Klamath Falls, Ore. – A dispatcher who’s been helping people with emergencies since 911 went online in Klamath Falls in the late 1980s, is now facing an emergency of her own.
Lisa Ann Hall has been working in public safety since the early eighties.
“I started years ago in Dorris, California,” Hall said. “My step dad helped me get my first job down there.”
Hall then got a job with the Klamath Falls Police, and became a dispatcher when local 911 service began in 1989.
“So I could keep talking on the radio,” Hall explained. “That’s my favorite part. And if I didn’t do that, I’d still be at the city.”
Klamath County 911 Executive Director Keith Endacott speaks highly of Hall. “We always worked well as a team, and it was good to work with her. We shared a lot of significant events.”
Hall says her most exciting night at 911 was during the 1993 earthquake.
She says she didn’t think about her own property until early that morning. “My little cracker box is going to be laying on its side, my Elvis plates are going to be broken, and my cat’s going to be dead from a heart attack.”
Luckily, all was well.
And if you do a story about Lisa, you have to mention her love for classic rock.
“If you’re talking southern rock, it’s Lynyrd Skynyrd,” Hall said. “But overall, I’d have to go with the Eagles.”
“She’s a hoot,” added Endacott.
Lisa planned to retire in December, but those plans changed with a trip to the doctor.
“I was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer,” recalled an emotional Hall.
The cancer has spread to her lymph nodes and liver.
Friends started a ‘Go Fund Me’ account to help Lisa through chemotherapy.
“Absolute strangers have donated,” Hall said. “And people I know – and I can never thank them enough.”
And now a dispatcher who sends aid to those who need help is fighting a tough battle on her own.
But she’s not giving up. She said, “I’ve met a lot of people who have, who are living with this. And living a long time. And I’m not done yet – so don’t start digging my hole…”
You’ll find a link to the Go Fund Me account for Lisa Ann Hall here: www.gofundme.com/911-dispatcher-in-need-of-backup
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