provider for Acura, BMW, Honda, Infiniti, and other vehicle manufacturers have changed them name, which will eventually affect PSAP ALI displays.

Please read the attached letter from SiriusXM to Chairman Walt Way and distribute to your dispatch personnel.

Retirement Reception for Stan Blanchard

A retirement reception will be held on December 11th for Stanley W. Blanchard, Senior Communications Systems Engineer with the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office.  Stan has served 34 years with the office, and has been instrumental in keeping everyone informed of critical FCC updates and actions.

The reception will be held from 2 - 4p.m. at the lobby of the Sheriff's Office, 320 S. Kansas Ave, Suite 200 in Topeka.

Legislative audit begins

From Scott Ekberg, 911 Liaison, Kansas 911 Coordinating Council - K.S.A. 12-5377 requires a performance audit of the Kansas 911 systems at least once every three years.  The audit is being conducted by Stone Carlie & Company, a certified public accounting firm under contract with the Legislative Division of Post Audit, in cooperation with the Kansas 911 Coordinating Council.

Stone Carlie is now ready to begin work on the audit.  During the week of October 14, all PSAPs will receive a survey from the auditors.  Survey will be due back to the auditors by October 31. 

If you have questions or need additional information about the audit, please feel free to contact either Walt Way with the Kansas 911 Coordinating Council (913-826-1010) or Scott Frank with Legislative Post Audit (785-296-3792).  Walt and Scott can also be reached by e-mail at wway@jocogov.org or scott.frank@lpa.ks.gov.  Your cooperation is sincerely appreciated.

Tentative schedule posted

A tentative schedule for the Fall Conference has been posted at http://www.ksapco.org/Fall_Conference.html.  The schedule is still being finalized, so check back soon for the latest updates.

Executive Summary posted

The Executive Summary of the September 6 911 Coordinating Council meeting has been posted on the front page at www.ksapco.org.

Service provider bankruptcys

From Scott Ekberg, 911 Coordinating Council Liaison:  Recently a PSAP was notified of a bankruptcy filing by a service provider.  This brought up the question of how bankruptcy filings and claims for unpaid 911 fee funds would be handled.  The LCPA has stated that on any such filings, where the unpaid fees were a significant amount, the LCPA would file the proof of claim in an attempt to recover these unpaid 911 fees.  The LCPA would disburse any recovered monies to the affected PSAPs.  This will alleviate the individual PSAPs from having to file proof of claims.  If you have any comments or concerns, please contact Scott Ekberg, 911 Liaison at 785-861-3098 or by email at scott.ekberg@us.army.mil.

This information will also be posted on the 911 Coordinating Council’s website:  http://www.kansas911.org

Scott A. Ekberg                      

9-1-1 Liaison                

        

Office of Emergency Communications

National Guard Armory

9751 B-29 Way

Great Bend, KS  67530

(785) 861-3098 (Office)

(785) 438-8440 (Cell)

(620) 793-6891 (Fax)

GIS Training to be held

From 911 Coordinating Council Liaison Scott Ekberg:  Through a partnership between Manhattan Area Technical College Continuing Education Program, the State of Kansas and AOS we are happy to announce two GIS courses to be provided on November 12th & 13th (“Making Maps with GIS”) and the 14th & 15th (“Working with Data in GIS”)  Both classes are designed for beginners but hold a lot of great information for those who are new to ArcGIS Desktop (10.0 or 10.1).  This course has been designed by a local GIS professional right here in the state of Kansas for GIS professionals in Kansas.  You will find the flyer attached to this email that provides descriptions and details on where to register for the courses.  Please let me know if you have any questions and pass along to others who you find might be interested!  Thanks!

Jessica P Frye |GIS Design Architect

Alexander Open Systems  (AOS)

 12980 Foster Street, Suite 300 | Overland Park, KS 66213

 jessica.frye@aos5.com"

 Office:  913-307-2300 | Cellular:  785-231-4355

Conference Pages up and running

The Conference and Vendor pages for the Fall Conference are back up and running!  If you are paying conference or vendor fees on-line, and do not have a Paypal account (or do not want to use Paypal), click the link "Do Not Have Paypal Account" on the checkout page.  This link will take you to the option of using standard credit cards (Mastercard, VISA, etc).  Let us know if you have any problems.

911 Coordinating Council Meetings

The following 911 Coordinating Council Committee and Subcommittee Meetings are coming up.  Refer to the Calendar of Events at ksapco.org for updates.

Sept. 6^th – Coordinating Council (1100) & Sub-Committee(1000)  meetings at the SC Regional 911 Backup Center – 10:00 – 13:00

Sept. 13^th – Technical Sub-Committee at the Landon State Office Building, Room 851B, Topeka – 10:30 – 13:00

October 21^st – Coordinating Council(1300) & Sub-Committee(1100) meetings in conjunction with Fall APCO Conference in Topeka.

Conference page down

We apologize for the inconvenience, but the 2013 Kansas Fall Conference page is temporarily down.  We are experiencing problems which we hope to have resolved shortly.

Website is experiencing problems

The website ksapco.org is experiencing problems.  The Vendor Information page for the 2013 Fall Conference cannot totally be accessed.  Technical Support has been contacted and the problem is being worked on as we speak.  We apologize for the inconvenience and will let you know when the problem has been resolved.

