Page 4
The INDEPENDENT, April 21, 1999
N ew G TE s w itc h in g d e v ic e w ill allo w fu ll use o f n ew te c h n o lo g y
Updated telecommunica
tions technology from GTE will
make Caller ID, Voice Mail and
other advanced, optional call
ing features available in Ver
nonia starting this fall.
It happens Sept. 18, when
GTE will replace its existing
digital telephone switching sys
tem in Vernonia with a newer
generation of digital technolo
gy. The updated system will
serve all of the company’s 1,600
customer lines in the 429 prefix.
A switching system is the
heart of a community’s telecom
munications network. It routes
local and long-distance calls,
fares and data transmissions to
their proper destinations. Digi
tal technology is the most mod
ern available in the public net
work.
In addition to the advanced
features, the modern system
will provide greater capacity.
That’s significant because in
creased call volumes are ex
pected when Vernonia cus
tomers receive toll-free access
to the Portland metro area
starting Oct. 2.
“This newer generation of
digital technology will improve
the quality of life for Vernonia
customers and strengthen the
area’s potential for economic
growth,” said Jim McFarland,
customer operations manager
based in Beaverton. “Better
yet, even though we’ll invest
$850,000 in the new system,
basic customer rates will not
change.”
The optional features will be
available in early October,
about two weeks after the ad
vanced switching system is ac
tivated. They will offer conven
ience, security and control to
those customers who order
them. Here’s a partial list:
Caller ID: Allows customers
Stewardship considers the future
As we close out the twenti
eth century and second millen
nium, we must think about
what we are passing on to fu
ture generations, according to
organizers of the 1999 Soil &
Water Stewardship Week ob
servance, set for April 25th to
May 2nd. The event theme, “In
the Children’s Hands”, reminds
us that children of the new mil
lennium will need both roots
and wings — roots anchored in
the legacy of sound natural re
source conservation and wings
to strike out, to innovate and
make the world a better place
to live.
Local sponsor of the obser
vance, the Columbia Soil &
Water Conservation District is
inviting youth leaders and par
ents to take the time to help
young people better under
stand their role in caring for the
natural resources in our envi
ronment.
“Our ability to maintain a
healthy, productive land is de-
on how seriously our
children take their stewardship
responsibility,” said Kay C.
VanNatta, CSWCD Chairman.
Employees and volunteers at
the local conservation office
can help identify conservation
practices and activities that are
best suited for your neighbor
hood or your backyard.
To learn more about conser
vation practices and activities
that benefit children, contact
the Columbia Soil & Water
Conservation District during
business hours at 2514 Sykes
Rd., St. Helens, 397-4555.
Farm building
permits change
State Law (ORS 455.315)
exempts “farm agricultural
buildings” from the requirement
to obtain a building permit and
comply with the Oregon Struc
tural Specialty Code.
Effective June 1, 1999, the
Columbia County Land Devel-
Please see page 5
Non-profit Clubs
and
Organizations
Churches - Service Clubs
Schools
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* £ t f i You could be fund raising
every day with our new
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Come in and ask us how!
WESTERN UNION • MONEY ORDERS • FAX SERVICE
LAMINATING • BOOKS • GREETING CARDS
VIDEOS • LOTTERY GAMES
to see the name and number of
the person calling before the
phone is answered. Caller ID
can be an effective deterrent to
obscene, harassing or threat
ening calls. (Customers need
ing privacy will have options to
prevent their number from dis
playing.)
Anonymous Call Rejection:
Any caller who has blocked his
or her number from appearing
on a Caller ID box will be inter
cepted by a recording. The
message announces that the
called party will not accept calls
from people who prevent dis
play of their phone number.
Call Tracing Service: This is
another service that deters ob
scene, threatening and harass
ing calls. It allows the customer
to trace the last incoming call
received from the local service
area by dialing ‘ 57. Law en
forcement officials can subse
quently retrieve the number.
The cost is $1.00 for each suc
cessful trace.
Voice Mail: Calls to a cus
tomer with Voice Mail never get
a busy signal or no answer -
they are automatically stored in
a voice messaging system
where they are retrievable 24
hours a day from any tone dial
ing phone in the world.
Smart Ring: Provides a cus
tomer with two separate phone
numbers on the same primary
line. Calls placed to each num
ber have a different ring, en
abling the customer to know
which number is being called.
Automatic Busy Redial:
Keeps trying a busy number for
up to 30 minutes. When the
number becomes available, the
person trying to call is alerted
with a ring.
Automatic Call Return: En
tering ‘ 69 on the phone auto
matically dials the number of
the last call received, whether it
was answered or not.
GTE is one of the largest
publicly held telecommunica
tions companies in the world.
In the Northwest, the company
serves 1.5 million customer ac
cess lines, including about
490,000 in Oregon.
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Vernonia's Nursery, Florist & Garden Center
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735 Jefferson Ave. ■ Vernonia ■ 429-3811
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(9273)
Open Mon.-Sat. 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
998 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR (Formerly Sandra McLean Florist & Nursery)