Veteran 911 dispatcher signing off

Having fielded countless emergency calls for Carson City as a 911 dispatcher over the years, Cindy Merrell is hanging up her phone.

"I just think it's time to retire and enjoy life for a little while," said Merrell, a 1971 graduate of Carson High School.

Her first foray into public service was in 1973 as a Carson City sheriff's deputy.

"But women didn't go out on patrol then. They weren't like you see them now," she said.

In 1976 she went into state work, and then eventually moved to California. But in 1997, Merrell came back to the capital city and interviewed for a job as a dispatcher.

She's been there ever since.

"I wanted to give back to the community, really," said Merrell, 57. "I was inspired by a family friend who was a constable, and that's what made me get into law enforcement. Had I been 20 years younger when I moved back to Carson City, I would have been a deputy again."

Merrell received widespread recognition in March 2010 when she helped a hysterical mother revive her infant, who had stopped breathing.

Over the din of a barking dog, the mother's cries and a sibling shrieking in the background, Merrell can be heard on the 911 tape remaining calm and focused as she coached the mother through CPR. Also in the call are the baby's gasps back to life.

But the joy of that moment faded quickly, she said, when just a week later she received a call about an unconscious child who was beyond help.

While she said she remembers both good and bad calls, the ones that turn out badly stick with her the most.

"You always wonder if there wasn't something else you could have done, and you know there was not. I think we all have that helper side in us that asks, 'Why didn't it turn out better?' We feel like we're supposed to be able to fix these things," she said.

Supervisor Karin Mracek said Merrell has been known in the dispatch center for her sunny disposition.

"Her positive attitude and genuine kindness ... will be sorely missed," said Mracek. "Her goal is to help people, and she certainly has, over and over again. She has definitely earned her retirement, but I know we will all miss her smiling face and cheerful attitude for a very long time."

Co-worker Liz Hertz said she, too, will miss Merrell, whom she called a model of professionalism and kindness.

"It is difficult to imagine how many lives she has impacted over the years, and all of the lives saved," Hertz said. "I am a better person and a better dispatcher as a result of having worked with her."

Merrell said she has no plans for her retirement except to spend more time with her four children - and soon-to-be eight grandchildren when the newest arrives in October.

And she's sure she'll miss the job. Retirement means her whole life will change.

"In this kind of a job, no matter if it's dispatch, patrol or fire department, you always sleep thinking that your pager is going to go off. If we see smoke, the first thing we do is head for the dispatch center because I know they'll need help. It's going to be hard for me not to," she said. "But I didn't want to wait until I couldn't do anything to retire. I'm just at a good point in my life right now."l