Make your hotel reservations now

Hotel reservations for the Fall Conference can be made by calling the Ramada Topeka Downtown Hotel and Convention Center at 785-234-5400.  Mention you would like a room with the APCO Block for special discount pricing.

Attention APCO Vendors

The Vendor Information page for the Fall 2013 Conference has been published.  The welcome letter, vendor contract, and directions for paying by both mail and/or online are available at http://www.ksapco.org/Vendor_Info_-_Fall_2013.html.  Welcome to the Fall Conference!

MCS Newsletter

The August Member and Chapter Services Newsletter has been posted at http://www.ksapco.org/MCS_Newsletter.html.

KCJIS Minutes

Minutes of the July KCJIS Committee meeting can be found at http://www.ksapco.org/KCJIS.html.

911 Coordinating Council meetings

From Scott Ekberg, 911 Coordinating Council Liaison - The 911 Coordinating Council will be having a Pre-bid Conference for the Consulting Services RFP, tomorrow at 10:00.  The meeting is not an open meeting, however the announcement is being published to communicate that the meeting is occurring.

A second meeting to formulate responses to bidder questions for the RFP will be held from 1430 to 1630 on August 19 at the Landon State Office Building, 900 SW Jackson, Rm 751A in Topeka.  This meeting is open to guests.

Adjutant General’s Department names Interoperability Coordinator

By Sharon Watson, Director, Public Affairs, Kansas Adjutant General's Department -The Kansas Adjutant General’s Department announces the selection of Jason Bryant, Wichita, as the Statewide Interoperability Coordinator. The position in the department’s Directorate of Information Technology, Office of Emergency Communications, coordinates communications interoperability issues and resources as they pertain to public safety within the state. 

Bryant will be responsible for maintenance of the Statewide Communications Interoperability Plan, working with all agencies and jurisdictions within the state on interoperability issues, prioritizing and providing training on interoperable communications; making technology, process and policy recommendations; representing Kansas to outside entities on matters of communications interoperability and administration of applicable grants.  The SWIC is the lead position in the Office of Emergency Communications and supports the administrative requirements of the Statewide Interoperable Executive Committee.

Bryant has been with the Adjutant General’s Department since April 2013 and was previously employed by the Kansas Department of Transportation.  Since 2005 he has overseen the operation of the state’s deployable Communications on Wheels emergency response communications equipment.  In 2013 this equipment was transferred to the Adjutant General’s Department.  Bryant will continue to oversee this program in his new capacity.

Questions may be directed to Col. Chris Stratmann, chief information officer, Kansas Adjutant General’s Department at (785) 274-1031.

Fall Conference coming

From Lance Royer - The 2013 Kansas APCO Fall Regional Conference is scheduled for Sunday-Tuesday, October 20-22, at the Ramada Topeka Downtown Hotel and Convention Center at 420 S. E. 6^th Avenue in Topeka, hosted by the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office.

During the day on Monday and Tuesday, October 21-22, the conference will feature educational presentations on a variety of topics related to emergency services communications.  In addition,  a traditional “meet and greet” registration and social gathering will be Sunday evening, October 20, and the all-conference social hour and banquet, followed by entertainment, will be Monday evening, October 21. 

Kansas APCO Board elections are held at each fall regional conference.  Any Kansas APCO member can run for office.  This year, open positions include Second Vice President, Executive Council Representative, Executive Committee Person/Vendor Liaison, and the Secretary/Treasurer.   Duties and responsibilities of each position are detailed in the Kansas Chapter of APCO Bylaws, which can be accessed on this website under 

http://www.ksapco.org/Election_of_Officers.html.

  Anyone interested in running for a position on the Kansas APCO Board can email Capt. Lance Royer, Kansas APCO Board Past President, at lance.royer@snco.us.

Further conference details will be posted soon.

Grant applications closed

By Kim Pennington, KSAPCO President - The deadline for the 911 grant applications closed on Monday, July 1.  The KAC reports that it received the following grant applications:

·         Anderson

·         Colby
·         Cowley
·         Kingman
·         Marshall
·         Mitchell
·         Republic
·         Rice
·         Sherman
·         South Central Regional
·         6-County GIS Collaboration (GH, OB, PL, RO, RS, SM)
·         6-County Equipment Collaboration (see above)
·         6- County NG911 Collaboration (CS, CF, GT, GW, LY, MR, WO)

If you think you submitted a grant application and it is not listed, contact Melissa Wangemann at KAC immediately, 785-272-2585, Ext 307 or wangemann@kansascounties.org

The Grants Review Committee will meet to consider awarding grants on Friday, July 12 at 10:00 a.m., First National Center, #1 North Main, Suite 700, Hutchinson, KS.  The meeting is open to the public.

 

Upcoming Meetings Announced

The 911 Coordinating Council has announced several upcoming meetings to be held this month and in August.

On July 11, the Technical Sub-Committee will be meeting at 13:00hrs in Topeka.

On July 12, the Grant Review Committee will be meeting in Hutchinson at 10:00hrs.

On August 9 at 09:00hrs, the Administration, Operations, and Technical Committees will meet in Topeka, and at 11:00hrs, the 911 Coordinating Council will met as a whole.

All meetings are on the Calendar of Events at www.ksapco.org.

