IN FIRST YEAR, E-911 EARNS HIGH MARKS

JACKSON -- The computer screen looks like a bunch of squiggles and boxes with no recognizable pattern.

Then Mike Niemeier uses the machine's zoom feature.

Each squiggle represents a county road, and each box a home. The address, phone number and name of the resident is inside the box. Niemeier's job is to be sure emergency responders can find the homes easily, even though many are miles apart and far from any town.

Thanks to Enhanced 911's implementation in November 1993, the addresses are uniform and easy to find. Before, emergency professionals had route and box numbers to work with, lengthening response time. Only postal workers were sure what address went with each home.

Cape Girardeau County Emergency Preparedness Director Brian Miller remembers those days. The city of Cape Girardeau was one of the few towns in the area that had a 911 system. Although the county commission asked Miller to research getting one for the county, the issue was dormant until it was time for Cape Girardeau to update its system.

A committee of two people from Cape Girardeau, two from Jackson and two from the county was formed to select a 911-E system.

"We never did consider a two-bit system," Miller said. "Ours isn't gold-plated, but we knew it would do the best job for us."

The committee went to local media, clubs and public meetings to pitch the system. Everyone wanted to know how much it would cost, but were supportive even after hearing the $1.1 million price tag.

Voters overwhelmingly approved the system in 1991. Two years of tariffs on phone bills paid for 911-E. Now there's just the upkeep to finance.

Miller said there were a few minor bugs to be worked out, but when the Cape County system went on line it was fully operational. A year later it hasn't let county residents down.

Scott and New Madrid counties approved 911-E in the past election, and Miller said he was ready to share any knowledge about it with those counties.

"Most of them have already called and asked questions," he said. "We had people who helped us, and we are anxious to help others. They shouldn't have to go out and reinvent the wheel."

Miller warned representatives of both counties to do their homework on available systems and know exactly what they are getting.

Also, he said the most difficult part is setting up the addresses for county residents. Cape Girardeau and Jackson dwellers have street numbers and addresses. County residents go on a 1,000-addresses-per-mile system.

There are 1,000 addresses available for each mile of county road, and the number assigned a resident represents how far down the road his home is. When a fireman hears about a blaze at 200 County Road 415, for example, he would know the home was about two-tenths of a mile from the start of that county road.

Niemeier, the county's addressing technician who operates the 911-E identification system, said all move-ins to the county should contact him to get their addresses assigned. The number for the emergency preparedness office is 243-7703.