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OHP dispatchers transfer to Warren on Feb. 25
Feb 15, 2012 (Star Beacon - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP -- Ashtabula County's Ohio State Highway Patrol dispatchers will have a much longer drive to work at the end of the month as the post consolidates dispatching services with Warren, OHP Lt. Jerad Sutton said.
"We will become a non-dispatching center as of Feb. 25," Sutton said. "Every call placed to our post will be answered in Warren."
Sutton said just two Ashtabula County dispatchers will take positions at the call center in Warren, Trumbull County, as two dispatchers recently quit and one retired.
"The change in dispatching is a state decision in the consolidation of services," Sutton said. "This is part of the leaner highway patrol. There are the same number of people, the same number of jobs, but the cost savings is in the equipment upgrades. By taking the number of dispatching centers from six to three, the state saves in computers and software."
Sutton said the Warren call center, designated as District 4, will serve seven counties: Trumbull, Mahoning, Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Columbiana and Portage counties.
The new commute for the relocated dispatchers is 50 miles, he said.
Sutton said most services to Ashtabula County residents won't change.
"As far as services to residents, the public won't see much of a difference," Sutton said. "When a person picks up the phone to call the post, they will get a person who will dispatch out a trooper. That certainly won't change. Walk-in services, such as reports and complaints taken at the post location, may not be available after business hours."
"But there will be a phone right here at the post that will link anyone to a dispatcher, 24/7," he said.
Sutton said 13 troopers are on the roster at the Ashtabula post and he is confident that number won't shrink.
"There has been no indication that there will be any less of us on the road," he said.
___ (c)2012 the Star Beacon (Ashtabula, Ohio) Visit the Star Beacon (Ashtabula,
Ohio) at www.starbeacon.com Distributed by MCT Information Services
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