 ArticlesA Call For Courage
 By Gordon Michael Clark
Tammy911.com Administrator
POSTED: July 28th, 2008For those of you who are new to this site, the article that explains what started our quest is on the right, entitled ”'Busy' 911 Meant Woman Couldn't Report Murder”. For those of you who have been here before and are aware of Don Michalsky's quest to have the 9-1-1 call centre returned to Cranbrook, this article is for you.
After I took over the administration of the website in March and jumped into this with both feet, Don and I started to have many conversations about every aspect of the 9-1-1 situation; its causes, his hopes for a solution, our plans, trials, successes and continual frustrations with the politicians and the system. Today, I call Don my good friend. I'm not sure if I ever met Tammy, although I did visit Lynn a few times over the years and probably did. If she was anything like her mother, Betty, then the loss to all of us must grow to a much greater depth than originally estimated. The Michalskys are truly good hearted and selfless, giving people.
Don and I continue to talk frequently and he fills me in on all the details of his experiences and shares information that people wouldn't read in the papers, hear on the radio or see on TV or this website. Thanks to the priviledge of getting candid information, doing extensive homework to write the articles and with on-going editing and re-editing of the the media videos, I`ve been able to pay very close attention to everything regarding Don's quest and the events from December 2007 to present. Outside of the Michalsky family, I can confidently tell you I'm easily the most thoroughly informed. So let's get some information out that needs to be heard. That's what this website is all about.
The spark to write this article came just after the petition went to Victoria and was tabled in parliament on May 28th. It seemed that some members of the public and our elected officials, including those who have supported our work, started hinting that Don should just sit down, shut up and leave this whole thing alone. To date, not one of the politicians or officials Don has met with would allow the conversations to be video taped or recorded. Could it be they're afraid the public wouldn't be impressed with what they tell him? From what Don tells me, you'd better believe it!
“Why is he still bothering to pursue this?”, the average local might say, or “He’ll never get it back here, anyway!” If that’s your attitude then you should resign yourself to the scarey conclusion that the government and RCMP do not work for us. However, the last time I checked, it’s actually the other way around. To better understand our primary purpose, please refer to our Mission Statement.
In a letter dated May 30th, 2008, addressed to Don from Staff Sgt. Troy Gross, administrator of the 9-1-1 call centre in Kelowna, Gross described the changes in staffing to the centre that have been made since Don's initial request for a resolution on April 8th, 2008. These changes are "expected to improve our call answering times and help reduce the likelihood of a similar event occuring again". If these improvements are meant to reassure us that the call centre is functioning adequately, why is it we're still hearing about problems and concerns regarding our 9-1-1 service? Is it possible they are only addressing issues that are blatantly obvious and disregarding the smaller ones until such a time as each becomes a "thorn in their side" as well?
Our MLA, Bill Bennett, told Don he wanted to go on the radio and talk about all the changes that have been made. Don cautioned him to not be so hasty about publicly proclaiming the efficiency of a service whose reliability comes from the testimonies of those involved with the service and not from the public.
Is it only a coincidence that a few weeks ago at a meeting in Kimberley, just 20 minutes away, concerned residents got together to discuss problems with 9-1-1? If these changes were to remedy our concerns, why do problems still exist?
While Don remains thankful to Bennett for the support he's been shown, I, along with many others, remain skeptical of Bennett's motives behind both the wording on the petition and his support of it. I do, however, believe he has been sincere with regards to his publicized concerns of the 9-1-1 service and his desire to do something about it. Bennett's insistance of calling for a coroner's inquest may have been the bare minimum required to keep himself in his job description's "safe" zone and appear like he's "doing all he can". It has become clear that his agenda has been limited to a futile attempt at repairing an unrepairable 9-1-1 call centre and not following in step with our goal of moving the dispatch back here. That's forgiveable. But, after nearly 6 months of study, I have to say that bringing the dispatch back here still appears to be the only effective solution to all of the problems we've been experiencing.
As a side note, during his speech in Victoria while presenting the initial 16,000 signature petition to parliament, Bennett's reference to Tammy's roommate "hiding under her bed and frantically dialing 9-1-1 on her cel phone" isn't quite accurate. Lynn, Tammy's roommate, was under a mattress she pulled partially off her bed and was on the floor between the bed and a wall and was dialing on a land-line. Brandy, Tammy's friend and her murderer's estranged girlfriend, who was also in the bedroom, was on a cel phone. Two people were repeatedly dialing 9-1-1 at the same time, not just one; facts that were both mis-represented and missing from his presentation. Perhaps I'm nit-picking, but I would have expected him (or his writer) to know those things, and considering his speech is now on public record, he could have at least had his facts straight. After all, it was in all the newpapers and the video of Lynn talking about it was on Global TV News in January. The same clip was uploaded to this website in February and the complete interview was put here seven or eight weeks before he went to Victoria. I could also mention that Lynn's interview with CTV's W-FIVE, almost five weeks before, also included some of those details, but I won't.
