911 Works Fine, Still Causes Confusion for White County Officials

A lifesaving service in White County is at the center of a bitter dispute. Officials their are having a tough time agreeing on how to improve the 911 dispatch center. The Sheriff says it`s taking too long, and the 911 Board says they want to make sure they get everything right. The county renovated a room in the Sheriff`s Department building about a year ago, to hold the new dispatch center. But, dipatchers are still working from a cramped room next to the jail. 911 Board Chair Bobby Armstrong has said in the past that the board was researching what type of equipment to buy for the new center. Both sides presented plans for the move. Sheriff Pat Garrett says he would only need $51,000 to get going. "I`m sitting here right now, pick up the phone and call and get the stuff in here, $51,000 within 60 days of the day they say go, I`ll be up and running in this room," Garrett said. But Tuesday, June 29, the Quorum Court is expected to vote on $150,000 for the 911 board to equip the room and move the center in. The 911 Board`s proposal says their "Number one priority is to get the dispatchers out of their current location and into the new facility. This will eliminate the current problems with cramped quarters and outdated equipment." The board`s 3-5 year goal is to invite Searcy, Beebe, and Bald Knob to consolidate all dispatch centers into one. If made later on, the consolidated center would be housed next to the, already hotly-debated, new White County Jail to eventually sit on Booth Road.