Dispatcher Honored for Life-Saving Work

Trumbull County 911 dispatcher Cynthia Orslene has received a Meritorious Service Award from the county for her handling of a 911 call last September reporting a suicidal person. 911 director Mike Dolhancryk said Orslene answered the call at 10:57 a.m. to hear a woman say she was trapped inside her car with two children as her husband waved a gun at them from outside the vehicle. The husband’s gun jammed when he attempted to shoot them, and he then fled in a truck with the woman following while still on the phone. Orselene talked to the woman for almost 25 minutes. Dolhancryk wrote a commendation that said, “Despite such horrifying conditions, Orslene reached out to the caller and began the process of bringing the caller back from her world of fear. With an extreme effort, Orslene was able to convince the mother to safeguard her children.” Orslene was later honored by the county commissioners for her work.