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West Craven
1712
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Member of the
Noi^h Carolina
Press Association
Sen infc Askin, Br!dgeton,Caton,CoveCity,Dover,Epworth,Ernul,Pt. Barnwell, Jasper, New, Bern, Piney Neck, Tuacarora, Vanceboro, Wilmar A Fairfield Harbour.
Volume 6, Number 61, 16 Pages 20 Cents Vanceboro, North Carolina
Phone 244-0780
December 22 - 28, 1983
Lifeline
1^*
The First Unit of Lifeline for Vanceboro has been
placed in the home of Mrs. Carrie Lee McVicker.
Lifeline is a Community based program sponsored
by the Craven County Council on aging in cooperation
with Craven County Hospital.
Lifeline helps people live independently. It is a
personal emergency response program provided as a
community service. In a three year study funded by
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Lifeline has proven to' be an effective response
program for both Medical and environmental
emergencies. The study showed it is particularly
useful for people who live alone. Lifeline provides
reassurance to the users and their families that help is
available when needed.
Lifeline consists of three parts:
Electronic equipment located in your home. A
portable help button and home unit linked to your
telephone are used to summon emergency.
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An emergency response center, located in your
community, where trained personnel provide 24
hour/day coverage.
People who have agreed to respond to your call for
help. They’re sent immediately in the event of any
emergency.
Lifeline consists of seven steps for help. They are as
follows:
1. You cart-y the small, wireless help button in your
pocket or clipped to your belt or clothing.
Whenever you need help, anytime of day or.night,
you just push the button to contact the community
- emergency response center.
2. Your call for help activates your home unit-
attached to your telephone—which automatically
dials the emergency response center. This
Lifeline home unit can work even if your phone is
off-the-hook and during a power failure.
3. At the emergency response center, trained
coordinators are on duty day and-night. When they
receive your signal for help, they will:
4. Immediately try to reach you by telephone to see
what help you need.
6. And send a “Responder” to your home if they
are unable to contact you by telephone.
“Responders” are people that you select in
advance—a friend, neighbor, relative, or anyone
else you choose to be called in the event of an
emergency.
6. Upon arriving at your home, the responder signals
the response center by resetting the Lifeline unit.
The emergency response coordinator will then call
the responder on your telephone to see what kind
of help you need. If you need medical help, the
responder can either take you to a hospital or have
an ambulance sent to your home.
7. Lifeline has another important feature. It will
call the the emergency response center for help
even if you cannot use the help button. The home
unit includes a timer. You reset the timer
automatically every time you use your telephone.
If you become unconscious, or are otherwise
unable to reset the timer. Lifeline automatically
calls for you and starts the emergency response
procedure.
For more information contact Mrs. Lucille Stewart,
Craven County Council on Aging telephone 638-2118.
Frankie and Wanda Anderson are ha'dngChr^tmasft^^^^^^eir
decorations of many lights on the side of their trailer home on Highway 43 in
Vanceboro. If it is viewed from the corner of Highway 17 Business and Grand
Aveniie, the decorations have the shapes 'of animals or whatever your
. imaginktipn wan.t^th^^'>t9',Jl)ie., ‘
Football
Contest
16th Week
Daisy Gentry was 1st
place winner for the final
week of our Football
Contest $20 and 6 points;
2nd place Jimmy Huff
with $10 and 4 points; 3rd
place Huntley Brownell
$4 and 2 points.
Sheriff Pete Bland
Sheriff Speaks
Craven County Sheriff Pete Bland brought the local
Rotary club up to date on the problems and solutions of
the Sheriff’s Department at its regular weekly
meeting last Thursday night.
Sheriff Bland stated he is as proud of his department
as any police work since he started in Texas in 1966.
His department has at the present time 41 sworn
deputies. These deputies have the responsibility of
serving over 1200 papers per month and over 5000
calls per year.
He believes in preventative patrol, but it is
impossible to have a deputy on hand in each
community at the moment they might be needed.
According to Bland, the department is relying heavily
on the existing Community Watch members to patrol
and report any unusual happening in the community.
Bland stated the county is under the city of New Bern
in several categories of crime.
A problem the department is facing is the staffing of
the new jail. Since it is a multi-level structure, it will
require a minimum of thirteen additional personnel
when the jail opens. An average of 56 inmates per day
is present jail occupancy.
The opening of the new jail brings up the problems of
salaries. His hope is to increase the salaries of the
jailers and dispatchers. The starting salary for these
people is $8,000 per year. The starting salary for his
deputies is $11,200 per year. An increase of $1,000 for
jailers and dispatchers should bring them in line with
other personnel in the department.
The present budget for the sheriffs department is
$840,710 ber year, plus $390,686 per year for the jail
and $61,000 for communications. The sheriffs
department will be tied into the 911 communications
sytem recently approved by the County
Commissioners and is to go on line July 1, 1984.
Merry Christmas
From The
Highlights Staff
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