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BREMERTON — The last person slain Washington State Patrol Trooper Tony Radulescu called is receiving statewide and national recognition for her calm demeanor and professionalism during that tragedy, and more.
Kara Nichols, 30, is a dispatcher for WSP’s regional call center in Bremerton and has family on the North Olympic Peninsula.
She recently was named the state’s communications officer of the year, beating out 160 dispatchers.
Now she has been named one of eight emergency response workers nationwide to receive recognition for her work.
That award is given out by the NG9-1-1 Institute, an industry and lobbying group for emergency response services.
“I’m so thrilled and honored [but also] in disbelief,” Nichols said from her Gig Harbor home.
Nichols’ grandparents are Edna Petersen and Butch Hoare of Port Angeles, Gene and Mary Ann Halverson of Forks and Phillip and Shirley Mast of Port Angeles.
Petersen is the owner of the Necessities & Temptations variety store in downtown Port Angeles.
Nichols had worked at the dispatch center for a little more than two years when she received Radulescu’s call on Feb. 23, 2012.
He was conducting a traffic stop on state Highway 16 near Gorst and wanted more information about driver Josh Blake.
It was a routine call, Nichols recalled.
She was expecting him to stop by the dispatching center after his shift to share some of the homemade trail mix he had bragged about earlier.
But the visit never came.
Blake fatally shot Radulescu before taking his own life later that day at a house in South Kitsap.
In the following hours, Nichols and her supervisor, Jonathan Pitts, stayed on the phone, relaying information about the incident and the investigation that followed.
Shaky and nauseous, Nichols said she worked another four hours beyond her required shift.
Pitts said she did not appear nervous that night.
“Some people deal with stress by being rude and snappy. She just handles it,” said Pitts, who called Nichols’ strong work ethic and motivation refreshing.
Fifteen days later, Nichols received a call from a trooper in Grays Harbor County responding to a stabbing and shooting at the courthouse in Montesano.
The dispatching center in Bremerton handles WSP calls from seven counties, including Kitsap.
Nichols immediately took charge of the incident, helping co-workers notify area staff of the incident.
“Nichols has established herself as a mature professional beyond what is routinely expected of junior employees,” Pitts wrote in an application supporting her candidacy.
She continued to work after both incidents, opting not to take leave because her co-workers would be best equipped to understand what she was going through.
So it was challenging when Nichols, who previously worked in the auto industry and drug and alcohol rehabilitation, went on maternity leave in late February.
She’s antsy for her family and her son, Kellen, to give her the signs to go back to work.
“I work hard so I can play hard. I have a great family and family life, but I really enjoy work,” she said, adding she misses the “me time” she gets during her 40-minute work commute.
Pitts said the dispatcher’s presence is missed while she’s on maternity leave.
“We’ll have to be careful she doesn’t do too much, her appetite is bigger than her stomach,” Pitts said.
“She’s really a go-getter, shows a lot of initiative and drive — and she tries to do anything and everything.”
