Replying to a message of Bj”rn Felten to Bob Ackley:

 BF>    That's interesting. If those numbers are typical for the rest of
 BF> the US that means you have abt. 5,000 stations. Far less than the
 BF> 60.000 that Dale guessed for, even if you double the number to
 BF> compensate the more populated states.

It's my impression that Iowa and Nebraska are on the high side WRT the
number of counties - and note that Cherry County in north-central Nebraska
(county population is just a few hundred) is physically quite a bit larger
than the state of Rhode Island.

 BA>> The operations center is usually co-located with the county sheriff's
 BA>> office and dispatcher

 BF>    So one could say that it's usually not a full time job (the
 BF> operators perform other duties between calls)?

Not in a metropolitan area, but in rural areas - such as this one - it's
quite likely that the person who answers the emergency line (and the
non-panic line too) is in fact the sheriff's dispatcher, one person doing
both jobs.  Especially at night.

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