It's not without some speculation, but I must also add that Brandy's complete absence from Tammy's funeral and all the press coverage might be due to some enormous guilt brought on by the thought that her situation brought a violent man into Lynn and Tammy's home. Tammy died because she intervined in an abusive relationship. Most of us would be truly blessed to have a friend who cares enough to do that. I don't blame Brandy for feeling horrible but at some point I hope she comes to the conclusion that Cheyenne Learn made the decision to kick down the door and shoot Tammy all by himself. There's no way she, or anyone else, could have known that would happen as a result of Tammy's attempts to help her. I hope one day she comes forward and tells her story. It would certainly help our cause to have the second witness on record.
With Don's "off the record" meeting with the chief coroner on the Saturday following the horrific helicoper crash here, adding some disappointing insights from the chief coroner himself regarding his views of Tammy's death and the futility of having an inquest, we found ourselves bewildered as to why anyone would call for a coroner's inquest that will not likely do anything remotely close to actually fixing all the 9-1-1 problems; only the ones related to December 17th. We're sure Bennett believed that bringing the problems to light would create a situation where the call centre would have to address the public's issues and make changes accordingly, which to date, despite any claims of its administration, have not been enough.
We must also remind ourselves that the coroner's inquest into the deaths at the Sullivan Mine a few years ago accomplished little beyond what the initial investigation concluded. Has our elected guide knowingly misled us, or has his hands been tied by those higher up the ladder of influence? Either way, with Don allegidly receiving (up until recently), frequent "annoying" phone calls from the call centre's administrator, coupled with periodic "out-of-the-blue" meetings with our MLA, the conversations are no longer about what they can do for him, but rather how they can shut him up.
Of all the many conversations Don has in his travels, he tells me he's lost track of the number of people who have expressed dissatisfaction in their elected officials abilities to resolve their concerns. Many of those have also commented on how they will not be voting for them if this lack of effectiveness continues.
The biggest surprise through all this has been the number of folks from outside our area who are concerned with our 9-1-1 service as they have friends and/or family located here, or visit here often. From the world renouned 431st squadron (Snowbirds) and our armed forces stationed overseas to our neighbors south of the border, the number of people concerned with our region's 9-1-1 service is absolutely mind-blowing.
A short time ago, Don relayed to me a conversation he had with a local store owner who refused to allow a song contest poster to be placed in his window. The store owner's concerns were that he would "piss off" the RCMP by allowing it and, understandably, the costs of moving the dispatch back here. Although many of the RCMP are behind us in our quest, we can certainly join this fellow in his concerns about the costs of achieving it. Also, this is not the first time I've heard of someone catching RCMP-a-fobia when it comes to speaking out against something they are in control of. No doubt, he's not alone in his fears but I question how realistic those fears truly are.
It seems money will always be a popular issue when the government is involved. Isn't it truly ironic that many of those who will fight to decrease spending also pull a 6 digit salary? Salary should be based on performance. If that was the case, how many of our elected officials would be making minimum wage and working as greeters at Wal-Mart on the weekends? I'll leave the answer to you.
Regardless of any negative remarks that he occasionally receives, Don continues to run into surprising numbers of people who encourage him to continue his fight and to not give up. From those who are afraid to be named along with their complaints to others who believe that there is no point in complaining because their words won’t change anything, either way, this fight seems to be on Don's shoulders alone. With CTV's W-FIVE in reruns for the summer and the episode where Don, Betty and Lynn appeared airing periodically, momentum here may seem to have have slowed but it definitely has not stopped - and continues to grow.
The documentary that I so eagerly brought to the planning table has gone absolutely nowhere because too few of the people who have had serious problems with our 9-1-1 service have come forward to tell their stories. We hear about them all the time from the friends and family of those who have had horrible experiences but the actual individuals don't seem willing to "go on record". Of the few that came forward earlier this year, we are thankful, but their few stories alone are not enough.
