Women Serve Our Community Daily

Article by Steve Corlew-

As The Lexington Progress helps celebrate business and professional women, we thought it would be a good idea to salute the women in uniform that serve our community.

For many, it is not until you need their services, that you may even know they are there. It is a world of excitement, a world of danger, but also a world of great satisfaction for those that serve.

Many not only love their jobs, but they have advanced up the ranks. Some started because of family members, others because a since of duty and need to serve.

Whether they work as a patrolman, investigator, leader of a SWAT team, fire service officer, or commander of the local National Guard unit. Women are serving in important roles every day for our community.

The Lexington Police Department has four patrolmen and an investigator, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department will have a total of five female deputies, including an investigator, the Lexington Fire Department has one full-time fire service officer. All serving the public daily. That doesn’t count the women in the supporting roles as dispatchers, clerks, jailers and even volunteers.

For HCSO Investigator Amber Wood, she grew up in emergency services. Her father was a fireman and she wanted to join the fire service, but instead found another way to serve.

“You have to work very hard to get where you want to be,” Wood said about being an officer. Wood began her career in 2013 as a dispatcher. She advanced to patrol, graduated the academy, and became a deputy, later a field training officer, a sergeant and in 2021 became a criminal investigator. She is also the first female leader of the SWAT team.

“I work with a good group of people and different agencies that care for the safety and well-being of our community,” Wood said.

Wood is also working to put together a crisis intervention team. The team will be designed to be a community partnership between local law enforcement, county health services, and mental health advocates to address mental health needs of those that interact with law enforcement and the judicial system.

Lexington Police Department Investigator Wendy Nichols also began her career as a dispatcher.

“Over time I became curious about the calls (she was sending officers on),” Nichols said explaining how she got started.

She also advanced up through the ranks as a patrol officer, field training officer and investigator.

“I want to help make our community a better place,” Nichols said.

Both Nichols and Wood have observed that victims sometimes find it easier to talk with a woman.

Lexington School Resource Officer, Katie Carroll, also started as a dispatcher. She worked as a dispatcher for 10 years before going to the academy.

“Dispatchers are the real first responders,” Carroll said adding that as a female officer she sometimes has a different perspective.

Officer Carroll is the new resource officer at Caywood Elementary School. For Office Carroll, she has found that…

For complete coverage, see the October 19^th edition of The Lexington Progress.

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