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History of Marshall County 911 Center Dates to 1992

In reference to last week’s column concerning Larry Newell’s upcoming retirement as Marshall County 911 director, I came across some 50 newspaper clippings dealing with the start-up of the E911 system.

It was in October of 1993 that Larry D. Newell, a lifelong Moundsville resident, became the first director of E911.

A story in the Oct. 13 edition of the News-Register stated that the Marshall County Commission had selected Newell as the 911 director after a one-hour executive session of the E911 Advisory Community. His annual salary to be $21,000.

Commissioner Howard “Biggie” Byard, who also served as chairman of the E911 Advisory Committee, made the motion to employ Newell. Byard said, “We’ve reached part of a milestone. The committee considered carefully the applications, and I feel they made a very good selection.” Newell had been a deputy with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department for 19 years, and had been a sergeant for the past eight years.

Among quotes in the newspaper were:

Glen Dale Police Chief Norman Stenger, who was also a member of the E911 advisory committee, said, “Sheriff Robert Lightner agreed to waive the two-week notice of resignation because the advisory committee wanted to get the director on board as soon as possible.”

“This is a real milestone in Marshall County. We’ve been working for some time to get 911 in place,” Commissioner Don Mason said. He added, “This is the first step. The room is being worked on. We’re getting more excited about it.”

Mason added that, “Newell is familiar with 911 equipment and systems as he has visited many other centers in an effort to design a system that most benefits Marshall County and its residents.”

As director, Newell said his priorities would be getting dispatchers on board, renovating the 911 room, then located in the basement of the courthouse, as well as working with Motorola representatives to make sure all of the equipment was functioning properly. Equipment for the center had already arrived and initial electrical work in the room had been completed. Commissioners said they hoped the system could be in operation by mid-June of 1994.

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It was on Jan. 20, 1992, that the Marshall County Commission established an E911 Advisory Board, and between that date and the October 1994 date, the committee had held meetings on a regular basis, with 90 percent attendance. A total of 13 members served on the committee.

In particular the committee was established to design a system that would provide all of Marshall County with rapid emergency response by means of dialing a three-digit telephone number to the E911 Center so that agencies could be dispatched and could respond to any and every situation.

Considerable research was done by members of the committee, including radio equipment which would be needed, along with the cost for equipment for the center.

Resources provided to the committee by the Sheriff’s Department from previous design ideas and subsequent bidding lists were researched with consideration to changes or adoption of those plans.

A board update in the early days of the undertaking stated that the committee was striving to reach the ultimate goal of designing a system that would adequately service all of Marshall County for years to come after the service was established.

Considerable effort was undertaken by the committee to advise the general public of the “real benefit” of an enhanced 911 system, and that a concentrated effort in education would be maintained by various means (to educate students, the general population, the elderly) by personal appearances, showing of videos, handouts, etc., to enable the public to understand why there was a serious need for a 911 system in the county.

Any resident who had questions or concerns was encouraged to contact any Advisory Board, the Sheriff’s office, the Marshall County Office of Emergency Services, and others involved in this undertaking.

Of course, before the E911 could become established, an ordinance had to be adopted by the county commission, this after a public meeting. That meeting took place on Dec. 10, 1991.

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During the 25 years that the E911 has been in existence there has been new equipment installed at the center, along with tower updates and other necessary improvements.

Another vital part of the E911 program which was adopted was addressing and mapping. It, too, included an ordinance creating rules and regulations governing 911. The adoption of the ordinance providing for the uniform assignment and maintenance of street addresses as well as for easy identification. United States postal authorities, the state Division of Highways and the director of Marshall County Emergency Management were involved in the latter program.

Of course, the new Marshall County Safety Building has played a big part in helping to upgrade the 911 effort, as the communications personnel now have much better working conditions than in the past.

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As to the operation of the 911 Center, phone calls for 2018 county-wide incuded:

Administrative calls: 71,379, which does not include emergency calls.

Radio transmissions: 971,273.

Among other calls answered by 911 personnel in 2018 were 16,798 for police; 3,479 for fire/rescue, and 14,562 for EMS.

These calls were answered 24 hours a day over the full year.

Newell said that there are at least three dispatchers per shift.

It just so happens that here are four dispatcher vacancies, these being full and part-time positions.

Some of the requirements for dispatchers are:

To be able to handle multi-phone calls, both those of emergency and non-emergency nature; must be able to handle multi-radio frequency/channels at one time, also both of those of emergency and non-emergency nature; must be able to file reports, events and other paperwork in both alphabetical and numerical systems; should have a basic understanding of total computer design and its operation; work with multi-agencies on a daily basis in a professional and courteous manner.

For additional information, contact 911 Assistant Director Carol Robinson at P.O. Box 955, 601 Seventh St., Suite 2, Moundsville, 26401 or by phoning administrative office at 304-845-1920.

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Newell this week had nothing but praise for the administration and dispatchers over the past 25 years.

There will be a retirement party in honor of Newell from 2-6 p.m. Tuesday at the Public Safety Building.

Although he is retiring as 911 director, Newell said he plans to keep busy doing other things.

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If you were planning to attend or be a vendor at the Elizabethtown Festival in September ,you will have to change your calendar, as the festival committee this past week voted to change the date to Dec. 6-7.

This will be the festival’s 21st year. The festival was held for its first 10 years in May, and for the next 10 years was scheduled during September.

The festival has always been held at The Training Center inside the walls of the former West Virginia Penitentiary. It was co-founded by Hilda Blake, who is still involved, and the late Sue Riggs.

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While on the subject of the Training Center at the former WVP, the speaker for this past Tuesday’s Moundsville Lions Club was Kristi Dietrich-Crawford, who spoke on the recent Night to Shine event, which is sponsored nationwide by the Tim Tebow Foundation.

This year’s free red carpet was for people ages 14 and up with special needss. The event attracted 650 people, which included not only the honorees, but parents and other caregivers.

This was the fourth year for the Night to Shine and the largest.

The Bowman Ridge United Methodist Church hosted the event.

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By the way, the Moundsville Lions Club will be sponsoring a spaghetti dinner from 4-7 p.m. Friday at the First Presbyterian Church, 1000 First St., Moundsville.

Proceeds will be used to purchase eye examinations and glasses for needy individuals, the majority of whom are school-age youngsters.

Tickets to the dinner can be obtained from any active club member, or at the door.

Meals will be available for eat-in or takeouts.

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Two special events will be taking place this month at the Strand Theatre, one being the showing of the movie, “Night of the Hunter” and the other being music by members of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra. The theme will be “On the Go.”

The “Night of the Hunter” will be shown at 7 p.m. on Feb. 23. Filming of the movie took place in Moundsville. Robert Mitchum played the top role; he was cast as a religious fanatic and serial killer who targeted women who used sexuality to attract men. He served time in prison for car theft and that is where he made friends with a condemned murderer (Pete Graves) who confessed to hiding $10,000 in stolen loot.

The performance by the WSO will take place at 7 p.m. on Feb. 26.

The free-to-the-public performance will feature the orchestra’s percussion ensemble.

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