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Friday, Dec. 30, marked the retirement of longtime Troy Police Department Dispatcher and Records Clerk Jo Lashley after 26 years of service in the department.

Lashley grew up all over the Southeast, the daughter of an Air Force officer. She attended elementary school in Atlanta, Ga., and graduated from Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1971 before attending Gene Prater Beauty College in Texas. She also graduated from Seminole County Community College in Florida in emergency dispatching in 1986.

After attending the Central Florida Criminal Justice Institute in Orlando, Fla., she also had training at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Mid-Florida Technical Institute in Orlando.

Lashley started her career as a communications specialist in 1984 at the Oviedo Police Department in Florida before being employed by the Orlando Aviation Authority in 1990. In 1994, Lashley came to Pike County where she began her career with the Troy Police Department as a dispatcher. She served as an NCIC Operator until 2017, when she transferred to the Records Department of Troy PD. Along with working at TPD for 26 years, Lashley has been a resident of Goshen in Pike County for 30 years.

“One of the things I’ll always remember about Jo is her hard work, dedication and attention to detail; not some of the time but all of the time,” Troy Police Chief Randall Barr said. “She has a work ethic and a drive for this job, especially as a dispatcher, like nobody I’ve ever known.”

Captain Greg Wright also spoke of her dedication to the job.

“You always want to hear those people like Jo, that pay attention to detail, coming through the radio knowing they’ve got your back and Ms. Jo has definitely been that,” Wright said. “Working with her in records, she’d always come into my office asking me how she could help. You’d give her something and she’ll come back with even more than you asked for. She could dig through and find things you didn’t even know she could bring back.”

Along with her dedication, Chief Barr said that Lashley helped bring TPD up to the level it is currently at with her knowledge of communication systems.

“When she came here she came from a lot bigger agency and a lot more advanced agency than we were at the time,” Barr recalled. “She’s done a lot to help bring us where we are today. For that we are very appreciative.”

As Lashley heads into retirement, she said she doesn’t plan to be a stranger at TPD.

“Y’all have been my family and I will miss you all so much,” Lashley said to her coworkers. “With that being said, I plan on (continuing) to bug you all, y’all can count on that. Thank you so much and I appreciate all of you very much.”