April 12 through 18 is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week in Carbon County.

On Thursday, the county commissioners adopted a proclamation, announcing that next week will honor the men and women who take 911 emergency calls and dispatch police, fire or emergency medical services personnel.The week was instituted in 1991 by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International to recognize public safety telecommunicators who aid in providing 911 emergency assistance to citizens."Each day, thousands of people depend on the expertise and commitment of the men and women who work in public safety telecommunications to help save countless lives by responding to emergency calls, dispatching emergency professionals and equipment and providing moral support to citizens in distress," the proclamation says."The term '911' is associated with rapid emergency response, poise under pressure, compassion and decision-making within seconds, provided every day during every shift by these nameless, faceless professionals ..."Commissioners' Chairman Wayne Nothstein said the dispatchers of the county handle an ever-growing call volume annually.In 2014, the 14 full-time and six part-time employees who make up the dispatching staff answered a total of 146,363 calls, Nothstein said."I want to thank the dispatchers we have because they do a great job," he said, noting that each dispatcher must go through a minimum of 300 hours of training for the job."They do a tremendous job," Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said. "They work under a lot of pressure and I want to thank them for the great job they do."In other matters, Kathy Henderson, director of economic development for the Carbon Chamber and Economic Development Corporation, updated the commissioners on the current hotel tax grant, which is now accepting applications.The grant, which became a reality in 2007 after the commissioners negotiated an agreement with Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau on the percentage the county receives from the 3 percent hotel tax, helps numerous agencies with marketing purposes that benefit the growth of tourism in Carbon County.Henderson said the current grant application is available by going to

www.carboncountychamber.org/pages/HotelTaxGrant. The deadline for application is April 30.For more information, call Kathy Henderson at 610-379-5000.