The Commercial-News, Danville, IL

Local News

Related Photos

  • Matt Huber/Commercial-News

    Vanesse retirement

Discussion

June 17, 2009

Director proud of emergency system

BY BRIAN L. HUCHEL

DANVILLE — For a Navy man and former police radio operator, three numbers describe the work he has put in for Vermilion County: 9-1-1.

Vic Vanesse, director of the 911 Communications Center, is making the decision to leave his post. He is retiring after more than 30 years of making sure residents could reach emergency personnel and those personnel knew where to help residents.

Unlike many longtime employees who have trouble picking out a highlight of their career, Vanesse has no problems pointing to his — Vermilion County’s institution of the current 911 system.

“I feel very proud of that and it’s quite a monumental move,” he said. “We went all the way from the basic 911 with the basic three-digit number to Phase 2 wireless, which is where you get the name and address and spot a call on the map within a reason-able distance.

“I take pride that it’s working.”

Vanesse has been involved in communications in one form or another for a number of years. He started out as a radio operator in the U.S. Navy. He then worked almost a decade for the Illinois State Police as a radio technician and dispatcher.

He applied for his current post in 1976 and got the job, concentrating the next 33 years of his life on initiating and evolving the 911 system.

Vanesse, who turns 70 later this fall, said he looks at the history of the 911 system in stages. Now, with his retirement, he’s entering a new stage of his own.

“We’ve got the communication center up, everything’s running very well; the equipment’s running good,” he said. “I feel like ‘OK, I’ve done all that I can do.’ It’s time to enjoy some gardening, traveling, some other stuff.”

The 911 system in Vermilion County began with the city and county officers being dispatched out of the newly built Public Safety Building in 1976. Calls were printed on cards and handed from console to console for record keeping at that time, but quickly technology took over.

The Danville Fire Department and several fire protection districts were added to the mix just two years later and, in 1980, the first computer-aided system was brought in. A county referendum began the implementation of the Enhanced 911 system in 1990 and in 2004 the wireless Phase 2 system was enabled.

Vanesse has watched the number of dispatchers and the overall system grow year after year. But on Monday — the first workday he won’t head in to the Public Safety Building — he’s convinced he won’t miss it.

“As far as missing it, I’ll miss the folks. But the other things, I will be very relieved that I don’t have those problems that may arise and the ongoing pressures you have.

“Although I know in my heart there will be a great fondness forever, I feel that I have given my 33 years. I’ll let somebody run it the way they want to run it.”

Text Only
Local News
  • Tropical Storm Beryl strengthens, nears U.S. coast

    Tropical Storm Beryl was wrecking some Memorial Day weekend plans on Sunday, causing shoreline campers to pack up and head inland and leading to the cancellation of some events as the storm approached the southeastern U.S.

    May 27, 2012

  • CASA seeks volunteers

    May 27, 2012

  • Classes transition online

    May 27, 2012

  • AmyandRomanSchweizer1.jpg Dad welcomes baby — while a world away

    Like most fathers, Brandun Schweizer wanted to witness his first child’s birth. There was just one problem, however — he was thousands of miles away in Afghanistan.

    May 27, 2012 2 Photos

  • Veterans ask people to pause

    Although the Memorial Day weekend is a time for picnics and pool parties, veterans’ groups hope people pause to remember those who gave their lives in the line of duty, as well as others who have died.

    May 27, 2012

  • Martha Stewart learns family’s roots

    Television viewers have been treated to two series lately dealing with genealogy.

    May 27, 2012

  • Haiti touches her heart Haiti touches her heart

    Janis Ostiguy of Danville experiences many emotions each time she visits Haiti — sadness at the poverty, happiness with the children, warmth for the people and their spirit.

    May 27, 2012 3 Photos

  • Turtles return to race

    Collected turtles are being fed fruits, meat and vegetables and will be ready to go for the 48th Annual Turtle Races.

    May 27, 2012

  • Hiker’s heart is in America's Highlands

    Robert Burns, the immortal Scottish poet, once wrote, “My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here; my heart’s in the Highlands, a’chasing the wild deer; a’chasing the wild deer, and following the roe; my heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go.”

    May 27, 2012

  • Posters recall Cannon’s 1880 opponent Posters recall Cannon’s 1880 opponent

    In 1980, John Mendenhall found three 1880 J. R. Scott campaign posters in a home he was restoring.

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo