One very large state mandated assignment, hit my desk as I took Office.  We had to have a plan for a county wide 9-1-1 system into the State by December 31, 1985.

As mentioned earlier, work had begun, a consultant had been hired and a few meetings had been conducted, but we were nowhere ready to formulate a plan.

The obstacle to full compliance was how to work with the volunteer fire and ambulance services around the county – in addition to the Rajneesh situation.

The City of The Dalles (City) had been in the 9-1-1 system for several years.  They had a communication center manned with dispatchers 24 hours a day.  The state had levied a phone tax for 9-1-1 centers several years prior to 1985.  The money was to be used only for the 9-1-1 calls, equipment AND administrative duties of forming a plan.

The City had used all its 9-1-1 funding received on those two telephone exchanges.  Each year they had applied it to the com center.  The funding was insufficient to operate the center so additional funds were used from the City’s general funds to finance it and to augment it with answering and dispatching the City Police, and the Fire and Ambulance services for the two numbers assigned to the city.

There were citizens outside the City that also used those numbers, so any calls from them, of a law enforcement nature, were relayed to the Sheriff’s Office which had its own dispatchers.  The ambulance service operated by the City Fire Department handled calls in both the City and the outside areas.  The city dispatched the fire departments.

There were two fire departments that the City dispatched the City’s and Wasco Rural.  Wasco Rural handled all calls, outside the City limits, in The Dalles telephone exchange.  They paid the City for their additional services.

As per law, the County and other incorporated cities within the county had been placing their portions of the 9-1-1 money into interest bearing accounts until it could be used for the planning and implementation of the county plan.

Part of that money was being used to pay the consultant for his time and advice.  He was also the person who was to be the spokesperson for the planning process.

The problem was one of trust, the agencies and cities outside The City didn’t trust The City’s council or personnel.  They were afraid they would lose control of their program and the service calls would be delayed due to the 9-1-1 operators being unfamiliar with the county and their area in particular.

As the Sheriff, and the Office that would most benefit from the plan in the county, I had to be involved in the process.  I figured I could quickly get the volunteers to sign off on the plan – I figured wrong.

While I was their elected Sheriff, I had been a police officer for the City of The Dalles.  They had to be convinced my loyalty now was to the whole county, not just The City.  I had to prove I was there to help them.

We did have the benefit of a highly respected County Judge (he lived outside one of our smaller communities in another part of the county), who was supporting our work, but still they nuts and bolts had to be decided by the agencies affected. 

It was a long process.  I spend dozens of hours driving around the county, not to mention the even more hundreds of hours talking to both the individual organizations AND key people in those organizations to get their concerns and ideas and then to assure them they would be heard and their concerns addressed.

Somewhere along the line someone suggested using the hospital’s dispatching service – since they were there 24 hours to call in staff.  We quickly dissuaded that idea – there wasn’t a cop or firemen who would have agreed to that; it would be like having a telephone operator dispatch us.  Dispatching for emergency departments would be much too involved; they would have to go through a lot of training not to mention calling a doctor and dealing with people in crisis requires a different kind of personality for our dispatcher.

From start to finish a major supporter of the county wide plan was The Dalles City Manager.  He had enough respect from his council to give him the authority to negotiate.  His flexibility and insights along with his influence with the City Council made all the difference in getting the City to agree to the plan. 

However, those volunteer agencies outside the City questioned his loyalties to the program; he was hired by The Dalles to follow the orders of the Council.  While he was a big supporter of a county system, I did most of the leg work with the volunteers by myself, no point in adding fuel to the fire and he had many other things on his plate. 

One of the concerns was the City controlling the center.  The City was the 800 pound gorilla; almost half of the citizens lived in the City limits.

Some on the City council wanted control; their justification was that since the City would be putting up most of the funding, the City should have the control of the center.  Those that felt that way were not quiet. 

It was an obstacle to the forming of the plan.

Mathew 11:28-30  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Good verses for me this morning.  Not that I have a burden that would be considered much by many, but even the slightest weight can become heavier at times.

Today, I am rummy, tired and disappointed.  They had to once again put me to sleep to try and get the device to work – and it hasn’t.  From all appearances I am back where I was almost a year ago – in need of something to stop my incontinence and the ablation operation to address my A-fib issues.

And, as has already been proven, they may not be addressed for a while.  The medication for the one, impact the other. 

Yet, I know that God has a purpose for all of this, I must learn to be patient.

It is so interesting that Christ, who is the Son of the Living God. 

Christ, who has all power given to Him by God to forgive sinners.

Christ, who even now sits at the right hand of God, and when He spoke in these verses knew that would be His right.

Christ, who says “I am meek and lowly in heart.”

Christ cares for every part of our lives.  He knows when life’s challenges seem to drag a man down. 

When we want heavy lifting we think of a big strong man.  When we want a fighter we think of a big strong man.

I can just imagine a General like Patton being approached by a soldier who tells him, ‘I am meek and lowly in heart but I will win the battle for you,’ thinking get away from me – I need ‘real men’ to be soldiers.

Christ was a real man.  He endured many persecutions, torture and then the death on the cross.

At any time He could have said to God, ‘I can no longer bear this burden.  I don’t want to pray for strength any longer, just take me home that I might be free of the burden as a man.’

Instead He stood fast, took everything man and satan could push against Him and humbly served God.  His countenance was that of a lowly man who knew that He was doing God’s Work.

He knows what it feels like to be disappointed – He went through the trials alone, without the support of those He had taught and served for the past three years.  They abandoned Him.

No one stood up for Him in front of Herod or Pilate.  No one.

He shows His understanding of what we need when we come to Him for strength that will ease the burdens we have on this earth.

and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Thank you, Lord.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again