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Officials, schools starting to click By David Preszler With a little help and a few clicks of the mouse, Ashland�s Thea Hartman was able to pull up scads of information about the place she rents on East Main Street. The size of the lot. Its assessed value. The owner�s address. The year it was built. She found it all online at www.smartmap.org . "That�s really good," she said, watching the map software zoom in. "It�s a great tool. If I were in the market for property I�d definitely use this." The interactive maps are offered by the SmartMap program � put together by the Jackson County Geographic Information Service department. The maps are probably the most-gee whiz government Internet application on display at the Jackson County Fair�s Technology Pavilion. But it�s far from the only one. Local government agencies and schools are continuing to unlock the power of the Internet, using it to make services more easily accessible and efficient. They�re displaying their latest advances this week at the pavilion. The SmartMap site, for instance, allows residents to zoom in on any piece of property in Jackson County and get zoning and flood plain information, tax assessment, ownership and other public information. The system, which went live in December, also has powerful search capabilities. "You put in all the variables you want, click on it and it will show you all the lots," says Connie Florey, of the county GIS department. Florey says the department put the system on display at the fair because that�s the best way to see how it works. And it will be able to do more in the future. "We try to put everything on it we can," she says. "There�s a huge amount of information to download and it�s free." Many city, county and state government agencies and schools have had Web sites for some time. Many, though, offer only basic information. That�s changing. Students now can register for classes at either Southern Oregon University or Rogue Community College online. They can fill out federal financial aid forms and download scholarship applications, according to Carol Sunuhara of SOU�s financial aid department. With a PIN number, federal forms can even be submitted online � cutting weeks off processing times. "We�re starting to see lots of students that are using the Web site," adds Angela Huftill of SOU�s extended campus and distance learning program. Students also can order textbooks and search the school�s library system online, she says. For some things, using the Web isn�t optional. "The university no longer sends report cards," says SOU�s Jan McCoy, who�s spending the week at the technology pavilion. "Students have to go online to check their grades." Cities also are expanding Web services. The city of Medford is currently redesigning its site and will launch a new one in August, according to Keith Aeschliman of the city�s information services department. While the site might not look that different, the changes will make information more timely and lay groundwork for further improvements. The city already allows people to apply for jobs online � useful in attracting applicants from a wider area, Aeschliman says. "That was pretty innovative when we did it," he says. "We�ve gotten a great response to it." Forms to apply for building permits can be downloaded and the city is working to post the entire municipal code online. It�s moving toward allowing people to apply or pay for building permits, business licenses and even traffic tickets. In the future, the city might take comments for public hearings and provide detailed crime information online. "Our whole idea is to have a 24-hour city hall," he says. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA