The Friend Lost

The Policeman stood and faced his God, which must always come to pass.
He hopes his shoes were shining just as brightly as his brass.
"Step forward now, policeman. How shall I deal with you ? Have you always turned the other cheek? To my church have you been true?"
The policeman squared his shoulders and said,"No Lord I guess I ain't.
Because those who carry badges can't always be a saint.
I've had towork most Sundays, and at times my talk was rough...
And sometimes I've been violent because the streets are awful tough.
But I never took a penny that wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked alot of overtime when the bills just got too steep.
And I never passed a cry for help, though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God forgiveme, I've wept unmanly tears,
I know I don't deserve a place among the people here,
They never wanted me around except to calm their fear.
If you've a place for me here, Lord, it needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much, but if you don't...I understand."
There was a silence all around the throne where the saints had often trod,
As the policeman waited quietly for his judgement of his God.
"Step forward now, policeman. You've borne your burdens well. Come walk a beat on heaven's streets. You've done your time in hell."

Deputy Jeremy C Anderson

12/28/74 - 11/11/08

Father, Brother, Cop and Friend

The Dancing

I got this in an e-mail from my sis, and thought it was such a funny picture I had to share it with all of you. Enjoy!!

The Tires

Recently I took 20 days off from work. Not really vacation since I wasn't going anywhere, but I needed to burn some time, and I need to acclimate my body to dayshift hours before I switched. ( I have been a graveyard girl now for about 18 months. ) Anyways it got a little expensive even though I didn't go anywhere. The first week I went to go get my oil changed and the boys at Jiffy Lube noticed that my rear passenger tire was low, anyways when they went to put more air in it for me it just hissed right back out. Not a good sign. So after they were done I went straight to Discount Tires. I had to get a whole new tire, and do any of you know how expensive low-profile winter tires are... I do!! They're about $250 a piece,what's even worse is that these weren't even a year old yet. Now here comes the best part, when the boys at Discount were all done and releasing the car to me they said "Are you missing a socket extender?" Of course I said, ummm no why?... They had found a 4" long socket extender in my tire!! That's right INSIDE MY TIRE. Crazy right? Anyways so here I thought I was done... WRONG!!! Not even two weeks later I was heading down to work for training, and BOOOM ... Blow out on I15. Thankfully I was able to keep control of my car and get over to the right without incident. This time it was my rear driver's side tire (see pic below) Thanks to my Dad being close by we got the 'donut' on fairly quickly, and we noticed as we were putting the ruined tire in my front seat (that's right front seat, you guys try to fit a big ol' tire in the back of a Z) that there was a screw in it. Apparently with tires Screw + 75 mph = BOOM. So after training that day I went back to Discount, and boy was I glad I had bought warranties on both back tires when I was there just two weeks before. They had sold me one on my other tire even though they weren't the ones that had installed it. This time it only cost me $40 for the new tire. YAY!!!! Hopefully, thus ends the adventures with my tires.

The Buddy

Okay so a few Christmas' ago my friend Rachel gave me the cutest little stuffed animal puppy. It looks like a little Maltese. Anyways Jasper has now comandeered it. We call him "buddy", and Jasper takes him everywhere around the house. It's soo cute. He even cuddles with it.

No one is allowed to touch it, even if he's playing with another one of his toys, if you pick up buddy he will come after you. And it's the only thing he will jump for, I mean he doesn't even jump for treats, I was begining to think he couldn't jump, until I held buddy out of his reach ;).

The Dispatcher is God

THE CHIEF OF POLICE LEAPS TALL BUILDINGS IN A SINGLE BOUND, IS MORE POWERFUL THAN A LOCOMOTIVE, IS FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET, WALKS ON WATER, AND GIVES POLICY TO GOD.


THE ASSISTANT CHIEF LEAPS SHORT BUILDINGS IN A SINGLE BOUND, IS MORE POWERFUL THAN A SWITCH ENGINE, AND IS JUST AS FAST AS A SPEEDING BULLET, WALKS ON WATER IF IT IS CALM, AND TALKS TO GOD.


THE CAPTAIN LEAPS SHORT BUILDINGS WITH A RUNNING START, AND FAVORABLE WIND CONDITIONS. HE IS ALMOST AS POWERFUL AS A SWITCH ENGINE AND FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET, WALKS ON WATER OF AN INDOOR POOL, AND TALKS TO GOD IF SPECIAL REQUEST IS APPROVED.


