Last call for High Desert Communications
Switch from High Desert Communications Center to county system takes effect July 1
April 1, 2009 - 5:16 PM
BEATRIZ E. VALENZUELA Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • It’s a voice many hope not to have to hear, but when they do, that voice is a lifeline.
The dispatchers for High Desert Communications who handle the calls for San Bernardino County Fire Victorville and Apple Valley Fire Protection District stations have been handling emergency calls for years.
But as of July 1, that will no longer be the case.
All local fire calls will be handled by San Bernardino County Fire’s dispatch center, San Bernardino County Communications Center located in the San Bernardino area.
Seven full-time and several part-time and seasonal High Desert Communications dispatchers will be losing their jobs. The full-time dispatchers will have the opportunity to test into open positions with the county dispatch system, said Yvonne Hester, spokeswoman for the city of Victorville, but the total number of open positions is not yet known.
According to Hester, the big push to move from the current system to the county system was that High Desert Communications was working on a different radio system.
The change was also an unwritten part of the contract between the city of Victorville and the county.
