Party's over at Elizabeth

Page 1

Chairman gets first private line

For Archie Collins, the party's over.

After 17 years of unexpected wake up calls, he will finally get some peace and quiet. On Jan. 15 he became the first resident in the Grand Centre area to have his party line phone changed to a private line.

"It's fantastic," said the Elizabeth settlement chairman. "We won't have to put up with the phone ringing at all hours of the night and sometimes all weekend long."

Although there were many headaches with a party line, Collins says the real problems arose when others would call long distance and bill the charges to his number. "Sometimes our phone bill would have $40 worth of calls that we didn't make and they couldn't be traced."

As chairman of the settlement he receives phone calls at home after business hours, but privacy was at a premium. He said he and his family always had to be careful of what they said.

Following a promise made by Premier Don Getty last spring to provide private line service to rural Alberta, AGT began the changeover. The first private line is scheduled for a farmhouse between Stettler and Joffre, east of Red Deer.

According to Lakeland MLA Ernie Isley, at the Collins' home for the official changeover, "This is probably the best program for rural Albertans." With the move toward computer technology more people are doing private business by phone and private lines are a must.

The $500 installation fee to rural residents will be spread out over a 20-year period to minimize the impact. Changeover residents will also receive a $100 rebate.

AGT anticipates completing the change province-wide by 1991.