Garden & Home

April 2000

An accent edition of The Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls Press

Addressing the Issue

Brass address numbers might look nice and shiny during the day, but chances are they wont be so visible once the sun sets.

Paul Hoskinson, owner of Buy the Numbers.net has a product that will make life easier for emergency workers trying to find a house or even pizza boys wanting to deliver a hot dinner.

Hoskinson's address signs are made with the same type of products used to mark the country's highways and byways, are highly reflective and durable.

Wooden driveway monuments with routed-in, reflective 5-inch numbers are visible from more than 150 feet away.

Having a visible address becomes especially important as the county begins using enhanced 911, Hoskinson said.

The E-911 system the county purchased means that even if 911 receives a hang-up call, emergency personnel can track their location through Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology.

So that the E-911 system will work, some county residents' addresses will be changed so they will be easier to locate. Duplicate road names will be changed to eliminate confusion during dispatch of emergency assistance.

Physical addresses will also be assigned to buildings that use a post office box for mailing addresses.

Hoskinson said that the money spent on the system is supposed to cut response time, but emergency workers still spend as much time driving through neighborhoods trying to find homes as they do getting to the neighborhood.

Hoskinson often asks people, "Do you know the community is the weak link in the 911 system?". Many people, he said, aren't aware of the confusion 911 workers deal with.

BuyTheNumbers.net is offering fund-raising opportunities to local groups. Groups can sell address products and receive commissions, as well as added donations, from each sale.

The project not only benefits the group selling the signs, but the purchaser and the county as well.

BuyTheNumbers is located at 3355 Atlas Rd., just off Seltice Way. The company's Web site at www.buythenumbers.net includes information on all of the company's products and links to sites with information on 911.

The signs are also available at local Do-It Centers. For information call 208 664-8196.

Having addresses visibly displayed means emergency workers wont have a hard time finding you.