August 2, 2019. After 25 years, 3 weeks, and 12 hours, I’m officially retired. Here’s a look back at some of what I saw.
That’s a wrap!
August 3, 2019
9-1-1, commentary, Personal 9-1-1 dispatcher, 9-1-1 dispatcher stories, 911 dispatch, emergency dispatching, Jim Reeves, kc6yru, retirement, tulare county sheriff's office, visalia 1 Comment
25 years, 3 weeks, 12 hours.
That’s how long I was a 9-1-1 dispatcher with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
Friday was my last day. Here’s my signoff on the radio.
Here’s the text:
Calling all cars, calling all cars, and units and stations
copy BOL
(break)
Visalia one continuing,
After 25 years, 3 weeks, and 12 hours, “Radio, Jim” is officially 10-42 at 1800 hours.
It’s been my pleasure and honor to be one of the voices on the other end of this radio and the phone for that time.
Being able to support you, and serve the citizens of Tulare County as part of the team here in dispatch, has been at times nerve wracking, infuriating, suspenseful, frequently amusing, but always rewarding. I can’t imagine having done anything else as a career. (well, astronaut, maybe, but NASA never seemed interested)
My time here has seen three sheriffs, six dispatch supervisors, and various shift supervisors. Sometimes I wonder how many deputies and officer’s voices have come across my headset? There’s been a bunch, and sometimes it seemed like they were all trying to talk at once!
Being a dispatcher means being part of a team, and I want to compliment all of the dispatchers I’ve worked with over the years. The comeraderie and support for each other is what makes this place operate so well. I feel fortunate to have been a part of that.
So now I hang up my headset for the last time, and head off into retirement. Thank you for putting up with me, and for allowing me to be part of this family and team. Stay safe, be nice to the dispatchers, and know that from time to time I’ll be listening.
Visalia 1, Dispatcher Reeves, clear at (time)
Now, time to relax, reflect, take some bike rides and country drives, and cogitate on what comes next.
I may have worked my last night shift
April 12, 2019
9-1-1, commentary, Personal 911, 911 overnight, day shift, dispatch center, dispatcher, night shift, retirement Leave a comment
I may have worked my last night shift.
After 24 1/2 years, almost all of them on night shift, Monday begins the next rotation, to day shifts. I’m not looking forward to it.
My first three months, way back in the summer of 1994, were on dayshift during my training. Once released (yes, three whole months of training back then), I went to swing shift, 5pm to 3am. I stayed there, with a couple of switches to graveyard (9pm to 7am), until October of 2017, when we began our new 12 hour shifts. That put me on days, 6 am to 6 pm. After six months of that mess, my team rotated to nights. Now it’s that time again, and back we go to days.
But why may I have worked my last night shift? Because by the time we rotate back to nights, I hope to be retired!
July or September, depending on a few things. But regardless, I hope to be out of there before we rotate back to nights.
That also means I’ll never work in a new dispatch center. By the time one gets up and running, I’ll be long retired. Sigh.
Oh well.
Road trip!
JimmieJoe / KC6YRU 
Retirement can be dangerous
June 5, 2026
Jim Reeves commentary, geek, News, Personal Government oversight, Public Records Request, retirement, Tulare County, visalia, Visalia Unified School District Leave a comment
It’s dangerous because it gives me time to start digging into things about our local government. Before I retired, I didn’t have the time or the mental bandwidth to pursue the minutiae of government. Now I do. I just submitted my fourth Public Records request. Fifth, if you count the request sent off to the municipal golf course. (It’s run by a private vendor, so I may not be able to get the information I wanted from there.)
The biggest problem right now is to not over-extend myself. I still have other things I want to pursue, but I need to limit my load to what I’ve requested so far.
I’ve got three active requests for public records in at the moment, counting the one I just emailed a few minutes ago. That one is my first to Tulare County. I have one closed and one open request at the City of Visalia, and one at Visalia Unified School District. The open requests are due to be fulfilled by the 18th and the 20th of June, so I’m still waiting.
My next project? Maybe an update to the Visalia City Charter. Lots of things need to be updated there. Starting with gender-neutral pronouns. And library trustees. But that’s for later.
(Final Jeopardy Theme Song here)
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