By Amy Eddings
It’s the last day on the job as a dispatcher for the Ada Police Department for Doris Essex. As of midnight tonight, the department will no longer directly dispatch its officers to answer calls for help. The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office will be taking all those calls.
The sheriff’s office has already been handling Ada’s police dispatching services overnight, from midnight to 8 a.m. That shift in responsibility took place in July. The stroke of midnight marks the completion of this transition.
It’s a transition that has Essex, 61, a little sad. She’s worked at the Ada P.D. as a dispatcher for 11 years.
“When I started, I was surprised,” she said. “There was a lot more going on in Ada than I had thought.”
She will not be left without a job. She will now work full-time for the Ada Police Department as a clerk. But she said she’ll miss “being there for my officers, making sure they’re safe."
She looked over at Detective Robert Sheldon, a mournful expression on her face. Sheldon admonished the Ada Icon.
“You’re going to open up a flood of emotions,” said Detective Sheldon. He expressed relief that Essex is staying on, albeit in a new role.
“She does everything here,” he said. “She’s the most valuable asset in all the department. If she left, we’d have to close all the doors."
The department’s other dispatcher will also remain employed. According to Police Chief Michael Harnischfeger, that employee will now work as a dispatcher with the Hardin County Sheriff’s Department in Kenton.
The end of dispatch services at the department “hasn’t cost us any unemployment, which is good,” Harnishfeger said during Tuesday’s village council meeting. He also told the mayor and village councilors that the switch was coming four months ahead of schedule.
Residents are still urged to call 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency. The chief said that, as of Tuesday morning, the day after the Labor Day holiday, those calling the Ada Police Department with a non-emergency situation will get a message telling them to press 1 if they’d like to speak to an officer.
That will route their call to the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers, who will then contact Ada police. If callers have administrative questions or zoning issues — Chief Harnishfeger is also the village’s zoning inspector — the message will instruct them to press 2, and Doris Essex will take their call.
“I’ll still answer the phone,” said Essex, which means she’ll still be helping people. But the circumstances will be far less dramatic and urgent.
