JACKSON GROWTH RESULTS IN QUIET APPEARANCE OF 204 TELEPHONE PREFIX

JACKSON -- Nobody at Jackson City Hall knew about the city's new 204 telephone prefix until people began listing it on their utility start-up forms.

When City Clerk Mary Lowry got curious and called Southwestern Bell, she found out the strange phone numbers are correct. Back in June, without fanfare, Jackson had received its second telephone prefix.

The first prefix is 243.

Craig Felzien, Southwestern Bell's area manager of internal affairs, said his company used to make a big deal out of a new telephone prefix. Now it happens so often an area might get a new one without much of an announcement.

"This is a very positive sign for any community that needs to add a three-digit exchange," Felzien said. "I think the residents just want to know if it is a local call."

Now there are 200 phone numbers in Jackson beginning with 204.

Russ Roehr, area manager of system support in St. Louis, said his staff noticed the existing exchange was running out of numbers due to its prosperity.

While around 10,000 numbers are available within any exchange, blocks of those are set aside for cellular or pager customers. Other blocks are set aside for businesses wanting to add a phone line without making its prefix different from the others, or for customers who want to put modems in their homes.

Some customers want to change their numbers to a new prefix when given the opportunity, St. Louis spokesman Tom Pagano said, and Southwestern Bell accommodates them through its service center.

"From a business perspective, we don't want to wait for a marketing campaign to release a new prefix," he said. "If there's a need, we just do it so there's no lapse in quality service."

Jackson City Manager Steve Wilson said he saw the addition as another sign of Jackson's growth, and various city employees were made aware that the new 204 prefix is valid.

Southwestern Bell's next new exchange in the area will be in Perryville, but it will be for cellular service only.