For more information, contact the 911 Coordinating Council Liaison Scott Ekberg at scott.a.ekberg.nfg@mail.mil.

Look who made the Official Magazine of APCO!

Look who made the June issue of APCO's Public Safety Communications magazine!  I think they should have been on the cover myself.  Does this mean they are in charge of Happy Hour?

911 Coordinating Council is now on Facebook

From Michele Abbott, Kansas 911 Coordinating Council -

The KS 911 Coordinating Council has created a Facebook page!     https://www.facebook.com/#!/KS911CoordinatingCouncil  

The KS 911 Coordinating Council was created by the Kansas 911 Act (K.S.A. 12-5362 et seq) and is tasked with monitoring the delivery of 911 services, developing strategies for future enhancements to the 911 system and distributing available grant funds. 

Mission

The 911 Coordinating Council's mission is to enhance public safety in Kansas through reliable access 59 911 and foster a voluntary, unified approach to enable development, policy leadership, operational review, technological advancement, education and training to enable "Next Generation E911" systems and services.

Description

The Coordinating Council is tasked with the following duties by the Kansas 911 Act:
(1) Shall select the LCPA upon advice and consent of the legislative coordinating council; Shall adopt rules and regulations for the terms of the contract with the LCPA; shall determine the compensation of the LCPA who will provide    staffing to council after 1-1-12; oversight of LCPA performance.
(2) Authorized to ...adopt rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the provisions of the act;
(3) Monitor the delivery of 911 services;
(4) Develop statewide 911 planning and strategies for future enhancements to the 911 system;
(5) Develop criteria for expenditure of 911 grant funds and distribute available grant funds to PSAPs;
(6) Make an annual report to senate and house committees;
(7) Approve expenses incurred in carrying out business of the council;
(8) Determine if a PSAP has used 911 fees for unauthorized uses.

 

 

WEBSITE:  http://www.kansascounties.org/index.aspx?NID=245

Historical photos published

Some historical photos from Kansas APCO's past have been published on the Kansas APCO website under the "About KSAPCO" page.  Can you identify any of the people in the photos?  If so, let us know.  Go to http://ksapco.org/Historical_Photos.php.

Conference photos published

Photos of the Spring 13 Conference have been posted.  They can be found by clicking on the "Photos" tab at www.ksapco.org, or by surfing directly to the Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ksapco/.  Thanks to Brad Gilges and Sandy Dvorak for photographing the event.

Sedgwick County hosts 2013 Spring Conference

Thanks to the Sedgwick County Emergency Communications team for hosting the 2013 Spring Conference, and in particular, to Elora Randleas who organized much of the event.  Shown in the photo is Elora (left) and Kansas APCO President Kim Pennington.

2012 Kansas Telecommunicators of the Year

This year, the TCOY Award was a "Team Award".  The winner was

Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center

(Because EVERY member of their department was nominated, it was impossible to pick one person to be more deserving than the others. As the TCOY chair, I decided we should recognize them all. We are now in the process of reviewing our award designations to add this category as a permanent option).

Shawnee County currently has 35 full-time employees which are comprised of one floor supervisor, five shift supervisors, five Communication Specialists II, 24 Communications Specialist I (four of which are trainees), and four intermittent employees. In 2012, they answered approximately 500,000 911 and administrative phone lines and dispatched more than 213,000 incidents.

The team’s time on the job range from 27 years to two months. Two employees have previous experience in emergency service communications, but most started their careers at Shawnee County. As is the case with many dispatch centers, Shawnee County Emergency Communications is constantly in the hiring and training process. For the latter part of 2012, their staffing levels were less than optimal and their employees had to cover more hours in overtime than most would prefer. In spite of that, they continued to fulfill the requirements of their job the very best they could. Without exception, they know emergency services communications is important work; they take that work seriously, and they care deeply about the safety of the law enforcement officers, firefighters, and citizens of Shawnee County. They attempt to instill that resolve and attitude of responsibility into every trainee hired.

 On December 16, 2012 at 18:09 hours, Lacey Mulford dispatched two Topeka Police Department officers to a suspicious vehicle call. An officer at the scene reported “shots” fired at 18:13 hours and “officers down” within a few seconds. As we all now know, the officers were killed during this incident. Despite only being with the department for 18 months, Lacey sounded calm and clear throughout the incident while it was on her frequency.  She followed all simulcasting and toning guidelines in announcing officers down and officers in danger, and clearly reported updates as they were received. She efficiently and in a detailed manner added responding officers to the CAD call and repeated information transmitted from the field, including quickly-changing suspect locations and reports from area citizens that might have been related to the shooting.

 The primary call was moved to an alternate frequency at 18:19 hours, at which time, Kim Ragan, who was working overtime, took over the call and the remained on that frequency throughout the night.  The suspect’s actual location was determined by a call from the resident just after midnight on December 17. Kim continued to monitor the frequency assigned to the “standoff” until the suspect was secured at 06:10 hours. Kim is an excellent, experienced dispatcher who closely tracked officers at the initial crime scene, coordinated with other dispatchers tracking officers staged at possible locations for the suspect, responded to requests from the field, and handled the call of the confirmed suspect location. It was an ongoing, complicated situation, and Kim did a stellar job handling the primary call frequency for almost 12 hours.

