Town and Country Police Dispatch Center Recognized

Members of the West Central Dispatch Center are being recognized for the "outstanding" partnership between the Town and Country, Creve Coeur and Frontenac cities and police departments.

The recently created West Central Dispatch Center (WCDC) is being recognized by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments for its intergovernmental collaboration.  The police dispatch center began operating in March 2011 out of the Town and Country Police Department. WCDC dispatchers handle police calls for Town and Country, Creve Coeur and Frontenac residents.  "Each year the East-West Gateway Council of Governments honors local jurisdictions, public officials and projects that are making special contributions to their community and to the region," the award letter from East-West Gateway Council of Governments states.  The council said the WCDC is receiving a 2012 Outstanding Local Government Achievement Award. The cities of Town and …

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Crime Alert: Police Warn Residents to Watch for Burglary Suspects

Town and Country police warn residents to watch for an alleged burglary suspect and his accomplice. They're reportedly burglarizing West County homes during the day and have hit Town and Country at least twice.

The following information was supplied by the Town and Country Police Department. Town and Country police are searching for two people after recent area break-ins. Captain Gary Hoelzer tells Patch Mark Davenport has been identified as a suspect in the May 7 burglary in the 1500 block of South Mason Road, near Queeny Park, where jewelry and laptop computers were stolen. (Read Previous Story: Police Searching for Thief After Monday Home Burglary) "We have positively identified him to be related to that burglary," Hoelzer tells Patch. KMOV reports it was a tip from a St. Louis area business made the connection. Police believe Davenport has an accomplice, Tonya (Broeker) Quargnenti, 33, who is also wanted in connection with the South Mason …

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Town and Country Police Losing Dispatching Partner

The Frontenac Fire Department is leaving the West Central Dispatch Center and joining Central County Fire Alarm next month.

Seven months into operation, the West Central Dispatch Center, which handles radio dispatching services for the Town and Country Police Depatment, Creve Coeur Police Department, Frontenac Police Department and Frontenac Fire Department, is losing one of its partners. Effective Nov. 1, the Frontenac Fire Department will work through Central County Fire Alarm, which handles dispatch for fire and ambulance agencies around West St. Louis County, inlcuding West County EMS and Fire Protection District. Frontenac Fire Chief Jack Trout said when his agency joined the WCDC, the hope was that other fire agencies would join, but talks with other departments, including Glendale and Ladue, did not lead to membership. Trout said the change will mean …

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Opinion

Untimely Police Death Touches St. Louis Music Scene

When I planned a benefit concert for the family of police dispatcher Lisa O’Brien, local musicians and entertainers were eager to help.

Back in 1973 and 1974, I was a police dispatcher in Creve Coeur, where we dispatched officers with Town and Country, Frontenac and Creve Coeur police departments. Forty years ago, many police dispatchers were like me—young men waiting to be sent to the police academy and hired as police officers. That has all changed. Now police communication officers are professionals, hired with the hope they'll stick around on the job for decades. Often, after an eight-hour shift, I would be exhausted. An officer may respond to one stressful call, but dispatchers who work the radio, phone and the desk dealt with several things simultaneously. Citizens would need immediate help, burglar alarms would buzz all while police officers on the radio demanded …

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Town and Country Police Dispatcher Remembered

After the unexpected death of one of their own, coworkers say wife and mother, Lisa O'Brien, was more like family than a colleague.

On the morning of Friday July 22, a memorial service was held for Lisa O’Brien, the Town and Country Police Dispatcher turned communications specialist for West County Dispatch Center who unexpectedly passed at the age of 31 on July 18. (Read Previous Story: Town and Country Police Mourn Sudden Death of Dispatcher) The entire staff of the Town and Country Police Department was in attendance, a neighboring department volunteered to cover patrols. The entire 30+ staff coming to pay their respects was no surprise, the unanimous feeling among the Town and Country Police Department is that Lisa was more like a member of their family than just a coworker. “A lot of us treated Lisa and thought of Lisa like a little sister or even a daughter,” …

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Town and Country Police Mourn Sudden Death of Dispatcher

Three police departments are mourning the sudden loss of a 31-year-old dispatcher who leaves behind two children.

