The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON-Ashley Strickland is the county's new E911/Emergency Management Director and he has brought an impressive skill set with him in his new job.

Strickland brings the knowledge he gained while working on a statewide radio system for the State of Ohio, along with prior experience in Columbus, Ind., where he oversaw the merger of four dispatch centers and twenty-one agencies into one center. He has also served as a fire captain in Columbus

In Ohio, Strickland said he was responsible for one quarter of the whole state while undergoing a major system upgrade, and when that project was finished, he retired to his home in Indiana.

"I got bored with retirement and decided to seek a job outside Indiana, where I had lived for thirty or more years," Strickland said. "I came to this area because of the small town environment, the natural resources, and hunting and fishing."

Strickland said since starting work with the county on Feb. 25, he has been "getting up to speed," getting acquainted with personnel in his own department, and in other county departments.

Although the infrastructure Strickland has worked with in the past is larger in scope, he said Columbia County's smaller system will be easier to manage.