 The Shawnee County supervisor on duty during the homicides, Sara Roberts, reported outstanding work by everyone in dispatch.  In addition to Kim handling the main call on an alternate frequency, Melanie Mills-Bergers was on a frequency with a search at another location, and Sara was on a frequency with a search and possible standoff at yet a different location.  She reported that, even with three extra frequencies being monitored, everyone still managed to keep up with the almost overwhelming number of phone calls that always occur after high priority calls. 

Sara’s summary indicated that members of Communications were a “step ahead” at all times and performed tasks before they were requested.  Amber Gold stayed to assist after her scheduled overtime ended; Michelle Barnes, remained at work for 18 hours until after midnight and then returned at 06:30 hours the next morning; Trista Roberts and Liz Scott showed up without being called to help, a dispatcher brought in food for everyone, others called to volunteer to come in if needed. Sara mentioned that one of their intermittent employees, Loren Lossman, was a huge help in ways too numerous to mention.

 Lt. John Ostenson arrived at dispatch shortly after the shooting and stayed several hours.  Captain Lance Royer was in dispatch from about 18:30 hours on Sunday to about 00:30 hours Monday morning. They “ran interference” for communications employees so that they could do their jobs with fewer interruptions. The Captain and Lieutenant relayed information among coworkers, answered questions from officials, and assisted wherever they could. Captain Royer said that, both from personal observation and information he received from others after he left dispatch, that all dispatchers on duty continued to rise to the occasion all night long, as they always do, and all were as helpful as possible in any way they could be. From the initial event throughout the night, each dispatcher jumped to assist whenever requests came from the field, researching tags and information received, calling chaplains, notifying other agencies, handling many condolence calls from citizens and others, passing on intelligence to investigators, in addition to “taking care of business” at their assigned positions.  Some Shawnee County employees arrived to help that were off duty.  All of these dispatchers performed their duties professionally in spite of most of them personally knowing the officers who were killed and themselves being in the midst of shock and grief.  All Communications personnel continued in their effort to intricately record every call detail throughout the following week, when investigations continued and crime scenes were held and guarded.

The officers’ funerals were planned for Saturday, December 22, 2012 at 10:00 and 14:00 hours at a large arena that holds several thousand people. Outside agencies offered to provide call coverage for sheriff deputies, police officers, and communications personnel.  Communications was unable to take advantage of those offers because of computer-aided dispatch and other computer-related concerns--getting logged on to CAD and KCJIS, knowing the area geography, and many other factors.  Once again, Shawnee County Emergency Communications personnel stepped up to provide coverage and still allow those who wanted to attend one or both funerals to do so.  Lt. Ostenson and Melanie Mills-Bergers worked for three days prior to the funerals to coordinate hours of work and ensure that communications had adequate personnel on duty throughout the day. Lt. Ostenson arrived early the day of the funerals and stayed late into the night to assist in communications and inventory radios returned by outside agencies.

Dawn Frey and Jamie Ratzloff accepted the challenge of broadcasting the “Last Call”, one for each officer.  They handled the difficult responsibility with professionalism. The department heard numerous accolades from officers and others at the services in appreciation of the professional, yet compassionate, manner in which they performed that revered tradition. 

Not only did the Shawnee County Emergency Communications personnel pull together to support each other, both professionally and emotionally, a few have initiated or joined fundraising efforts for the fallen officers’ families.  Michelle Barnes has raised more than $10,000.00 for their fund from memorial t-shirt sales. Trista Roberts and Angelica Huber raised more than $1,000.00 in memorial vehicle decal sales.  Others have helped publicize fundraising efforts by the Topeka Police Department and Shawnee County Sheriff’s Department.

Sara Roberts, Justin Roberts, David Dostaler, and Trista Roberts initiated a “paying it forward” effort. Shawnee County Communications received a “care package” from a communications center in St. John the Baptist Parish, LA., meant to provide some cheer. It was much appreciated, and Roberts replenished the contents and has sent it to Riverside, California in response to their two officers being killed. They also started a state initiative to do likewise in the State of Kansas. They sent a “care package” to Sedgwick County 911 after one of their deputies was shot in the line of duty.  It was much appreciated by the dispatchers and they have it ready to pay it forward should another agency face a crisis.  Roberts, Roberts, and Dostaler sent condolence cards to other communications centers that lost officers shortly after the Topeka officer’s deaths.  Roberts has made it her personal mission to continue sending sympathy cards to outside agencies as needed.

Citing the contributions made by every member of Communications during the tragedy on December 16, in the aftermath, and in the following week through the funeral services would require many hours to recount. Each and every employee of the Shawnee County Emergency Communications should rightly be honored for their teamwork and their efforts.  Every member acted in dedicated manner in spite of their shock and grief, assisting in any way they could, and were determinedly dedicated to our profession of emergency services communications.

2012 Telecommunicator of the Year - 1st Runner Up

Bruce Fox of the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office.  Shawnee County has 30 full time employees, six trainees, and three part-time employees and dispatches ten agencies in Shawnee County and other municipalities in the area.  During 2012, they averaged 500,000 911 and administrative phone calls and dispatched more than 213,000 incidents.

