Ernie Doss & wife Mandy lining up for good food at TLS&PS dinner meeting. The Thurmond Lake Sail and Power Squadron held their monthly meeting on January 23 at the Lincoln County Senior Center in Lincolnton. Ernie Doss, Director of Emergency Services for Lincoln County was the invited speaker, along with his wife Mandy.

Mr. Doss identified his responsibilities to include EMS, Fire, Rescue, 911 Communications, and the Office of Emergency Services. Mr. Doss told the group how his office is organized and what types of response equipment Lincoln County has available. He told how 911 calls work, how with some cell phones a calling location can be determined, and how Lin- coln County 911 Communications coordinates emergency calls and responses with surrounding counties. He also discussed how landline calls and cell phone call are processed differently, with different information being available to the 911 Call Center.

After his presentation, Mr. Doss took questions from the Power Squadron members. Some of the questions addressed plans to put in VHF marine radio receivers around the lake for boating emergency communications. It was agreed that the Power Squadron and Lincoln County would make every effort to work together in the future, and get Lincoln County boaters involved with the Power Squadron and boating safety.