Rotary roundup

What do 911 dispatchers, academic programs, and Broadband initiatives have in common? They were all topics of discussion at recent meetings of the Rotary Club of Ville Platte.
Liz Hill, director of Evangeline Parish 911, led off the series of meetings. She explained a 911 dispatcher is “a telephone, radio, or computer operator who connects people in need with fire, police, and medical emergency services.”
She continued, “They receive a variety of reports ranging from car accidents to criminal acts in progress and coordinate the dispatch of the appropriate emergency responders.”
Hill reported the local 911 office covers about 660 square miles in Evangeline Parish and a population of around 33 thousand people. It dispatches for all of the fire departments in the parish and five of the police departments.
“Last year there were 39 thousand incidents of calls that came through our 911 center,” said Hill.
Answering the calls at the center are three dispatchers on duty 24-hours a day who work 12-hour shifts. There are 14 full-time dispatchers, three part-time dispatchers, one PRN, four administrative staff members, and one maintenance person.
“Although the job of a dispatcher may be very mentally stressing,” Hill said, “it can, at times, be very rewarding. We have been involved with some very heart wrenching calls. Some will never be forgotten, but we have also been involved with some that are quite humorous.”
After hearing from one of its newest members, Tricia Ward, the club heard from Lana Fontenot about an update on South Louisiana Community College.
Fontenot reported the college offers 50 different majors across its campuses that are located in eight parishes. The college also serves more than 17 thousand students. It is also extending its reach by taking over the campus in Cottonport which was part of the Central Louisiana Technical Community College.
As Fontenot explained, SLCC offers technical diplomas and associate degrees that carry over to four-year universities. Tuition there is a fraction of what it is at one of the four-year universities at $2,100 per semester.
“In terms of economics,”:she said, “it really makes sense to send your children and people in your community to SLCC for their first year or first two years of education, then they can matriculate to the local universities.”
Sixty-five percent of the students at SLCC go on to transfer and end up getting their bachelor’s degree. Some go on further and get their master’s or doctorate. The other 35 percent receive degrees in a technical program. “They get in, get out, and go to work,” Fontenot said.
These technical programs include electricians, automotive, welding, nursing, and medical assistant.
Fontenot went on to report that over the past three and a half academic years, more than 200 students from Evangeline Parish have enrolled at the Coreil Campus in Ville Platte, the campus in Opelousas, and the campus in Lafayette.
“Most of them have achieved the technical diploma,” she said. “That really speaks to the blue collar workforce needed in Evangeline Parish and beyond.”
At the recent meeting held Tuesday, May 9, the Rotary Club was treated to an extra dose of fiber as Monique Boulet, CEO of Acadiana Planning Commission, passed around a sample of a piece of fiber tubing that is needed to offer Broadband services.
Boulet said a leading cause of out-migration from the Acadiana area is a lack of Broadband services. “We can’t really keep our young people in our communities if they cannot operate on the Internet.”
She said her organization is lobbying for the Acadiana region to become a 10-gig region.
She went on to say Broadband is becoming the next utility. “Our ancestors had great lives, had very happy families, had big meals, danced after dinner, and then they blew out the candles and didn’t realize life could be different and better,” she said. “That’s kind of where we are with Broadband.”