Bruce has been with Shawnee County for two years. Prior to that, he has more than 13 years’ experience as a dispatcher at Riley County, Arizona State University, Emporia, and Jackson County. Of those, 7 were spent as a Lead Dispatcher/Supervisor at Riley County. Even though he only been with the county for a year, he was deemed to be an experienced trainer and was promoted to his current position in March of 2012.

He is described as a knowledgeable trainer who instills his good work ethic and abilities in those he trains. It is also noted numerous times that he is punctual every day and rarely uses sick leave. His reliability and is a true bonus to his co-workers.

An email was sent to Bruce’s shift members commending them on their teamwork during an exceptionally busy day which included: a possible plane crash, a barricaded subject, a response team callout, a suicidal jumper, and an armed robbery in addition to routine calls.  He was a vital part of the team that day.

On February 4, 2012, Bruce answered a 911 call from a female who state that she had a fire in her home. The 16-year old caller, whom they later discovered was of diminished mental capacity, was already coughing as she attempted to answer questions. The caller also had a five-year old in the residence with her.

Two minutes into the call, Bruce had verified the address and had begun gathering information about the exact whereabouts of the children inside the residence. The caller advised that she was in a room at the back of the house and that the fire was blocking the front door. The caller’s coughing was becoming more frequent, so Bruce encouraged the caller to break out a window. The caller advised him that she had nothing with which to break the window.

Four minutes into the call, he continued to urge the caller to locate and break a window. The caller stated, “I can’t, the smoke is too heavy. It is covering everything”. Bruce continued to gather information and ascertained that the caller was in a two-story house and was on the main level of the residence in a back bedroom. The young caller kept stating, “I’m in the room on the right side of the house,” and was unable to differentiate directions. He reassured the caller that help was on the way and encourage her and the young boy to stay close to the floor. He also continued to prompt her to feel her way along the wall to find a window.

The caller began to cough more heavily and told Bruce, “I can’t breathe. How much longer?” He remained unfailingly calm while on the phone with her and continued to comfort and instruct the caller. Six minutes into the call, the caller began to plead, “It’s too dark to see anything”.  He reiterated that the caller should keep down, cover her mouth, and feel her way along the wall.

Units arrived on scene eight minutes into the call. At this point, Bruce instructed the caller and younger child to yell for help so they could find them. Through strained coughs, the caller intermittently yelled for help. Two minutes later, he attempted to get a response from the caller but did not hear one. One minute later, the sound of breaking glass could be heard. Within two minutes of arrival, personnel onscene reported that the two children were out of the residence. Their prompt rescue was largely due to information Bruce gleaned from the children and the instructions he gave them.

 Throughout this nine-minute call, Bruce displayed compassion, professionalism, and excellence in his performance. He provided valuable instruction to the children and to emergency responders that helped keep the two trapped children alive. A responding officers emphasized that the fate of the children would have been grave if not fatal without the guidance and instruction that Bruce provided.

 

2012 Telecommunicator of the Year - 2nd Runner Up

Cindy Staton of the Miami County Sheriff’s Office.   Cindy has been with the Miami County Sheriff’s Office for 12 years. Prior to that, she worked for Pittsburg State University dispatch and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office; totaling 23 years of experience. Miami County averages 1,000 911 calls per month and dispatches multiple police and fire agencies.

 Cindy’s co-workers describe her as “amazing to work with”. She is eager to help out in any way and shares her knowledge. She goes to work early and stays late if needed and is willing to help cover shifts when needed. She goes above and beyond on a regular basis and does an amazing job throughout the year.

 The deputies know that Cindy is passionate about officer safety and respect her skills to help keep them safe. Citizens usually end up thanking her at the end of their call because she has made them feel that our dispatchers genuinely care and do the best to their ability to get them the assistance they need.

 In September of 2012, Cindy received a 911 call from a hysterical female advising that her brother had a gun to his head and was suicidal. The caller was very difficult to understand when giving the address. Cindy was very calm with her and was finally able to get the address from her. Eventually, the mother got on the phone and in speaking with her; Cindy discovered the male subject with the gun was a deputy with her agency.

 She was able to keep the mother calm and advise responding units of the information. This was a very volatile situation as the subject was a law enforcement officer and was aware of what actions the responding units would take. There was a standoff with the subject before he was taken into custody.

During this call, Cindy displayed all aspects of what a great telecommunicator should have. She was able to take control of the phone call, calm, reassure, and make the caller feel more comfortable as the call went on. She was also able to remain calm on the radio while keeping the deputies updated with all the pertinent information. This call was not only emotional for the family involved but for Cindy and the responding units as it involved a co-worker.

Nextel to shut down on June 30

Sprint has announced it will shut down the Nextel National Network on June 30 of this year.  For more information, view the letter on-line at http://sprint.m.delivery.net/w/webView?cid=15369927190&mid=1857913857&pid=1333338&vid=1053&ee=bWljaGVsZS5hYmJvdHRAcmVub2xlYy5jb20_&si=&mv=H&bv=H&oc=N&sc=&k=1klOG1
.

Grant deadline extended

The 2013 grant filing deadline has been extended to July 1, according to Scott Ekberg, 911 Liaison to the 911 Coordinating Council.  Check the Kansas 911 website at http://www.kansascounties.org/index.aspx?NID=245 to keep updated on 911 Coordinating Council activities.

Wearable Tech is coming.....