THE LIEUTENANT BARELY CLEARS SHORT BUILDINGS, LOSES TUGS OF WAR WITH LOCOMOTIVE, CAN FIRE A SPEEDING BULLET, SWIMS WELL, AND IS OCCASIONALLY ADDRESSED BY GOD.


THE SERGEANT MAKES HIGH MARKS WHEN TRYING TO LEAP BUILDINGS, IS RUN OVER BY LOCOMOTIVES, AND SOMETIMES HANDLES A GUN WITHOUT INFLICTING SELF INJURY, CAN DOG PADDLE, AND TALKS T0 HIMSELF.



A DETECTIVE RUNS INTO BUILDINGS, RECOGNIZES LOCOMOTIVES TWO OUT OF THREE TIMES, IS ISSUED AMMUNITION, CAN STAY AFLOAT IF PROPERLY INSTRUCTED AND TALKS TO WATER.



THE PATROLMAN FALLS OVER DOOR SILLS WHEN TRYING TO ENTER BUILDINGS, SAYS: "LOOK AT THE CHOO-CHOO," WETS HIMSELF WITH A WATER PISTOL, AND MUMBLES TO HIMSELF.



THE DISPATCHER LIFTS BUILDINGS AND WALK'S UNDER THEM, KICKS LOCOMOTIVES OFF THE TRACKS, CATCHES SPEEDING BULLETS IN HER TEETH AND CHEWS THEM, AND FREEZES WATER WITH A SINGLE GLANCE. THE DISPATCHER IS GOD!

The Dispatch Funnies

Believe me these things really happened.

Caller:"Um yeah... This guy is driving really erotically"

Caller:"It's either a raccoon or a mountain lion"

Dispatcher: Can I have your date of birth? --- Caller: What you mean my birthday?


Dispatcher: "Is he wearing it or driving it?" in reference to a male in a black blazer
Dispatcher: "I don't have anyone there, because I don't know where "there" is yet?"

Dispatcher : "This is how it works, you call 9-1-1, you give us an address, and then we can send you help, so are you gonna give me an address"

Caller: "I need the fire department, but I don't want them to park a firetruck in front of my house." Dispatcher: "That's how firemen get around ma'am"

Caller: "Can you tell me if it will be a green burn day tomorrow?" Dispatcher: "We can't predict the future, you'll have to call back tomorrow"

Caller: "I didn't dial 9-1-1, I dialed SOS" Dispatcher: "SOS stands for Save Our Souls, and that's what we do"


In regards to a structure fire that the fire department had been working on for nearly an hour...
Officer: "Do you have a report of a structure fire at .... I'm in the area and can see smoke and flames "
Dispatcher: "10-4, Can you see the trucks with the red and white flashing lights ... they're working on putting the fire out"

The Puppy Savior

Think I can train Jasper to do this?










PHOENIX - "Man's best friend" doesn't go far enough for Buddy — a German shepherd who remembered his training and saved his owner's life by calling 911 when the man had a seizure.
And it's not the first time Buddy has been there for owner Joe Stalnaker, a police officer said Sunday.
On a recording of the 911 call Wednesday, Buddy is heard whimpering and barking after the dispatcher answers and repeatedly asks if the caller needs help.
"Hello, this is 911. Hello ... Can you hear me? Is there somebody there you can give the phone to," says the dispatcher, Chris Trott.
Police were sent to Stalnaker's home, and after about three minutes Buddy is heard barking loudly when the officers arrived.
Scottsdale police Sgt. Mark Clark said Stalnaker spent two days in a hospital and recovered from the seizure.
"It's pretty incredible," Clark said. "Even the veteran dispatchers — they haven't heard of anything like this."
Clark said police are dispatched whenever 911 is called, but that Stalnaker's address was flagged in Scottsdale's system with a notification that a trained assistance dog could call 911 when the owner was incapacitated.
Clark said Stalnaker adopted Buddy at the age of 8 weeks from Michigan-based Paws with a Cause, which trains assistance dogs, and trained him to get the phone if he began to have seizure symptoms. Buddy, now 18 months old, is able press programmed buttons until a 911 operator is on the line, Clark said.
Clark said Buddy has made two other 911 calls when Stalnaker was having seizures.
He said Stalnaker's seizures are the result of a head injury he suffered about 10 years ago during a military training exercise.
Stalnaker was not listed in the phone book, and he did not immediately respond to a request through police for an interview.

