La Grande police add new dispatcher, Katelynn Boyet, to staff

La Grande police added Katelynn Boyet as its newest dispatcher, a hire that carries outsized weight in a city where one communications center helps steer police, fire and medical response across Union County. The department said Boyet came highly recommended and joined after previously working at Hot Lake.

The La Grande Police Department said Boyet was welcomed as part of its communications operation, describing her as excited to join the department with a positive attitude and dedication to the profession. That matters because the city’s Communications Division does far more than answer phones. It provides 24/7 911 dispatch services for 22 agencies in Union County, putting dispatchers at the front end of nearly every emergency response.

La Grande police say the department operates around the clock and includes a Communications Division for 911 dispatch and records. A city job posting for a 911 dispatcher said the department provides full dispatch services for all Union County public safety agencies and noted that La Grande’s population is 13,310, a reminder of how much responsibility sits on a relatively small local workforce.

The county’s emergency-services plan depends on close cooperation and coordination among state, federal and primarily local agencies, which makes dispatch staffing a public-safety issue rather than a back-office detail. The Union County Sheriff’s Office operates from 1109 K Avenue in La Grande and says it provides 24/7 emergency services, adding another layer to a response network that depends on fast communication and clear coordination.

A previous account of the city’s communications center described it as serving La Grande police, the Union County Sheriff’s Office and 22 first responder agencies across the county. Boyet’s addition does not change that structure, but it does add another trained voice to a system that residents rely on when seconds matter. In Union County, a dispatcher hire can mean steadier call handling, better continuity and one more person helping keep the county’s emergency-response chain moving.