From the "Dispatch Monthly" newsletter

 

May 18, 2013 at 2:35 pm

    

While public safety communications centers and government regulators are focusing on the future of texting 911, technology companies are creating even more exotic methods of dialing 911, including a computer worn as eyeglasses. The fast pace of new tech makes it impossible for comm centers to keep up with the inventions of creative minds, it seems. The latest tech invention is Google Glass, a tiny computer, camera and video screen worn like a pair of eyeglasses, and linked to the Internet. The device is in limited public release now, and has sparked discussions about privacy, social interaction and “dorkiness.” Beyond the cool-looking hardware, Google and others have been promoting what users can actually do with the product, including commerce, email, reference, voice calls, taking photos and videos, and linking to social Web sites like Facebook and Twitter. A Canada-based creative agency has created a video to showcase some of the everyday activities that Google Glass might improve, including a medical emergency. In the hypothetical video, a Glass user discovers his father unconscious and makes a voice call to 911 for help. The user then performs CPR on the patient, using instructions displayed on the Glass video screen. Meanwhile, the dispatcher provides updates on the arrival of an EMS unit. Watch the video after the break.

At about 1:50 in the video, a Google Glass user discovers his father unconscious on the the floor and “dials” 911.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=S80mE3kQTJ0#!

 

State Grant Fund open - May 1st thru June 7th

911 State Grant Fund  “OPEN”    ----    May 1^st thru June 7^th .  Primary focus of the grants are:
1)      consulting and planning activities by regional groups and PSAPs,
2)      urgent 911 equipment requests necessary to preserve E911 operations in PSAPs”

To the Kansas PSAP Directors,

The application to request a 911 grant from the Kansas State Grant Fund is online and available for submission.  The application is due to the Kansas Association of Counties by June 7, 2013.  The application has submission instructions included.  The application is in Microsoft Word format; if you have difficulties with the file please contact me and I can supply it via PDF or another way.  Let me know if there are any questions , thanks!

Dennis Kriesel

Senior Policy Analyst
Kansas Association of Counties
300 SW 8^th Ave, 3^rd Floor
Topeka, KS 66603
(785) 272-2585x308
kriesel@kansascounties.org

APCO launches APPCOMM

APCO has launched a new application community website (AppComm) with applications useful to public safety.  The announcement can be read at http://psc.apcointl.org/2013/04/23/apco-launches-application-community-appcomm-website/ and the app site can be accessed at http://appcomm.org/.

Are dispatchers at risk for PSTD?

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Stress/ptsd-911-emergency-dispatchers-risk/story?id=16020576

Ekberg named 911 Liaison

Scott Ekberg has been selected for the position of 911 Liaison and he will begin his service to the 911 Coordinating Council on May 13, 2013.   Scott has extensive public safety experience in Kansas, including Director of the Barton County Communications Center, and he most recently was employed in the Kansas Office of Emergency Communications for the past four years.

 

Scott lives in Great Bend, Kansas and will continue to work out of the Adjutant General’s Department.  Scott will receive direction on Council related activities and programs from myself and our Committee Chairs. 

 

This collaboration between the Adjutant General’s Department and the 911 Coordinating Council will provide a cost-effective approach to staffing this position as well as to ensure continued coordination of 911 and public safety communications initiatives in Kansas.   I very much appreciate the willingness of the TAG and of Col. Stratmann in working with the Council to enhance our support services to Kansas PSAPs.

State of Kansas conducts needs assessment

The State of Kansas recently received a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women to identify training needs of criminal justice professionals in Kansas. The Governor’s Advisory Council for Domestic Violence Training will guide a domestic violence and sexual assault training project to provide trainings to criminal justice professionals in Kansas.

The Advisory Council is conducting a needs assessment survey to determine the training needs of communication specialists regarding the response to domestic violence.  

 

The survey will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. Please respond by May 30, 2013.

The Advisory Council will use the information you provide to update and expand previously developed curricula, best practices, and training materials. Additionally, training for criminal justice professionals will be held across Kansas using the updated materials.

Thank you in advance for providing this valuable information.

The survey is accessed via this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CommunicationsAssess

Kansas 9-1-1 Liaison position open

The Kansas 911 Coordinating Council in collaboration with the Kansas Adjutant General's Department has created a full time 911 Liaison position whose duties will include providing guidance and technical support to PSAPs in behalf of the Council; assist PSAPs and regional groups with planning and implementation of NG911 services, and provide support services to the Council and its committees. The successful candidate for this position should have extensive knowledge of public safety communications and enhanced 911 systems, and be a self-motivated, detail oriented person with good written and oral communication skills. The position will be located in the Adjutant General's Department and classified as a Planner II-911. This employee will receive task assignments and general direction from 911 Coordinating Council leaders as well as direct supervision by the assigned supervisor in the Adjutant General's Department.

Additional information upon the functions, requirements and compensation for this position are available at https://www.da.ks.gov/ps/pub/reqinfo.asp?id=174251, and a flyer is available in the Announcements section at www.ksapco.org.

April is National 9-1-1 Education Month

April is "National 9-1-1 Education" month, and April 14-20th is "National Telecommunicators Week".  The KSAPCO website at www.ksapco.org hosts links to the APCO Internation NPSTW site as well as the "9-1-1 Number to Know" site, both of which offer educational materials and ideas on how to educate our citizens and celebrate our dispatchers.

