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Show tifct $. i , m i i 1 , ,j . - '! V i ' j i " .; ' :. 'J t Hunters please spare our lines. Birds, Not Lines -Please Mountain Bell today asked hunters to avoid shooting at doves or other birds on or near aerial telephone lines. " Shooters annually interrupt hundreds of telephone con- versations and sometimes isolate entire communities in Utah by hitting overhead lines. Mountain Bell Exchange Manager E.H.Andersonsaid shotgun pellets, .22 shells as well as high power rifle lead can easily penetrate the protective sheathing, cutting the small transmission wires inside. "We've had some communities com-munities isolated because someone shot through aerial telephone lines or used glass insulators for target practice," prac-tice," Anderson said. A broken insulator allows the wires to touch the cross- The outer, plastic protective protec-tive coveringof cable is often damaged in the fall but the trouble does not show up until winter when water gets into the cable, shorting out telephone tele-phone service. Many shooting incidents occur in remote mountain areas that are almost inaccessible in-accessible for repair during winter months. 'We are asking hunters to help protect the phone service ser-vice of their neighbors by not shooting at wild game on or near telephone lines," Anderson concluded. The willful damage of transmission lines is a violation vi-olation of Utah Statutes punishable pun-ishable by a fine of up to $299 andor six months in jail. arms on poles causing poor voice transmission or complete com-plete service outages during stormy weather. He pointed out that many people in rural communities depend on the telephone to summon emergency services ser-vices from neighboring cities. Hunters also rely on the phone for help when shooting accidents occur. "Those who shoot at telephone tele-phone lines or insulators don't realize the hazard and inconvenience they create for families whose telephone tele-phone service is cut off. I don't believe they know that someone's phone will go dead when they hit an aerial line-otherwise line-otherwise they wouldn't do it," he said. |