When we think of emergency responders in Butler County, our mind’s eye goes directly to images of police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel.

But none of those brave and able individuals would be able to save a single life in our county without another group of heroes in our midst: dispatchers at the Butler County Department of Emergency Services Communications Center.

One member of that group has been sending vital help to our friends, family members and neighbors in peril for more than three decades.

One wonders how many lives have been saved by the calm, cool and collected dispatches of Terry Sweeney, of Clarion County, before he retired from the communications center with 32 years of service under his belt.

Sweeney has the designation of being the longest-serving dispatcher in Butler County, according to an article in the Sunday Butler Eagle.

Sweeney said he has given frantic young fathers instructions over the phone on how to deliver a baby who was arriving early, calmly explained giving CPR to someone’s life partner of 50 years, told children how to get out of their burning house, and even talked a resident trying to commit suicide out of that terrible choice.

The veteran dispatcher joined Bruin Volunteer Fire Department at age 15 and remains a member today, in addition to his former dispatching duties.

How many of us, when we finally retire after a lifetime of bringing home the bacon, can honestly claim “I’ve done something important with my life?”

Without question, Sweeney is among the few who can make that statement in good conscience.

If anyone deserves a long, relaxing and fulfilling retirement, it is a man who all of Butler County can thank and be proud of, Terry Sweeney.

The Eagle salutes Sweeney for his long service to our citizens and wishes him Godspeed in his retirement.

— PG