Let us know what your agency has planned to mark these events.

KCJIS Committee minutes

Minutes from the February and March KCJIS Committee Meeting have been posted on the KSAPCO website at www.ksapco.org.

Conference parking

Parking is free for anybody involved in our conference.  Parking is available across the street, east of the hotel, on Waco.  There is a covered walkway that will take you from the 2^nd floor of the parking garage to the 2^nd floor of the hotel and you can take the elevator down from there to access the lobby and meeting rooms.  You will have to take a ticket when you go into the parking garage but when leaving you’ll call the front desk from the speaker at the gate and tell them you are with APCO and they’ll raise the gate for you.

Shoulder pads?

Shoulder pads, miniskirts, leg warmers, huge earrings, fingerless gloves, parachute pants, Members Only jackets, stretch stirrup pants, and oversized tops hanging off the shoulder.  What do they have in common?  They are 80’s fabulousness!  Don’t miss out on the opportunity to strut your stuff in your best 80’s outfit at the 80’s Dance Party sponsored by Voice Products this Sunday, April 7^th, to kick off our Spring APCO Conference.  80’s dance music, DJ Cain, Voice Products, great food and drink – it just doesn’t get better than that! 

Kansas 911 Coordinating Council Minutes

The March Minutes of the Kansas 911Coordinating Council can be accessed by visiting http://www.ksapco.org/911_Coordinating_Council.html, or directly at the KAC website at http://www.kansascounties.org/index.aspx?NID=250.

KSAPCO Spring Conference: A Conference Full of Solutions

  By Elora Randleas, Sedgwick County Emergency Communications - While we may not be able to solve ALL of your problems, there are a lot of great courses available at the Kansas Chapter Spring Conference April 7-9 that will offer you solutions!

Do you feel like you're stagnant, waiting on something to change in your life? Operation GROW is the course for you! We will be discussing ways to establish personal goals, empower your team and create strategies for growth, and improve your work-life balance.

Are you tasked with employee investigations and you aren't sure that you're doing them correctly? Employee Investigations if the course for you! This course will discuss Garrity and how that case law applies to whether or not your employees have an obligation to be truthful. It will also cover how to conduct an investigation, notifying witnesses, conducting interviews, and writing reports.

Does your agency have morale issues (and honestly, which agency doesn't struggle with this at some point)? Morale is the course for you! This course is going to discuss toxic emotions, how to identify them and what to do with them, as well as FREE or low cost ways to reward co-workers and show them appreciation.

Do you lie awake at night worrying about NextGen 9-1-1? We've got several courses addressing that issue including "Why a Hosted NG9-1-1 Solution Might Be Right for Your PSAP", "Taking the Worry Out of Your Migration to Next Gen 9-1-1", and "NG9-1-1 GIS Data: What to Plan For!" among others.

And don't forget the awesome opportunity to attend the FREE Project Management workshop being offered on April 10th in conjunction with the conference. Whether you have a project already planned or underway (NG9-1-1, Digital System, Rebanding, etc) or just want to be prepared to take the lead on a future project, this course is for you! Space is limited to please email Elora Randleas (erandlea@sedgwick.gov) for further.

Check out the Kansas APCO Chapter website for more information on the conference or to get registered! www.ksapco.org

FBI investigates PSAP phone attacks, extortion

FBI Investigates PSAP Phone Attacks, Extortion Posted: 13 Mar 2013 02:31 PM PDT At least two 911 centers in the United States have been victimized by a team of telephone extortionists who have demanded repayment of an employee’s alleged loan, and who then blocked the agency’s telephone number with a flood of incoming calls when the agency refused. In one case the attack spanned three days and caused some calls to roll over to a back-up agency’s comm center. The latest attack happened today at an undisclosed communications center, potentially blocking critical citizen communications. The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) issued a warning about the scheme, which has been used for many years, and is dubbed the “payday loan attack.” The caller claims to be from a loan collections company, and attempts to make the business/PSAP responsible for paying back an employee’s loan. When the company or PSAP refuses, the suspects begin a telephone dialing attack. Until now, such extortionists haven’t called public safety comm centers, but over the past month have included comm centers on their call list. APCO did not provide details on what types of telephone numbers are being called by the suspects. The group’s warning noted that many other agencies may have been targeted by the criminals, but did not reported the attacks. APCO is asking agencies that have experienced loan demands, blocked telephone lines or other suspicious situations to contact the association with details: Jay English, Director of Communications Center and 9-1-1 Services, englishj@apcointl.org. Read the group’s recommendations in handling such extortion demands after the break. APCO International recommended the following: Targeted organizations should not pay the blackmail. Contact your telephone service provider; they may be able to assist by blocking portions of the attack A call back number to the “collections” company or requesting organization should be requested and logged. Any information you can obtain about the caller, or his/her organization will be of tremendous assistance in this investigation and in preventing further attacks. Record and report the payment method and account numbers where the “collections” company requests the debt to be paid. Reporting any information you may have regarding previous or future attacks to APCO will ensure wider dissemination and pooling of resources. What we know: § The attacks resulted in enough volume to cause a roll over to the alternate facility. § The attacks last for intermittent time periods over several hours. They may stop for several hours, then resume. At least one attack spanned a period of three days. § The attacks followed a person with a heavy accent demanding payment of $5,000 from the company because of default by an employee who either no longer works at the PSAP or never did. What we need from our members: § Additional insight into the scope and impact of the event- specifically how many communications centers have been attacked is critical to identifying the true scope of this occurrence. § In order to ensure situational awareness with our members and member agencies, it is critical that this information be disseminated to emergency communications centers, PSAP’s, government IT departments, and any related government agency with a vested interest in emergency communications continuity of operations.   - Source: "Dispatch Monthly Magazine"

Minutes posted

The minutes of the January KCJIS Committee Meeting, as well as the February minutes of the Southwest Kansas Regional Emergency Planning Committee have been posted at www.ksapco.org.

