http://www.modbee.com/local/story/499722.html
MERCED -- Sandy DeMott remembers the days when the Merced California Highway Patrol's dispatch center would field calls with rotary phones.
As a CHP dispatcher for 35 years, she's seen her share of emergencies. In the midst of a chaotic situation, however, CHP officers say they always could count on DeMott's patient voice and composed demeanor to get the job done.
"On the phone," she said, "we get screamed at a lot. People are out of control. So you just have to be the one to listen and decipher what they are saying and hopefully pick out the important stuff and be able to get them help."
On Thursday, DeMott hung up her headset for good, trading the world of a CHP dispatcher for a more relaxed existence as a retiree.
CHP officials and staff from across the Central Valley gathered at the Merced area CHP office Wednesday to celebrate DeMott's departure and thank her for her service.
The Atwater resident said her goodbyes to a packed room of well-wishers, saying she's appreciated their camaraderie and friendship. "I am going to miss it -- and I am not going to miss it," she joked. "I hope to never say '911' again."
Steve Badilla, commander of the Merced area CHP, said DeMott probably had "the most seniority" of anybody in the room. "You've done a great service to this department," he said. "When the stuff hits the fan, you really want to have Sandy on that radio."
DeMott has saved lives several times. For example, several years ago, a diabetic woman driving on Route 140 passed out behind the wheel. Her car left the road. When the woman awoke, she was in an orchard and had no idea where she was. DeMott pinpointed the woman's location by tracking her cell phone with global positioning system technology. "I was able to get the ambulance pretty much to her," DeMott said.
When DeMott started in 1973, the technology was far less advanced than the standard touch-screen computers and computerized maps now in the CHP's dispatch center.
Back then, DeMott said there was a black rotary dial phone for regular business calls, a green phone to communicate between offices and fire departments, and a red phone for emergencies. Each phone had a different ring. "Sometimes, if you had two phones ringing, you had one (phone) on each shoulder and you had to keep them going," she said.
"I can't say I haven't experienced a lot," DeMott said. "I am real glad that I get to walk out of here and do it my way. Thirty-five years and to still get to walk out of the building -- that's not a bad deal."
CHP Dispatcher Heard It All During 35 Years Taking Calls
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