The Seventh Aniversary

Today is the Seventh Anniversary to the terrorist attacks that occured September 11th, 2001. To anyone directly affected thank you for your sacrifice. For those of us indirectly affected it is our duty not to forget what happened that day, and to always remember those that lost their lives, especially the lives of those that ran to help .

The Life of an Officer

Yesterday the Monument for Fallen Officers in Utah was unveiled at the Utah State Capital.
To all those lost you're missed. Thank you for your sacrifice.



For all those that do not understand the sacrifice of all officer's, those lost and those still working tirelessly for our safety, here is an idea in of the day in the life of an Officer.

An Officers Life......
You wonder why he pulled you over and gave you a ticket for speeding"
He just worked an accident where people died because they were going too fast

You wonder why that cop was so "mean"
He just got done working a case where a drunk driver killed a child.

You work 8 hours
He works for up to 18 hours (or longer).

You drink hot coffee to stay awake
The cold rain in the middle of the night keeps him awake.

You complain of a "headache" and call in sick
He goes into work still hurt and sore from the guy he had to fight the night before.

You drink your coffee on your way to the mall
He spills his as he runs code to a traffice accident with kids trapped inside.

You make sure your cell phone is in your pocket before you leave the house
He makes sure his guns are clean and fully loaded and his vest is tight.

You talk trash about your "buddies" that aren't with you
He watches his buddy get shot at, and wounded in front of him.

You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls
He walks down the highway looking for body parts from a traffic crash.

You complain about how hot it is
He wears fiftly pounds of gear and a bullet proof vest in the middle of July and still runs around chasing crack heads.

You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong
He runs out before he gets his food to respond to an armed robbery.

You get out of bed in the morning and take your time getting ready
he gets called out of bed at 2 am afther working 12 hours and has to be into work ASAP for a fatal accident .

You go to the mall and get your hair done
He holds the hair of some college girl while she's puking in the back of his patrol car.

You're angry because your class ran 5 minutes over
His shift "ended" 4 hours ago and there's no end in sight.

You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight
He can't make any plans because on his days off he still gets called back into work.

You yell and scream at the squad car that just went past you because they slowed you down
He's in the driver seat of the squad car, going to cut somebody out of their car only to find out they're deand when he gets there.

You roll your eyes when a baby cries in public
he picks up a dead child in his arms and prays that it would cry.

You criticize your police department and say they're never there quick enough
He blasts the siren while the person in front of him refuses to move while talking on their cell phone and doing their makeup.

You hear the jokes about fallen officers and say they should have known better
He is a hero and runs into situations when everyone else is running away in order to make sure no one else gets hurt and loses his life doing it.

You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't
He would take a bullet for his buddy, or even you, without question.

You sit there and judge him, saying that it's a waste of money to have them around.
Yet as soon as you need help he is there.

Also a shout out to the men and women of the Fire Departments, Corrections, EMS and Dispatchers as well, without all these divisions, public safety wouldn't be available!!!!


And for anyone intersted in the Fallen Officer Monument or how you can donate to their cause visit https://www.utahsfallen.org/

The Celebrity

So for all those don't realize that we could have a celebrity in our midst right here at Utah County Central Dispatch, I'll clue you in. At this year's APCO conference they had their own mini American Idol contest, and guess who won? Our very own Kathleen Provstgaard. Here's some links for anyone who wants a preview of exactly how talented she is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akXk2GiLbhY

Congratulations Kat!!!

The Promotion

Okay so I know I haven't blogged for a while, but it's been a busy few weeks. First was that week long training that has soo many stories that I'm going to have to do a supplementary blog later to share. After the training, I headed right back to work, and re-acclimating Jasper to me being back and promising I won't leave for awhile, well between these to things I was interviewing and testing for a promotion at work. And well.....

They decided to promote me :) . I am now a Dispatch supervisor. The position is pretty much the civilian equivalent of Sergeant but with out the fancy monicker in front of my name. For all those that aren't familiar with the job here's what it entails ..

Basically doing the same stuff that I was before, still actually dispatching, answering 911 and non emergency call etc. But I will also have the responsibility of making sure that protocols are followed and guess who gets to shoulder the liability? Yep that's me.

The Training

So a few weeks ago I went to Emmitsburg, MD for FEMA training. Melissa and I stayed on the national training campus, which used to be a Catholic Girls College. It was absolutely gorgeous. Its also the home of the National Fire Academy, so the Fallen Firefighter memorial is there as well. They also have a 9/11 Memorial that was gorgeous.

