The Daily Standard
Story Archive
Mercer County 911 Administrator Monte Diegel has announced his retirement. His last day will be June 30. County dispatcher Rachel Williams will replace Diegel.
CELINA- Mercer County 911 Administrator Monte Diegel has seen a lot of change in his 29 years with the sheriff's office.
Diegel, 64, has announced his retirement. His last day will be June 30. County dispatcher Rachel Williams will replace Diegel.
When he first started at the sheriff's office, staff were still using reel-to-reel tape to record phone calls, Diegel said. The department has progressed through several types of recording systems since then.
"Technology from 1991 to now has changed immensely. It continues to change every single day," Diegel said. "We are staying as current as we can with things,"
Diegel explained that finding a particular 911 call is now just a matter of a few clicks instead of working through tape.
He said Mercer County was among the first counties in the state to have mapping technology to find cellular 911 calls. He said location technology is now improved to the point where dispatchers can often pinpoint an address if someone is calling from a home.
"Wireless 911 calls make up about 84-86% of our 911 calls every month," Diegel said. "The landline 911 calls have dropped off drastically over the last several years."
He said Mercer County was also one of the first counties in Ohio to add text to 911.
Before joining the sheriff's office, Diegel spent more than three years as a dispatcher with the Celina Police Department.
"Every call is a little different," Diegel said. "You never know what's going to be on the other end of the line."
Dispatchers have to be prepared for intense moments.
"Anything that deals with people being harmed or hurt" can be stressful, Diegel said. "Domestic situations can be quite tricky at times, especially when both parties are in the same room and one party is on the phone with us. We work to get the parties separated."
Crashes that claim lives can be especially difficult for dispatchers, Diegel said.
"Our dispatchers are human beings, too," Diegel said. "Any call that involves the death of a child - whether that's natural or otherwise - is really heartbreaking and hard for our staff to handle sometimes."
It's good that dispatchers talk about tough calls, he said.
"That job is stressful and we have to find the right people to sit in that chair. I feel like we have a really, really good team right now," Diegel said.
"The people who know me best know that I don't stand still very long," Diegel said.
He has been an emergency medical technician in Mercer County for 37 years. Diegel is currently the treasurer for Coldwater EMS and plans to continue that volunteer work in retirement.
Diegel has spent 25 years as a part-time volunteer firefighter in Celina and Rockford.
"I enjoy working for the citizens and with the citizens of Mercer County. I've dedicated pretty much my entire life to doing things in the community," he said.
"It's going to be hard for me to walk out the door. I absolutely love this job," Diegel said.
