Dispatch center might be back on track

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March 16, 2010

Anonymous Pharos-Tribune Tue Mar 16, 2010, 09:08 AM EDT

Things seem to be headed in the right direction with the governing board overseeing Cass County’s emergency communications center, and that’s great news.

For months, the board had been wrangling over the lack of compatibility between the software used by dispatchers and that used by the Logansport Police Department. The dispute led to a split between city and county representatives, and it put the board’s former chairman in the middle, trying to keep the peace and move the board forward.

Finally, both the board chairman and the communications center director resigned — the former in frustration, the latter to take another job.

The board by mid-December had reached a crisis stage. Its meetings were growing increasingly heated, and at least one disintegrated into chaos.

The board’s former chairman said publicly that he wasn’t sure the city and county could work together. Some were suggesting that the two entities should dissolve their partnership and go back to having their own dispatch centers.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and the board entered the new year with a new sense of mission.

Last week, the board formally agreed to hire Cass County resident Dan McDonald as the center’s new director, and it elected Commissioner Dave Arnold as its new chairman.

At least for now, board members appear to be working together. The constant bickering appears to be a thing of the past.

After the board had approved his hiring, McDonald said he wanted to resolve the software issues and move ahead in making the communications center a model for the rest of the state.

“As a mature group of people, we’re going to be forward thinking, and we’re going to provide the best possible service we can to the citizens and the officers, the firefighters and the medics,” he said.

Board members have expressed the hope that the center might eventually become a multi-county operation, and McDonald has said he hopes to move in that direction. That’s a worthy goal.

McDonald’s approach to his new job is a breath of fresh air. We wish him and the board well in their efforts.

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Dispatch center might be back on track

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