PERRYVILLE STUDENTS GET LESSONS ON 911

PERRYVILLE -- About 125 kindergarten through fourth-grade students at Perryville Elementary School learned Monday how to correctly use 911 in emergencies.

Mary Bohnert, manager of the Perry County Ambulance Service and a member of the county's 911 advisory committee, also took the opportunity to ask the students to encourage their parents to vote "yes" April 4 for an Enhanced 911 System.

Perry County has a Basic 911 System, which only displays the phone number from which an emergency call is made. Dispatchers have to match that phone number to a location, which can delay response time, Bohnert said.

That system costs 4 percent on basic phone bills, which means 36 cents per month for Perryville residents and 30 cents for those in other phone exchanges.

An enhanced system, as proposed on the April ballot, would show the phone number, the specific address from which the call is made and the name of the person or business with that number. The enhanced system would allow a response to the location even if the caller couldn't speak.

An enhanced system would raise the surcharge on basic phone bills to 15 percent. Residents in Perryville's 547 telephone exchange would pay $1.37 monthly while the cost in other exchanges would be $1.13. Customers with business phones would pay more since their basic rate is higher.

Bohnert said Monday's presentation was part of an effort by several southeast Missouri ambulance districts to teach the public how to "make the right call" when using 911.

The Southeast Missouri Emergency Medical Services Network received a $10,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide the educational program in Jefferson, Perry, Cape Girardeau and Butler counties.

Bohnert said the purpose is to help people distinguish between situations when a 911 call is appropriate and those when a regular phone number should be used. For examples, she said inappropriate uses would be asking the 911 dispatcher how to get a fire permit or an elderly citizen wanting an ambulance ride for a regular trip to the doctor.

As part of the grant procedure, groups have to be pretested before the 911 presentation and then tested after the information is provided. Bohnert said the Perryville students scored well after Monday's presentation.

"I think they're learning a lot from our education," Bohnert said. She also credited the TV program, "Rescue 911," with helping to educate the students and the public on when to use the emergency number.

Bohnert and other 911 committee members are making presentations around the county on the benefits of an enhanced system.

She said there are many scenarios where the enhanced system would be better than the county's basic system. With the address displayed on the screen, dispatchers could send help immediately if the caller couldn't speak, had hung up, or a child had called, she said.

Jack Lakenan, emergency management director for Perry County and a lieutenant at the county jail, said he's found very little opposition to the enhanced system. He said the people are curious how the enhanced system will be set up.

He said many area residents aren't aware of how the current system works so he's been explaining how much quicker an enhanced system would be. He said there have been no objections to the extra cost.

"People have watched 911 enough on TV," Lakenan said. "But for an additional $12 per year, what price do you put on saving a life? That doesn't seem very high."