Carbon County officials paid tribute to the county's dispatchers and communications administrators on Thursday during the commissioners' weekly meeting.

The board adopted a proclamation declaring this week "National Public Safety Telecommunications Week."The three commissioners - Wayne E. Nothstein, chairman, Tom J. Gerhard, vice chairman, and William J. O'Gurek, member - took turns praising the work done by dispatchers and their supervisors at the communications center located off Rt. 93 on the Board Mountain just north of Nesquehoning.They presented the proclamation to Gary Williams, director of the 911 center, asking him to relay to the dispatchers their appreciation for work they said all-too-often goes unnotices and, at times, can and does save lives.Williams said there are 11 fulltime and six part-time dispatchers who handled over 146,000 calls for help during 2012. he too had high praise for his staff members, pointing out theu "are well trained and do a great job" on behalf of county residents.Other businessIn other business this week, the commissioners:* Authorized advertisement of bids for the replacement of the HVAC (air conditioning) unit in Courtroom No. 2 of the Courthouse, Jim Thorpe;* Okayed $119,812 in contracts for home improvement projects under the Home Rehabilitation Program operated by the Office of Planning and Development. The sum include plumbing, electrical and generat contracting work on seven properties. Companies receiving the contracts include The Service Team, Lehighton; K.M. Sency Plumbing and Heating, Weatherly; Rich's Roofing, Lehighton; and Home Solutions Partners, Palmerton.* And granted the following seminar/training requests: Susan Ritchie, Area Agency on Aging, New Coordinator Training and 2013 Annual APPRISE Conference, State College; Joseph Sebelin, Keith Ramsay and Julie Walker, Workforce Investment Act, Pa. Workforce Development Association 29th Annual Employment Training and Education Conference, Hershey; Walker, the Mental Health First Aid 12-Hour Course, Lehighton; Mary Kunkel, Domestic Relations, 2013 Spring Domestic Relations Sections Directors' Meeting, State College; and James Dodson, Juvenile Court, Mental Health Issued in Adolescence, Mechanicsburg.