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Petitioner gaining support for local calls to Ashland By SARA MURPHY CENTRAL POINT -- The 15 miles between Central Point and Ashland add up to long-distance phone rates when Lyle McLaughlin lets his fingers do the walking. It's expensive, says McLaughlin, who is petitioning the Oregon Public Utilities Commission to change US West's rate structure so calls between the two cities are local rather than long distance. He hopes to have enough signatures to turn in the petitions this month. "We are a ways away from getting them yet," McLaughlin says. "We started out like a house on fire, but it's slowed down a bit.'' The semi-retired developer figures he needs about 600 more signatures of people with telephone prefixes of 664 and 655 to reach the 1,990 required by the PUC. McLaughlin plans to set up tables at the Central Point Albertson's and Ray's Food Place stores this month to ask weekend shoppers for their support. "There's a lot of people who are still interested," McLaughlin says. "It's just been off the front page for a while now." Other Oregon cities, including Shady Cove and Rogue River, have petitioned the PUC to change calls to nearby areas from long distance to local. But the switch to toll-free doesn't mean there isn't a charge for the extended area service, says Tom Harris, a senior telecommunication analyst for the commission. "There's no such thing as a free call just like there's no such thing as a free lunch," Harris says. "Somebody somewhere has got to pay for it. That's just the way things work." Central Point customers would pay for the service through a fixed monthly fee or per-minute rate. Ashland customers also might pay additional charges. McLaughlin says that makes more sense than paying long-distance rates. "The Rogue Valley is really one neighborhood," he says. McLaughlin began the petition drive last year because of the "ridiculous" rates he was paying to call his children while they were students at Southern Oregon University. "My phone bill to Ashland was more expensive than calling my children in Minnesota," he says. Adding to McLaughlin's concern, America OnLine dropped its Medford access number in June, leaving customers only an Ashland access number. AOL has since added a Medford access number, but McLaughlin says the rate change would still benefit callers in Central Point and Ashland. Petitioning the PUC is only the first step on the long road to rate changes, the PUC's Harris says. Once petition signatures are verified, the commission will ask US West to determine whether a sufficient number of calls were made between the two cities in the past six months to justify the change. The soonest rates could change would be fall 2001. Central Point has local phone service to Medford, Gold Hill, Jacksonville and White City. Ashland has extended area service to Phoenix, Talent and Medford. Petitions are available in Central Point at the Chamber of Commerce and The Koffee Klatch, or by calling Lyle McLaughlin at 664-1250. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA