POLICE GET CELLULAR PHONES

Cape Girardeau joined 12 other Midwest cities Wednesday that have free cellular phones and pagers through Ameritech's Cellular Patrol Program.

Five phones were donated to the department by the cellular company. Four community police officers and the K-9 officer will be issued the phones, said Police Chief Howard "Butch" Boyd Jr.

"In some cases, these phones may be a lifeline," said Boyd.

Donna Hanschen, area manager for Ameritech, said her company is committed to helping local law enforcement agencies. The phone donation also is another way for the St. Louis-based company to be involved in Southeast Missouri.

One community police officer receiving a phone, Charlie Herbst, said instant communication is important in his day-to-day duties but sometimes that type of communication has been very difficult without the cellular phone. Herbst works in an area where many of the people don't have home telephones and pay phones aren't available.

"Sometimes people leave messages or page me, and I can't get back to them immediately because I can't get to a phone," he said. "Many of the people I deal with don't have home phones so they use a pay phone to call for me. If I can't call them back immediately, they're gone.

Herbst said he was glad to see another area business helping police fight crime. "It's one more partnership that is helping to make Cape a better place to live," he said.