“Always there . . . always ready” was the theme of the talk given at the FHLC meeting on June 5 by Roy Oliver, Assistant Director, Support Services Bureau of the Department of Public Safety Communications (DPSC). Also known as Fairfax County 9-1-1, the DPSC is a nationally recognized public safety communications center, the largest in the Commonwealth of Virginia and one of the ten largest in the United States. The Department receives nearly 1 million calls requesting public safety service per year and dispatches units of the Fairfax County Police Department, Fire and Rescue Department and Sheriff’s Office. In addition to Fairfax County, DPSC is the designated 9-1-1 public safety answering point (PSAP) for the towns of Herndon and Vienna and the City of Fairfax located in the C
Located at 4890 Alliance Drive (near the intersection of US Route 29 and West Ox Road) in the McConnell Public Safety and Transportation Operations Center building, the new facility has 12,000 square feet of space encompassing 94 work stations, 72 of which are dedicated to Fairfax County. There is a fitness room which encourages employees to work out after hours of sitting in a stressful occupation. There is an outdoor court yard, kitchen and dining facilities. Employees work 12.5 hour shifts. Every other week each employee has a three-day weekend.ounty.

Eligible employees must have a high school education and pass a background check. There is basic training for 10 weeks, followed by 8 to 12 weeks on the floor. At this point an employee is then “cut loose to become a call taker.” Additional training is required for police and fire dispatchers. Many staff members speak Spanish. There is an ATT language line with 160 different languages available. There are two daytime and two midnight squads. Approximately 37 to 43 people are assigned to each of the four squads.

Fairfax County 9-1-1 receives approximately 400,000 emergency calls and 420,000 non-emergency calls each year. Ninety-three percent of all emergency calls received are answered within ten seconds. Additionally, it monitors approximately 1,000,000 police events and 200,000 fire and rescue/EMS events yearly.

The concept of 9-1-1 was first introduced in the United Kingdom in 1937, using the number 999. U.S. military personnel were introduced to the concept when stationed in the U.K. during World War II. On February 16, 1968, the first 9-1-1 call in the U.S. was made from Haleyville, Alabama near Birmingham. In 1981, Fairfax County adopted 9-1-1. In 2005, the Department of Public Safety Communications was established after previously being a component of the Fairfax County Police Department. Fairfax County 9-1-1 is a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) 9-1-1 Call Center Partner.

Please remember:  Call 9-1-1 only when there is a life or death emergency that requires the immediate assistance of emergency service, such as the police, paramedics, and Fire Department.

When there is a situation that requires police response but is not an emergency, call 703-691-2131 (non-emergency phone number).

Roy L. Oliver is an Assistant Director for the Department of Public Safety Communications.  He leads the Finance, Human Resources and IT Divisions as well as the Quality Assurance, Records and Curriculum and Policy Development Sections of the DPSC.  Mr. Oliver has been with the agency for 22 years, beginning as a Call Taker and Dispatcher.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from George Mason University. 

Mr. Tom Moncure speaking at Fairfax Host Lions Club

On Tuesday, July 17, Thomas Moncure presented a talk entitled “Who is This Lady? An Explanation of the Symbolism Represented in the Seal of Virginia” to the members of the Fairfax Lions Club. Although we all see the state seal affixed to many documents, printed on letterhead and embroidered on many state uniforms, few of us know the history of the great seal or the significance of the figures depicted thereon.

In Mr. Moncure’s words, the adoption of the seal for the Commonwealth was the third frame in a series of three events taking place in Williamsburg at a convention of delegates in 1776. The first event being the adoption on June 12 of the Virginia Declaration of Rights written by George Mason. This document was the precursor of the Declaration of Independence adopted the following month by delegates in Philadelphia and later served as a model for the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. The second momentous event was the adoption of the Constitution for the new Commonwealth of Virginia on June 29. This document established Virginia as a commonwealth independent of England.

The great seal of the Commonwealth was adopted by Virginia’s Constitutional Convention on July 5, 1776. A committee composed of George Wythe, George Mason, Robert Carter Nicholas, and Richard Henry Lee collaborated on the design. Over the years different pictorial renditions reflecting the times changed the design image. Hence, in 1930 another committee was charged with standardizing the seal’s design resulting in the adoption of the 1776 seal image. In 1949, another standard was implemented, when Virginia’s Art Commission defined the official color scheme for the seal. A red and green border depicting leaves from the Virginia Creeper plant now encircles the designs on each side.pendent of England.

Roman mythology defines the unique Great Seal of Virginia. The obverse (or front) side of the great seal depicts the Roman goddess Virtus representing the spirit of the Commonwealth. She is dressed as an Amazon, a sheathed sword in one hand, and a spear in the other, and stands in a classical victor’s pose over the fallen foe of Tyranny, who is pictured with his fallen crown nearby. Virginia’s motto, Sic Semper Tyrannis (Latin for “Thus Always to Tyrants”), appears at the bottom.

On the reverse side of the seal are the three Roman goddesses, Libertas (Liberty) in the center holding a wand and pileus (Liberty Cap) in her right hand, Aerternitas (Eternity) with a globe and phoenix in her right hand, and Ceres (Fruitfulness) with a cornucopia in her left hand and an ear of wheat in her right. At the top is the word Perservando (Latin for “by Persevering”).

A water color of the state seal, the only official model for flag makers and stationers, hangs in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. As designated by the Code of Virginia, the Secretary of the Commonwealth is the keeper of the great seal, the symbol of the authority and sovereignty of the commonwealth.

Mr. Moncure is University Counsel for George Mason University and an Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, he was in corporate practice in Washington, D. C. and state trail practice in and about Stafford County. He has also held two elected public offices: Clerk of Court for Stafford County, and Member of the Virginia House of Delegates.

On November 4, 2011, Governor Bob McDonnell announced that Lion John Bailey of the Fairfax Host Lions Club was appointed to the Virginia Rehabilitation Council for the Blind. The Council, composed of a diverse membership who have different perspectives on the issues regarding rehabilitation of the state’s blind population, meets four times a year in Richmond. The goal of the Council is to collect input from various sections of the public. Council members include former clients, representatives from other rehabilitation groups and members who represent the deaf blind communities. John represents the Virginia business community.

The Council reports to Virginia’s Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired whose goal is to get people back to work. They focus on a set of core skills using alternative techniques where sight won’t work anymore. More particularly, the Department teaches Braille, cane travel, life skills which includes cooking and house cleaning, and computer skills using talking computers. It is to be noted that the unemployment rate for work able legally blind people is over 75 percent. It costs the state over a million dollars (over 30 years) to care for a blind person. Needless to say, returning the blind and vision impaired to the workforce saves a considerable amount of money. The Council will also be working on raising the visibility of the Department so that more visually impaired people can learn about it and use its services.

During his three-year appointment, John will be meeting with the Commissioner of the DBVI to discuss ways in which the Department and its affiliated Virginia Habilitation Center can improve services. The Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired was established in 1970 to provide comprehensive adjustment services to severely visually impaired Virginians. The Center teaches blind persons strategies and skills to adapt to living without sight, and also teaches people with partial vision ways to use their remaining sight more effectively.

The Center, which is over 30 years old, is located on a very nice campus on the outskirts of Richmond. The campus consists of class rooms, a training kitchen, a gym, a cafeteria, and dorms for those receiving intense training. Those who cannot attend the Center receive some training a few hours each month in their homes or offices. At the meeting in June, the Council members received a tour of the recently refurbished Center facilities.