There's alot more pictures that I'm going to have to put up later, maybe in a slide :)

The Car

Okay most already know that there is something in my life that I baby and spoil almost as much as my puppy... My Car :)











Last Decemember I decided to get my "reality" dream car, a blue Nissan 350Z. I call it the "reality" dream, simply because my fantasy dream car is a Aston Martin Vanquish, and I just don't have $200K to drop on a car. :)





It's been 7 months now since I've been speeding around in my little blue sports car, and I still absolutely love it. It even wasn't too bad in the winter (after I got the snow tires that is). It's hillarious the looks I'll get when I'm in it. Small children wave at me, guys look it up and down, and of course the best part is the comments I get when I get take out at a drive thru :)



So here's some pictures of it for those that haven't seen it in real life.

The Chief

A year ago today, Utah County lost one of it's most respected, honored and loved members of Public Safety. Saratoga Springs Fire Chief Mike Penovich died in an auto accident near Deer Creek Resevoir. It came a shock to all of us who knew him. He always seemed larger than life and was such a loving person. Immediately accepting of everyone. We know you're helping as much as you can from the other side.

Mike a year later and you're still greatly missed.


When I am called to duty, God
whenever flames may rage,
Give me the strength to save some life
Whatever be its age.

Help me to embrace a little child
Before it’s too late,
Or some older person
from the horror of that fate.

Enable me to be alert
And hear the weakest shout,
And quickly and efficiently
to put the fire out.

I want to fill my calling
and give the best in me,
To guard my neighbor
And protect his property.

And if according to Your will
I have to lose my life,
Please bless with Your protecting hand
My children and my wife


Loved, Missed, and never Forgotten

The Tag

A-Attached or Single: Very Single
B-Best Friend: Marty
C-Cake or Pie: Cheesecake
D-Day of Choice: Fridays on this rotation
E-Essential Item: Jeans
F-Favorite Color(s): Blue
G-Gummy Bears or Worms: Gummy Bears
H-Hometown: Pleasant Grove
I-Indulgences: Sleeping, Movies, Chocolate
J-January or July: January
K-Kids- Love them, but not necessarily wanting any
L-Life Is: Crazy
M-Marriage Date: unknown, but at the rate I'm going may 2015
N-Number of siblings: 2 sisters 1 brother
O-Oranges or Apples: Apples
P-Phobias or Fears: Not really anything
Q-Quote: Sarcasm, it beats killing people.
R-Ring size: 7
S-Season: Fall
T-Tag 3: Nia, Steph, Kristy
U-Unknown fact about me: Ummm... it's unknown for a reason :)
V-Very Favorite Store: Target
W-Worst Habit: Buying movies
X-X-Ray or Ultrasound: X Ray
Y-Your Favorite Food: Cheesy potatoes
Z-Zodiac: Cancer

The Shooting

"Shots fired, Officer down."
These are the four words that will basically stop the heart of anybody involved in public safety. And these four words were used just yesterday in our dispatch center.



I wasn't at work when the incident occurred, and can only imagine what it was like to hear those words first hand. I was notified by a text page sent to all of Dispatch at about 9:15 that morning. The only information at the time was that there was an officer down and the need for more dispatchers to come in. Let me tell you just reading those words basically stops your world. I had worked all night the night before, and was scheduled to work again that night so I was unable to come in and help at the time. And it felt like my hands were tied in not being able to help for that little bit.



Instead of sleeping for that little bit I sat with my laptop with a window open to each major news stations web page refreshing ever few minutes. My scanner was turned on sitting next to me and I had the TV on to Channel 2, just trying to catch even the slightest update.



Capt. Harold Terry is thankfully in stable condition and they hope for a full recovery. He had been shot twice in the head by a female suspect he had pulled over for suspicion of impairment. Thankfully two other Lehi officers had arrived as back up and were able to return fire, killing the suspect, and saving Harold's life.



Capt. Terry is a great officer and leader of the Lehi Police Department. While he is recovering he'll be greatly missed, especially at about 0510 hours every morning, when he would normally check on duty. My prayers go out for a speedy recovery for our beloved 8J3.