A few months ago I put up a webpage to encourage people to submit their stories. Don and I went to the press to get the word out about what we were trying to do. We received one submission. In a region of 100,000+ people - we received only one submission! Meanwhile, a hall in Kimberley has been filled with concerned citizens who don't want to be photographed, video taped or speak publicly about their concerns or experiences to anyone in the media. Why are people so afraid to speak out? We're not dealing with the mafia here! (I'm not picking on the fine folks of Kimberley. It's the same story everywhere.)
Although Mayer Ogilvie asked Don to speak during the discussions, at least one member of the crowd told Don "to shut up and listen" prior to the meeting because Don was from Cranbrook. Do I really need to remind people that all of us in the East Kootenay deal with same 9-1-1 dispatch? Either way, Don didn't say a word.
People seemed more than willing to sign the petition (thank you to everyone who did!) and voice their support for Don but few have been willing to put any effort into actually getting off their behinds, getting their hands dirty and truly helping him. Don may have started the journey but if it’s to be a truly fruitful one, he can’t be left to walk the path alone. It is true that one person can make a difference, but to expect him to take on this gigantic task, for all our sakes, all by himself is absolutely absurd. The petition only got the ball rolling. We have to keep going in order to see this through.
In the middle of July, I received an email from a young lady in Florida who came across this website while Googling information on 9-1-1. Along with praising Don for his strength and courage to try to change the system, she included a link to a website she works with that was built for the family of another 9-1-1 victim. (www.deniseamberlee.org) Denise's death was exactly one month after Tammy's. The motto on the website reads. “911 is there to save your life. If you are in trouble, please call. The system does not fail everyone. We are just making sure it fails no-one.” All of us involved with the project are in complete agreement.
The next issue would be to discuss what we're to do if the nearly 20,000 signatures we've collected to date are not going to fix the problems that continue to plague us.
To use an analogy, this could be compared to the story of David and Goliath. However, this time it would need to be Don using a rock made up of all of us to defeat our Goliath: the government's and RCMP's control of the 9-1-1 call centre, it's location and policies.
One official, after the petition was tabled, commenting on the possibility of moving our dispatch back, said it would just encourage all the other communities who have 9-1-1 concerns to want their's back as well - that and the costs involved would be the primary reasons why it won't happen. Well, whatever it's going to take in order to have an emergency call service that is reliable, so be it. When it comes right down to it, we're the ones paying for it in the first place and we should be the ones making the decisions.
I had a candid conversation with an RCMP constable a few months ago and I told him it seemed unlikely we'd get the dispatch moved back here. He told me, "You don't know that, Gord." "You'd be surprised what is possible if enough people are willing to work to achieve it."
I challenge all of you people to be courageous; be strong; be loud; be persistent. Be more than just an "arm chair" supporter; become a voice, a face that stands out along side Don's. If you truly care about the safety and security of the people of our region and desire change then becoming one in a group of many is the only way to acheive it. Let go of the fears that have kept you silent. Help us to remind those who run our 9-1-1 service that they work for us. Don't leave this just to the politicians. Get involved.
I got involved with this project while I was unemployed and I gave hundreds of hours doing everything from video taping, video editing and music production to the website design and maintenance. Now I have a full time job that I love and it wears me out every day. I've got 3 gigantic projects that I work on every other minute of every day and my schedule is full, full, full. Yet, I still make the time to update the site and add new features as they are needed. I follow Don around with a video camera for the video diaries (when we can synchronize our schedules) and I stay up all night editing it to be published on this site for the next morning. Needless to say I go to work the next day, and most days, very tired. Big deal!
I have also been compiling a few different versions of a DVD of all the videos that have been completely re-edited (No, they're not posted on the site) as well as a complete remix of mine and Don's song accompanied with a new video. These articles, since I'm the only writer, take quite a while to research and write also. I took the time to plan the song contest, design and print the posters (thanks to Rocky Mtn Printers) and I interview each contestant as possible winning entries arrive. Next month I get to take an amature musician into the recording studio to produce and arrange a top-notch professional recording of their song....no matter how long it takes or what's involved. Like I have the time for all this stuff?
Why are all these things necessary? Simple. We have to keep this project in the public eye continually in order to keep gaining support - and someone has to do these things. I do what I'm capable of doing whether or not my schedule allows for it. It's also worth noting that there is a tremendously large number of people locally who know nothing of what we're doing or why and need to be informed. Everything Don and I have been doing is for that purpose. I also wonder if everyone understands how truly important this project is to our region. Are there really only a few of us who actually "get it"? I could only make excuses to not be involved in this. What's your excuse?
If you have anyone you care about in the East Kootenay Region, then you should be involved in this to whatever degree you can be. It's as simple as that. Love is an action word. You can say it all you like but if you don't show it, it isn't real. Let's be people of action.
