Champaign Countywide 911 Center

04/30/2026

Weekly reminder to Come out and support your local firemen! Enjoy breakfast and purchase your mother, grandmother, sister, wife or friend some beautiful hanging baskets!!!! Please join us for our 2nd annual Pancake Sausage and Flower Sale on May 2nd from 7am until 11am. Our flower sale will run for an entire week. Last year was amazing, let’s see if we can make this year bigger and better!!!! We hope to see each and every one of you! Thank you for your support!

04/30/2026

04/29/2026

Register using the website or QR code on the flyer.
https://member.everbridge.net/88752814817501/login

Dear Champaign County Residents,

Following the security breach that affected the county’s previous alerting system, CodeRED, in November, the county has taken steps to ensure a more secure and reliable method of delivering emergency notifications.

We are pleased to introduce our new alerting platform, Everbridge. This system offers enhanced security, dependable performance, and a unified solution for sending emergency messages. Everbridge is trusted by millions of users across more than 200 countries and territories and incorporates over 325 security controls. It delivers real-time alerts and instructions through multiple channels, including SMS, email, desktop notifications, and voice calls.

Please note that all residents must complete a new registration to receive alerts through Everbridge, even if you were previously signed up for CodeRED. Without registration, you will not receive emergency notifications.

We strongly encourage you to follow the registration instructions as soon as possible to stay informed and protected.

Register using the website or QR code on the flyer.
https://member.everbridge.net/88752814817501/login

04/27/2026

Every year during National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week our center has a peer-to-peer award nomination. These awards are given to the dispatcher with the highest number of nominations.

While everyone is a super star, some shine a little brighter in certain areas.

Excellence in LEADS/NCIC 💛 Rachel Mitchell (not pictured)
Excellence in EMD 💛 Kaylyn Burns
Excellence in DTO Training 💛 Annissa House
Excellence in Overall Dedication 💛 Deven Dixon
Best Rookie 💛 Katie Heider
Most Valuable Team Member 💛 Deven Dixon

♦️5-year Service Award recipients: Arianna Fenwick, Suzan Taubel, Molly Melchi, Deven Dixon, Annissa House, Magdaline Crain, & Rachel Mitchell

♦️10-year Service Award recipients: Caitlin Lockard & Kylie Bebout

♦️15-year Service Award recipient: Leslie Massie (not pictured)

🎖️Molly Melchi is our Data Entry Clerk, and willingly steps into the role of a dispatcher when needed. With this being said, Molly was awarded the "Honorary Dispatcher" to show that we notice her efforts in being a team member🎖️ She has a multitude of skillset when it comes to public safety!

A CIT dispatcher (Crisis Intervention Team Dispatcher) is a 911 communications professional who has specialized training to recognize and respond appropriately to calls involving mental health crises, substance use issues, or emotional distress. CIT dispatchers are a vital link between the public and first responders.

A CIT dispatcher’s role goes beyond simply answering calls and sending police or EMS. They Identify mental health related situations early by listening for cues like confusion, distress, or erratic behavior. They ask targeted, calming questions to better understand what’s happening without escalating the caller. They prioritize the right response, which might mean sending specially trained CIT officers, crisis counselors, or EMS instead of a standard police response. They provide deescalation support over the phone, helping keep the person in crisis calm and safe as possible until help arrives. They relay critical information to responders, so they approach the situation with awareness and appropriate tactics.

Leslie Massie is the recipient for the 2025 Champaign Countywide Communication Center's CIT Telecommunicator of the Year.

Leslie completed a 40-hour CIT training back in 2018 and has used the tools to aide callers in crisis throughout the years. This award is so well deserved.

Congratulations to all!!!

04/18/2026

This evening, our dispatch family got together to wrap up National Public Safety Telecommunications Week with dinner, awards, and lots of laughs. More pictures to follow later, but for now we wanted to extend our sincerest gratitude to Pat and Patsy Thackery of Cafe Paradiso as well as Amy Forrest of In Good Taste Market for donating the most delicious food to our center. Everything was absolutely incredible and we are so grateful for your hospitality!

04/17/2026

Congratulations on your retirement, Chief Hoey!

Help us celebrate on Sunday, April 19th from 2-4 at the firehouse as we honor the career and retirement of longtime member Chief Bob Hoey. There will be a Ceremony at 3:00 pm at the Christiansburg Firehouse and it wil also be broadcast live on our page.

04/17/2026

I decided to become a dispatcher in my junior year of high school. I wanted to prove to myself and my family that I can do anything; we do not all have the same path in life. I want to help people as much as I can. Dispatching has taught me how to be calm during the chaos. My hope is to continue to succeed in this 9-1-1 center. Even though I do not live in Champaign County I still answer every call as if it’s a loved one on the other side.

~Daytona Kellough

04/17/2026

I chose to be a dispatcher for Champaign County because I wanted to be able to help people. I want to be the person when you are having a bad day on the line with a calm voice until help arrives.

I enjoy working for the community of Champaign County and being there to help. I am happy that I started my career here as a dispatcher and am able to grow, as well as be there for the community.

~Katie Heider

04/17/2026

I wanted to take a minute to brag!! The Champaign County Dispatchers are true first-first responders, they are the superheroes behind the scene. When I say that we have the best team, I am not being a little biased, I truly mean it. They are a significant team that serves this county. Whenever you call into the 9-1-1 center for help, know that you are getting the best of the best on the other end of the phone line. They will have your back and keep you calm until the field responders arrive. Their skills are unmeasurable, and they put so much effort into continuing to grow their skillset as a dispatcher by learning the latest technology and adhering to best practices, so they can handle any call for service no matter the complexity.

The day and the life of a 9-1-1 Dispatcher is not just answering the call, it is so much more. They deserve recognition every day, not just the week that is carved out each year.

Leslie, Caitlin, Suzan, Annissa, Deven, Kaylyn, Rachel, Katie H., Kylie, Aaron, Jess, Daytona, Arianna, Magdaline, Katie J., & Molly - THANK YOU for being amazing!!

04/17/2026

Almost 10 years ago, I was randomly putting in applications to different jobs, and I came across the posting for the Champaign County 9-1-1 Center. I never dreamed I would actually get the job because I had a background in everything but public safety, but they saw something in me and gave me a chance. I had no idea what the magnitude of the title “dispatcher” meant, but early on in my training I felt like I finally found my place in what I was meant to do. Two weeks after I was released from training, I took the first 9-1-1 call for the West Liberty School shooting, and as crazy as it sounds, that was the event that made me fall in love with this career. I was part of something so much bigger than myself. I was part of helping to save lives and protect the first responders on scene.
Since then, I’ve taken so many more calls that an outside person could never wrap their head around. I’ve listened to screams when people have found their loved one deceased. I’ve listened to them sobbing while people watched everything they’ve worked for burn to the ground. I’ve talked to people through a mental crisis, and suicidal thoughts. I’ve held my breath multiple times while our Officers & Deputies have been on a dangerous call, not able to answer check-ups. I’ve even helped deliver a baby during a 9-1-1 call.
I did drop down to part time for a while, and during that time, I worked for a much larger dispatch center, it was not for me. I’ve lived in Champaign County basically my entire life, and this is home. This county is full of friends and family, as well as the community that I am so proud to be a part of. Each call that I’ve taken over the years has given me a purpose. I was put in this position to be here for the first responders and the people of Champaign County on the worst day of their lives.

~Kylie Bebout