Nicole Stricklin of the Saline County Sheriff’s Office has been named as a winner of the Smart Telecommunicator Award, presented to 9-1-1 dispatchers.  Winners were nominated by peers and individuals for leadership, performance, compassion for callers, ability to inspire co-workers and overall contributions to their Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs).  Twelve finalist entries were then selected for an online public vote to determine a national winner and four regional honorees.

Stricklin found herself on the other end of the phone when her mother Neva suddenly stopped breathing during a visit. After advising her own PSAP of the need for an ambulance, she performed CPR until help arrived. Stricklin’s deft handling of this personal situation saved her mother and won additional praise from her fellow 9-1-1 responders. For this reason, Stricklin was named a Smart Telecommunicator.

A 65-year-old southern Illinois man was killed early Monday morning  when his pickup truck ran into a semi in Wayne County.

Illinois State Police say the semi was on U.S Rte 45 south of Jeffersonville around 5:30 a.m.  The driver, 49-year-old Ronald Trent McKinney of Bluford, had come to a stop in the roadway and was attempting to back into an oil lease road on the east side of U.S. Rte 45.  Troopers say the truck was blocking both lanes of U.S Rte 45.

Wabash County fire departments spent Sunday evaluating  new technology to improve their firefighting capabilities in rural areas of the county. Henry Lovett, Jr.,  Product Manager from TurboDraft Fire Eductor used the pond at Beall Woods State Park to demonstrate how to hook up several hundred feet of hose to the device and quickly pump up to 670 gallons per minute to fight fires. Allendale, Bellmont, and Mount Carmel fire departments are contemplating procuring Turbodrafts in the near future.