Thursday Night Massacre-An Afterword

In the wake of the Thursday Night Massacre of Gray Dispatch, we all must extend our thanks to the various participants who picked up the broken pieces and still accomplished some impressive broken field running under very adverse conditions.

The Town Manager did in fact cover a lot of bases and attended to a lot of problems in a short period of time. I may question the need for the firings, and I certainly challenge Council’s motivations, but Ms. Cabana took the proverbial bull by the horns when the decision was made. Kudos to you Deb

The Fire Rescue Department was notified of the firings Friday night at a meeting hastily convened by Deputy Ryan. From all accounts, there was no talk of treason or revolt as many might expect. The topic of discussion was only focused on what new procedures and practices would have to be adopted so that the Gray residents would continue to receive the highest levels of emergency services possible. Since the members knew that a weather crisis was looming on Saturday, their primary concern was how to prepare with County for the anticipated flurry of emergencies. I understand that the Deputies and department members even stayed all night and all weekend to monitor the private fire alarms that had not yet been hooked up to County. We all ought to be proud of the dedication and professionalism of our volunteers.

County dispatchers clearly rose to the occasion. They had neither the equipment nor the personnel to take on Gray’s Dispatch on Friday, but somehow they pulled resources together to make it work. I listened in on a scanner to the exchanges between Gray Fire Rescue and County . Although there were inevitable glitches, both parties were working hard to meet the challenges. Kudos to the County supervisors and dispatchers.

A difficult weekend in which cream rose to the top.