INTRIGUING UNSUNG HERO
Corey Edwards is Napa Valley’s modern-day town crier. Day and night, he monitors various websites, police scanners, and fire cameras in order to keep the community apprised of anything that puts the public in danger. His alerts are shared via Facebook on a page created during the 2017 fires entitled ‘Napa Valley, CA Fire and Police Emergency Info (Unofficial).’ The Napa Fire Department requested the ‘unofficial’ tag, though Edwards’ fans find nothing unofficial about him. “Whenever something, anything, is going down in town – smoke, loud music, sirens – my husband and I say to each other, ‘let’s see what Corey has to say,’” said Christie Chevalier Kaer. A former freelance photo journalist for the Napa Valley Register, Edwards is a self-confessed ‘ambulance chaser’ who simply knows how and where to glean the latest news. His scanners are ‘on’ 24/7 and so is he; he hasn’t slept through the night in years. With a day job running Napa Valley Computers out of his house, he doesn’t administrate the Facebook page for money. It’s simply his way of giving back to the community. “I keep my personal feelings and opinions to myself and simply share the facts of incidents when they come across the scanner,” said Edwards. “My job and my lifestyle allow me to do this.” Says fan Wendy Jacque, “Corey works tirelessly around-the-clock as our community’s central hub of reliable and non-dramatic in- formation for fire and criminal police events. He keeps the facts crystal clear which offers a sense of peace in times of turmoil. Why does he do it? He is a really good person who cares about his community.”
Article By: Fran Miller