Patricia Cruz
Rogue River Press


On Monday morning at
approximately 3am, emergency
calls handled by
Southern Oregon Regional
Communications (SORC) for
the Sheriff's Department went
live from a new 14,500-
square-foot building.
"The switch over to our
new system went off without
a hitch," said SORC Director
Margie Puckett. "We found
ourselves standing around
bored it went so smoothly."
Not only is the $8-million
emergency center, located on
Pech Road near the Medford
Airport, earthquake proof, it
includes state-of-the-art dispatching
technology. The
new center replaces the dispatch
center on the top floor
of the Jackson County
Courthouse, a building identified
as vulnerable to collapse
in an earthquake. It will also
eventually replace the
Medford dispatch center
located in a city building.
"Merging the two centers
is a long-sought ideal," said
Talent Police Chief Mike
Moran, who is board chairman
for SORC. "It heightens
the safety for everybody."
SORC dispatches emergency
calls for the Jackson
County Sheriff's Department,...