The Birds

No not real birds, in the dispatch world when someone asks for a 'bird' they want a Medical Helicopter. Tonight we had a juvenile male that needed immediat transport up to Primary Children's from one of the more remote areas in Utah County, the best answer for that is a chopper. And let me tell you, both AirMed and Life Flight are awesome. Life Flight has one that is stationed at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center 24/7, while AirMed has one stationed at Timpanogas Regional for 12-14 hours a day. Both do not hesitate to get us the closest chopper they have or one with unique specialties. Life Flight has the pediatric, neo-natal, and hoist specialty teams. While AirMed has high risk OB and burn specialty teams. Each team has a Pilot, and at least one Paramedic and Flight nurse. The teams will fly nearly all the time, light, dark, it doesn't matter, the only thing that hampers them is extreme weather conditions.

These guys are truely awesome and they definitely know what to do to save a life. I found this out personally when Life Flight had to transport my mom from American Fork up to LDS Hospital almost 5 years ago, the flight nurse and paramedic raised my mom's blood pressure from about 45/30 to 60/45 in less than 30 minutes (something that AFH ICU wasn't able to do in 5 hours) prior to take off, and they had it raised even further before landing at LDS.

These 'birds' are a great asset to a 9-1-1 Dispatcher.

The 13th

Those who say there's no such thing as superstition when applied to Friday the 13th, have obviously never worked in a dispatch center. Today there were a bunch of almost disasters in Utah County, but they could have ended up a whole lot worse.

First there was a helicopter crash out near Eagle Mountain, but luckily the pilot, and only occupant, walked away from it with only a few cuts on his face. (I like to call these bounces, cuz in my book if you can walk away it's not really a crash :) He was so well infact that he even got pulled over as he was going home from it for speeding, our deputy wasn't mean enough to give him a ticket tho. (I guess that's one way to get out of a ticket, just crash a helicopter just a couple hours prior to getting pulled over ;)

There was also a capsized boat out on the lake, but by time we got to them they had made to shore and everyone was okay.

Oh yeah, and then we had a report of a possible hostage situation, but as soon as the deputy got on scene everybody came out and was okay, apparently it was blown way out of proportion. Gotta love it when the people that call in embellish :)

So yeah, us dispatchers definitely belive in superstitions. We all hate to work Friday the 13th, don't particularly like full moons, and try never to actually say the word quiet (even when it is). They all just beg for trouble to start ringing in.

The Job

I often am asked exactly what does a 9-1-1 Dispatcher actually do? Well the answer is soo many things it's hard to know where to start. But the folks at 911cares.com came up with a cute saying/quote that I think aptly describes my job ...

Today I ...
Made life and death decisions... Educated a citizen... Helped keep law enforcement officers safe ... Prevented a suicide .. Sent help to a serious car accident ... Helped find a lost child .. Assisted in catching a crook... Was a friend to a total stranger ... Calmed a frantic victim... Directed a helicopter to a serious emergency ... Stayed on the phone to comfort a parent ... Stopped a crime... Stayed calm when an officer or citizen asked for the impossible ... Protected your community .. Gave someone the rest of their life ... Re-united a family with their lost dog ... Recovered a stolen vehicle .. Instructed someone on CPR (and it worked, she's alive) ... Told a cop where to go (and they went) ... Made sure the firefighters got to the raging fire ... Gave someone a hug via the phone.. Worked with a great team ... Worked with heroes .. Saved lives ... Made a difference!

To all those who think we are nothing more than glorified secretaries or our job is just another customer service phone position, I'd like to ask them what they did today?

The Puppy

So here's some pics of my cute mini schnauzer. He's 4 months old now and his name is Jasper. He's super cute and likes to takes naps with me on the couch in the afternoon.
I've had him for about 2 months now and he is completely potty trained. Still working on getting him to stop the puppy biting, he's getting better.
His favorite thing to do is run out of the doggy door with a toy and take at quick running tour of the backyard with the toy in his mouth and then come running back inside. He also does this cute deer-like leap when he plays fetch, and ads a slide to it if we're in the kitchen.

The Beginning

To start off I guess I should answer the first question everyone seems to have when they hear about my job, "How did you get into that?" ...

I was studying Criminal Justice at UVSC and decided to get a job somewhat related. I saw the opening for the dispatch position and thought "Hey that'd be fun". Turns out I fell in love with the job ended up putting off school and have been dispatching ever since.

Yes it can be hard and very stressful, but I usually like the adrenaline rush. And though about 98% of my job is negative, I like knowing that I'm helping people.