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Enhanced 911 saves lives

Fayette County residents have been asked twice to pay a nominal monthly surcharge for an emergency phone service that saves countless lives each year and twice they have chose not to do so.

County residents will again be asked to fund an Enhanced 911 phone service, possibly this fall, and this time, we hope that they support that program.

We agree with Fayette County Board Chairman Steve Knebel, an Illinois State Police officer, when he says that he wants Fayette County to no longer be among the few counties that dont have that service.

Of Illinois 102 counties, all but 14 have E911 service, and two of those are working to implement the service.

Though the monthly surcharge that will be proposed in an upcoming referendum has yet to be determined, its possible that the E911 fee will be less than what we are currently paying for a gallon of gasoline.

Why do we, like Knebel, support Enhanced 911? Because we know that by having that service in place, we provide the means to get police, fire and emergency medical personnel to the scene of an emergency situation much quicker.

And the minutes that E911 save translates into the saving of a life that is being jeopardized by an attack, fire or serious medical problem.

Much more information about the service will become available in the coming months, as the countys E911 committee progresses toward its goal of getting the issue on the ballot. We encourage you to take in all of that information, to learn why you also should be supporting passage of an E911 referendum.

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