APCO is accepting high quality papers and panel proposals in all areas of public safety communications from speakers seeking to present at APCO 2017, taking place August 13-16, 2017, in Denver, CO. Submit your proposal.

Seats are still available for two of the APCO Institute’s most popular courses, being held this month at APCO headquarters in Daytona Beach. Bullying and Negativity in the Communications Center will be held December 19, followed by Call Processing Incidents Involving Veterans With PTSD on December 20. Hours for both are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. The registration fee for each is $199. But, if you register three individuals for the same course, you’ll receive one registration free. Contact us for more information or to register.

Joseph Yurman is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of New York employed by the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) Department of Capital Program Management ‐ Communications Engineering Division. He is the lead Principal Engineer for Wireless Communications. Joseph holds a Bachelor of Science and Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from NYU‐Polytechnic University.

NG9-1-1 Institute The NG9-1-1 Institute is seeking nominations for the 14^th Annual 9-1-1 Honor Awards. Email your completed nomination form to contactus@ng911institute.org. The deadline is Monday, January 16, 2017. All nominations (including self-nominations) welcome. You do not need to be an NG9-1-1 Institute member to nominate or receive an award.

WWMT Grand Rapids dispatcher Michelle Walker has worked with Life EMS ambulance for 23 years. This week, she received her first "stork pin" for helping with a safe and successful delivery. Walker intercepted the call for help just before noon Saturday, when a state trooper happened upon a mother in labor on the side of a Newaygo County road. Just eight minutes after the trooper arrived, he had a healthy newborn baby girl in his arms.

Madison County Courier Madison County E-911 (N.Y.) public safety communicators Peter Bianco, Thomas Molinari and Melanie Thornton were recognized by resolution December 6, 2016, at the Madison County Board of Supervisors meeting in Wampsville after receiving the American Red Cross American Heroes Lifeline Award.

KTUU The most populated city on Prince of Wales Island will be able to buy new emergency dispatch equipment with the Craig Tribal Association's donation of $180,000. The Ketchikan Daily News reports the association gave the city the Federal Highway Administration's Tribal Transportation Program Safety grant.

EMS World What if there were a reliably proven way to quickly gather information from a caller to determine whether a lights-and-siren EMS response is truly necessary? What if the 9-1-1 call taker had a cadre of resources they could allocate, from a full-on hot response to a referral to a nurse in the call center who could walk a caller through determining the best resource for their complaint?

Chicago Tribune Lincolnshire residents likely will not be directly affected by officials' move to join a new emergency call system, but the consolidation effort — one of many happening in Illinois — could help improve 9-1-1 services elsewhere in the state, authorities said.

Comtech Telecommunications Corp. Announces Additional Deployment of Text Messaging to 9-1-1 Across U.S.