The Astoria Police Department has announced that the Oregon Chapter of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials — National Emergency Number Association has awarded Dispatchers Jodie Frost and Amber Easterbrook, Operations Supervisor Candace Pozdolski and Communications Manager Jeremy Hipes the Commitment to Excellence Award. The award recognizes a group of telecommunicators who have demonstrated commitment to the principles of excellence in

911 telecommunications by: Dedication to the profession; creative and innovative approaches to quality improvement; promotion of the Telecommunicator Code of Ethics by example; and leadership and mentoring of co-workers. Closed and consolidated with the Seaside Dispatch Center in 2021, Astoria Dispatch returned to Astoria in March 2022, with the addition of Jeremy Hipes, and the certification of Amber Easterbrook. In fall 2022, three police officers and a firefighter were trained to answer non-emergency calls. Over the following six months, the team undertook a series of initiatives by revamping the training program and hiring practices, updating the policies, introducing new or updated software and fostering a culture of dedication. They monitored two police and three fire channels, answering almost 6,000 phone calls a month, entering nearly 20,000 calls for service and averaging over 100 hours of overtime per month.

The Astoria Police Department has announced that the Oregon Chapter of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials — National Emergency Number Association has awarded dispatchers Jodie Frost and Amber Easterbrook, operations supervisor Candace Pozdolski and communications manager Jeremy Hipes the Commitment to Excellence Award.

The award recognizes those who have demonstrated commitment to principles of excellence in 911 telecommunications.