News article on 50 Years of 9-1-1 in Huntington, written for Forester Digital Network news.

1. 50 years of 9-1-1 in Huntington
written by James Ehle
50 years ago today, a Huntington man placed the first 9-1-1 call in the state of Indiana.
Congressman J. Edward Roush of Huntington was known as the father of 9-1-1. He
headed a one-man campaign to create a single national number to reach emergency
services. On March 1, 1968, Congressman Roush completed the call from the Indiana
Bell Telephone office, which was answered by City Police Officer Fredric Dutt.
A celebration took place at the Huntington County Public Safety Dispatch Center, where
Huntington Mayor Brooks Fetters honored the late congressman by proclaiming March
first “J. Edward Roush Day.” Members of the Roush family were presented with an
award by treasurer Mitchell and Ed Reuter, the executive director of the statewide 9-1-1
Board. Roush’s children, Joel Roush and Melody Wright, were amazed by the impact of
their father’s campaign.
“It’s an honor for us just to see how universal 9-1-1 has become,” son Joel Roush said.
“My dad would just be so happy that it’s affected so many people because that’s what he
was all about,” Roush’s daughter Melody Wright said. “He really wanted to serve the
people.”
Since Huntington’s first 9-1-1 call in 1968, the Huntington County dispatch received
21,451 emergency 9-1-1 calls in 2017 alone. Once a forerunner in the iconic 9-1-1
telephone service, Huntington Dispatch is taking the service into the next decade with
text messaging. A total of 478 text messages were sent by the local dispatch in 2017.