Conference schedule posted

The schedule for the Kansas APCO Spring Conference has been posted at www.ksapco.org.  Hope to see you there!

Spring Conference to offer "Active Shooter" training

As you're following the horrific events that are happening across the nation with active shooters are you wishing that you had some way to help prepare your dispatchers to deal with those situations?  We all know there is no real way to prepare but you want your staff to be armed with as much knowledge as possible going into these high stress situations.

 We are very proud to present the following general session class at the Kansas APCO Chapter Spring Conference being hosted in Wichita on April 7th-9th. 

Response to Armed Engagement – This class is designed to increase a Law Enforcement Officer’s change of survival in all types of “armed encounters.”  This class will briefly discuss recent Active Shooter events that have occurred in the United States, to include local events that have happened in Wichita.  It will also discuss the parallel development of both Law Enforcement and society for the past two decades and a look at the ALERT program that is currently being conducted for the Wichita Police Department.  This class will give the dispatcher an insight into what occurs in the mind of an officer during a critical incident and an explanation of the tactics the officer uses to bring the incident to a successful resolution.

KSAPCO announcing workshops

KSAPCO has started announcing some of the workshops and activities which will be held at the Spring Conference in Wichita.

Managing “Psycho-Hazmat” on the 911 Front Lines:  Protecting your Health, Your Career, and Your Family – Officers on duty wear bullet proof vests, Fire Fighters wear durable heat and fire resistant “Turnout suits”, and hazardous material workers wear, well--big funny- looking outfits that protect them from diseases and death! But what do 911 dispatchers wear to protect themselves from their exposure to Psychological Hazmat—the toxic effects of exposure to death, violence, and tragedy at the console?  Jim Marshall will launch our conference with an entertaining and eye-opening look at the psychological risks posed by your work as 911 frontliners--and what you can do to protect yourself. You’ll hear the incredible story of Oregon’s “Jan and Mike: the Kevlar Couple” then join your peers for a Think Tank exercise to explore how you can support your 911 family in the face of traumatic stress.  

After our morning break Jim will continue with part 2 of his presentation: Taming the Vicious 911 Stress Cycle-- “We Bring it Home & Take it back to Work”. In this highly interactive session, we’ll explore how we carry our 911 stress home where it can change our relationships and  impact the quality of our personal lives—our marriages and our families. Jim has listened to countless dispatchers describe their frustration with cycle—and helped many overcome it. He will lead us in a dynamic conversation equipping us to protect our mental health, and to enjoy our partners, our children and our lives outside the 911 center.

Don't forget the 80's Dance Contest

By Elora Randleas: The Sunday Night Social at the Spring Conference will include contests and prizes, including a prize for the "best 80's outfit". The social is hosted by Voice Products, Inc.

Astrological events may cause GPS outages

From Jim Shinpaugh, ENP, Project Manager, Mission Critical Partners, Inc. via Michele Abbott:

Two astrological events are about to occur that will have some short term effect on satellite communications and possibly some long term damage.

On February 15^th 2013 an asteroid the size of a 15 story building will pass in low earth orbit.  This is where the communications and GPS satellites operate.  NASA has already alerted satellite service operators to be ready to relocate their satellites to avoid destruction.  Services impacted will be weather data, Iridium sat phones, GPS, VSAT, TV and other spaced based communications services.

When the satellites are temporarily moved many earth stations will lose contact with the satellite.   If this should impact one of your clients they will lose service until the satellite is put back in normal orbit.  This should be a disruption of less than 24 hours.

In the event that a satellite is struck and destroyed, your clients should contact the service provider and request a new bird assignment. They will then have to physically realign the dish services to the new assignment.  This could take several days to correct as service crews will have many callouts.  The biggest risk to our clients would be if an east coast client is rehomed to the west coast or vice versa this requires a low look angle and clients may have obstacles in the path. 

Aside from services that talk directly on the satellites, the entire GPS system is at high risk.  Many of our client dispatch and radio systems rely on GPS timing to function properly.  These services may experience minor errors or major disruptions throughout this event.

Naturally anyone traveling on the 15^th may experience problems with the GPS system.

The second event is a major solar flare expected between February 15^th to the 18^th.  This may also impact communications and electrical systems. 

 

 

80's Dance Contest to be held: bring your 80's wardrobe!

By Elora Randleas: The Sunday Night Social at the Spring Conference will include contests and prizes, including a prize for the "best 80's outfit".  The social is hosted by Voice Products, Inc.

Dig into your closet and bring your best 80's outfit with you to the conference!