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Kingsport Police Department
DalePhipps, Chief of Police 200 Shelby Street • Kingsport, TN 37660 http://KingsportTN.gov/City-Services/Police-Department • www.KingsportPDBlog.com |
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| NEWS RELEASE | ||||
| SUBJECT: | Kingsport 9-1-1 Communications Specialists Honored During National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week 2023 | |||
| DATE: | April 11, 2023 | |||
| GENERAL NARRATIVE | ||||
| The Communications Specialists, also known as Dispatchers, of the Kingsport Emergency Communications District, are being honored this week, April 9 through 15, 2023, as part of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (NPSTW). Communications Specialists are the calm, yet highly trained, voice on the phone whenever a citizen calls 9-1-1 for help during an emergency.
Every year during the second week of April, telecommunications personnel in the public safety community are honored. This week-long event was originally created in 1981 by Patricia Anderson of the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office in California. Her goal was to set aside a time to celebrate and thank these individuals who dedicate their lives to serving the public, and make people aware of their hard work and dedication. The Communications Specialists of Kingsport Central Dispatch process roughly a quarter of a million telephone calls annually. Approximately twenty percent (50,000) of these calls are emergency calls to 9-1-1. Although a division of the Kingsport Police Department, Kingsport Central Dispatch also provides services for the Kingsport Fire Department, Sullivan County E.M.S., Kingsport Life Saving Crew, and other city departments and functions. Kingsport Central Dispatch moved into the current 7,500 square foot, state-of-the-art, 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Center in Downtown Kingsport in October 2015. Central Dispatch had previously been housed in a cramped 1,000 square foot space on the second floor of the Kingsport Justice Center since 1989. Prior to that, Central Dispatch operated out of the basement of the Civic Auditorium. Kingsport Central Dispatch personnel serve under the supervision of the 9-1-1 Director, Lieutenant Kevin Hite, and include Communications Supervisor, Teresa Hillman, Technical Services Coordinator, Richie Hite, 4 Shift Leaders, and 16 Communications Specialists, most of whom are Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) certified. The Kingsport Police Department would like to take this opportunity to express sincere gratitude to all of the employees of Kingsport 9-1-1 and congratulate them on a job well done. Several of Kingsport 9-1-1’s Communications Specialists are additionally certified as Emergency Number Professionals (ENPs) by the National Emergency Number Association. The ENP program was established in 1994 as a way to establish a benchmark of performance for professionals in the 9-1-1 field. In order to be certified as an ENP, applicants must first meet eligibility requirements that include a combination of experience, education, and professional development in the 9-1-1 field. Candidates then must pass a rigorous examination that demonstrates a mastery of the comprehensive knowledge base required of emergency number program management. For additional information regarding Kingsport Central Dispatch, please visit the following links: https://www.KingsportTN.gov/City-Services/Police-Department/Administrative_Bureau/Central_Dispatch/ For additional information regarding National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week or the National and Tennessee Emergency Number Associations, please visit the following links: |
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| RELEASING OFFICER | ||
| Thomas M. Patton, Public Information Officer
Kingsport Police Department Professional Standards Unit 423-229-9433 (Desk) • 423-224-2786 (FAX) ThomasMPatton |
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The Kingsport Parks and Recreation Department needs hard-working teenagers and young adults for its summer youth program. By applying you would earn a little spending money, gain valuable work experience and most importantly you would be helping children stay active and engaged throughout the long summer months.
From now until May, the city is hiring attendants and leaders for its summer youth program. The jobs will run from late May until late July and average 30 to 40 hours per week.
Summer staff will be placed at various site locations across Kingsport and duties will include organizing games and activities, supervising, directing and leading the participants (ages 6 to 12). Outdoor activities will be included in a majority of the program.
Qualifications – You must be at least 16 years old, have experience working with pre-school or school aged children and/or study in the field of recreation, early elementary education, physical fitness, special needs, art, music, drama and/or experience in a related field preferred.
To apply go to www.governmentjobs.com/careers/kingsport.
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Having children of all ages visit their neighborhood fire station and spend time with firefighters is a long-standing tradition in Kingsport. These welcomed visits are fun, educational and help build a sense of community between residents and our first responders.
However, during the COVID-19 pandemic fire stations, like most other places, were shut off to the public and visits became less frequent. Now, with the help of a community art project, Kingsport Fire Chief Scott Boyd is hoping to get folks back in the habit of visiting their neighborhood fire station.
Through a partnership between the Kingsport Fire Department, the Kingsport Office of Cultural Arts and Kingsport City Schools, third grade students from six elementary schools created more than 350 drawings of “Community Heroes.”
The drawings are of fire fighters, police officers, EMS workers, doctors and nurses and other iconic images, such as helicopters, Dalmatians and badges. The artwork has been scanned with the copies hung together in six Kingsport fire stations.
The KFD is inviting the students, their parents and the community to open houses at the six stations to debut the artwork. The artwork will remain up through the end of May.
“We are missing the community connection that the fire department has always had,” said Kingsport Fire Chief Scott Boyd. “We want to see that come back by welcoming folks into the fire houses.”
All of the open houses will take place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the following dates, displaying artwork from the noted school.
- April 19
- Fire Station 1 (Island Street) – Jackson Elementary.
- Fire Station 6 (Fort Henry Drive) – Johnson Elementary.
- April 25
- Fire Station 3 (Memorial Boulevard) – Jefferson Elementary.
- Fire Station 5 (Lynn Garden) – Kennedy Elementary.
- April 27
- Fire Station 4 (W. Stone Drive) – Roosevelt Elementary.
- Fire Station 8 (New Beason Well Road) – Washington Elementary.
“This is a great collaboration between the fire department and city schools to highlight third graders artwork while opening the door for the public to meet some true heroes in the community,” said Cultural Arts Coordinator Hannah Powell.
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