The West Central Dispatch Center is mourning the sudden loss of Communications Specialist Lisa O’Brien, 31, who passed away Monday due to complications from a recent respiratory illness.  O'Brien is survived by her husband, Kevin, and her two children Aidan, 5 and Maddie, 8 months. Town and Country Police Captain Pat Kranz told Patch that O'Brien served in law enforcement for more than 10 years as a 911 dispatcher. She began in 2002 as a dispatcher for the Town and Country Police Department and recently transferred to the newly created West Central Dispatch Center, which dispatches for Town and Country, Frontenac and Creve Coeur police departments. "She was one of those people who could just light up the room, so it just hit everyone here …

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Town and Country Police Captain Commended by Creve Coeur Police Chief

Town and Country Police Captain Captain Pat Kranz was recognized by Creve Coeur Police Chief for his work with the new tri-city dispatch center.

Town and Country Police Captain Pat Kranz was recognized by the Creve Coeur police chief for his work with the new tri-city dispatch center. During a meeting in Creve Coeur earlier this week, Creve Coeur Police Chief Glenn Eidman thanked Captain Kranz for his dedication to the effort of developing the new West Central Dispatch Center. The new dispatch center combines police dispatching for the cities of Town and Country, Creve Coeur and Frontenac. Dispatchers for all three communities are now housed in the Town and Country Municipal Center. Chief Eidman said Kranz's hard work from the creation of the project was crucial to new center becoming a reality.  "Captain Kranz has worked endlessly during this entire project, submitting information…

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First Week of New Dispatch Center Runs Smoothly

The West Central Dispatch Center in Town and Country has been up and running since Monday and the new center's general manager said the changeover went smoothly.

A public critique of the new West Central Dispatch Center (WCDC) by its board of directors scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday was canceled the night before, due to an illness in a board member’s family. The critique was to focus on the transition of the previously separate Creve Coeur, Frontenac, and Town and Country emergency dispatcher centers into the single dispatch center located in the Town and Country Municipal Center. The WCDC has been operational since Monday. Despite the meeting’s cancellation, Patch was able to speak with WCDC General Manager Bob Heimberger about the WCDC’s transition and first days of operation.    The transition was really a simple process, Heimberger said. The only problem, thus far, has been a minor glitch with …

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Tri-City Dispatch Center Begins Operating In Town and Country Monday

The new West Central Dispatch Center housing Town and Country, Creve Coeur and Frontenac police dispatchers began operating at its new location Monday.

UPDATE: Monday 3:00 p.m.- According to West Central Dispatch Center General Manager Robert Heimberger, the transition from three dispatch centers to one is taking place without any issues Monday. Heimberger said Town and Country radio and phone lines were switched over first with no problems, Creve Coeur followed and Frontenac would be the last the switch over Monday to the new system out of the WCDC. Monday, Crever Coeur and Frontenac still had dispatchers at their police stations during the transition, but Heimberger said by Tuesday morning, dispatchers from all three cities will work out of the new tri-city dispatch center in Town and Country.   READ ORIGINAL STORY: It happened one week later than originally planned, but the new West …

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Gabrielle Biondo

9:14 pm on Monday, March 28, 2011

Loretta- When Patch talked with dispatch officials they said all dispatcher positions had been filled, but you can call the dispatch center at 314-432-4696.   more ›

Joint Dispatching Center Start Date Delayed

The new West Central Dispatch Center that will house Town and Country, Creve Coeur and Frontenac police dispatchers will likely open one week later than originally planned as law enforcement officials work out on final details.

The West Central Dispatching Center will be operational as far as employees are concerned Tuesday, March 1 as planned, but administrators for the participating municipalities have agreed to delay opening the central hub that will house the operation at the Town and Country Municipal Center until March 7. It was originally set to open March 1. That decision came Wednesday at a meeting of the WCDC Board of Directors, where officials reported phone lines and furniture for the new entity would not be installed until March 2, while some of the carpeting would not be finished until Monday. A total of 10 dispatchers have been hired so far, with offers out to two more candidates this week. Earlier plans called for a staff of 13, but in an effort …

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