If you are willing to help us in any way you can, take your first step by letting us know at info@tammy911.com. You won't be committed to do anything but if something comes up you'll have the choice of getting involved.
I'd really love to have help with the website, writing the articles, video taping and editing etc.
For those of you who have been helping out in other areas and offering support and encouragement, we all thank you and would like to hear from you anyway.
With many bypassing 9-1-1 and calling the services directly or not bothering to call at all and taking matters into their own hands, an entirely new set of problems will accompany the ones we already have. With Delta Airlines' new policy of direct flights from larger centres to Cranbrook, this entire region is going to experience a growth in population - and crime as a direct result. There will be a greater stress on 9-1-1 and a greater need for an efficiently run call centre. It's not always meeting the needs now. What makes you think it will then?
Sitting at home or at the coffee shop chatting up a storm and telling your friends your opinions and stories is not going to change anything. Let's all get together now and do what is necessary to ensure that what Tammy's roommate and her friend experienced will not happen to anyone else in this region - to any degree. And let us not forget what Tammy's family had to go through. What would you do if Tammy was your daughter? I would hope you'd be doing whatever you could to make sure 9-1-1 always meet the standards put in place to govern it - even if it meant getting the call centre moved back here. (For a discussion of those standards, please refer to our article "Please, Staff Sergeant Gross, Let Us Have Our Dispatch Back?!")
The fact is that no one can say for sure that Tammy wouldn't still be alive had 9-1-1 been functioning properly on that cold December night of last year. Sadly, we'll never know now. If I understood it correctly, Tammy's jugular was severed by the gun shot. That means she probably lied there and bled to death over a hand full of minutes. Lynn told me Tammy was very much alive when she started dialing 9-1-1. Any wildlife hunter will likely testify that wounds comparible to hers don't always kill an animal immediately.
Lynn started dialing at 11:24:50pm, dialed again at 11:25:55 and finally reached an operator at 11:26:23. Brandy dialed her first call at 11:25:25 and less than 25 seconds later, her second call was answered. The ambulance station was barely over a one minute drive away. It took RCMP, from the time the first call was received, approximately 22 minutes to arrive.
It's also worth noting that the call centre can not say that what happened that night won't happen again. What if it is your daughter, mother or sister lying there dying the next time you call 9-1-1 and you reach the recorded message? What if you're on a highway, don't have an exact address, and the operator has no familiarity with the location you're phoning from because they don't know this region - and they refuse to send help? What if your call is not considered an emergency and you get put on hold for half an hour? The reported problems are endless and full of variety. These and the many other problems did not exist prior to the amalgamation of the call centres in 2004. There is only one sure solution: get the dispatch back here where it belongs.
Re-hashing the events of Tammy's death is really not my focus here. If the call centre's changes in staffing has decreased the chances of callers not getting through right away, great! Now, what about the other problems?
In the midst of all this, there is only one constant: the public's faith in our 9-1-1 system is shattered. It's as if there's only one man and a small group going around trying to pick up all the pieces and put it back together. That needs to change.
I'm not an employee of Don's. I don't work for him; I work with him. I'm doing this because I need to know that 9-1-1 will always function as it can and should function. Regardless of what anyone might say, it isn't always working and it`s been painfully obvious since the dispatch moved to Kelowna in 2004. Thankfully, it does work most of the time. It saved my life and the life of my Dad a while ago. But, what if it hadn't? Do we really need another death to get people off their asses? Mark my words: if we don't do something now, when it does happen, you will have wasted all this time doing nothing when you could have been helping to prevent it. I'd rather try and fail, than fail to try. If you have children, think of them. If you don't fight now, they'll be fighting later.
Apparently, it's a great Canadian tradition to sit back and say "Wow, that's too bad. Somebody should do something about that." and then do nothing. So far, it appears to be true for most of us. Please help to prove it wrong. Obviously, if Don's goal wasn't a possibility, the politicians and call centre administration wouldn't be so interested in silencing him. If this is all about money, then they must first decide what one life is worth in order to make our safety and security a bargaining chip.
We CAN do this, but only together.
This is a horribly long article, but it needed to be written. Please remember what is said here so I don't have to write another one like it. Please feel free to silence me by helping Don. I believe the other articles on the website will answer any remaining questions. I was as thorough as possible in my research when I wrote them.
In conclusion and to sum things up: to borrow and slightly alter another motto from the DeniseAmberLee.org website, "Remember Tammy. Fix 9-1-1". | 
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