Dispatchers are an often overlooked part of a county’s overall emergency response, but their role is as vital as any other. 

This was made clear all across the region during Hurricane Helene, as thousands of 911 calls poured in from people in their most desperate hour. More recently, on Sept. 28, Haywood County Emergency Communicator Kaylin Greene again proved the point by thinking fast with a life on the line to get responders where they needed to go. 

Hurricane Helene may not have been so devastating for Western North Carolina were it not for the half foot of rain that dumped on the region just ahead of Sept. 27, 2024. Getting ahead of what promised to be a monumental disaster, on the afternoon of Sept. 26, only about 12 hours before flooding began in some WNC communities, the National Weather Service office in upstate South Carolina issued the following statement: 

A couple of people from Canton were recognized by Attorney General and incoming governor Josh Stein for their actions during the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene on Sept. 27. 

On the morning of Sept. 27, as rain fell steadily from the pre-dawn sky, Travis Donaldson took a drive around the eastern end of Haywood County. Donaldson, the county’s emergency services director, made a lap around all the appropriate areas, finishing up in Cruso with the intention of turning around and heading back toward Waynesville, where an emergency operations center had already been set up. 

It was another ordinary day when I swung by the public library on my way to town. I picked out a couple of DVDs I needed — “Groundhog Day” and “Ghosts” — and then drifted along the “New Arrivals” bookshelves, browsing the authors and titles.