Dear Editor of the Atchison County Mail,

I enjoyed your informative article on April 16, 2026, about the 25th anniversary of Atchison County 911 Service. However, there was some information missing on the history of the start-up of 911 service in 2001. When the County Commissioners moved forward with initiating the service, they hired my husband, Donald Jagger, to serve as 911 Director. It was his responsibility to coordinate with the state, order and oversee installation of equipment, hire and oversee training of dispatchers, and calculate 911 addresses and install address and street signs. Don was standing next to his employee, Becky Hogue, when the system went online and she received that first call. Don worked through the start-up difficulties, and frequently covered shifts for dispatchers unable to come to work. He oversaw the first seven years of 911 operations, until the county commissioners forced his resignation on the pretext that he had not installed address signs in a timely manner – in the middle of winter! The County also wanted to save Don’s salary expense by hiring the Emergency Management Director, whose salary was paid by Cooper Nuclear, to also be 911 Director. All this is “water under the bridge,” but I believe that Don Jagger should receive recognition for his large part in the start-up and success of 911 service in Atchison County.

Sincerely, Carol Doughty Jagger, former resident of Tarkio for 40 years