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economist stsunfribune emergencyserv1ces saturday april 21 2001 13 gettuiga across region by patrick casey staff writer seconds can mean the differ ence between life and death in lifethreatening situations dialing 9i 1 is the lifeline to emer- gency services with police fire and ambulance personnel mere ly a phone cau away on tuesday york region took a major step toward beefing up its 911 emergency service pro gram including a new logo that will appear on all fire ambulance and policevehicles across the region the logo will also be part of an extensive 911 public education campaign that will involve school programs community events- brochures and educa tional films with 911 it should not just be an emergency number its most effective when it has a pub lic profile explained york regional police siipt bruce herridge who managed the forces communications division for the past 12 years after attending a conference in the states we came to the real ization that 911 and its logo must have a profile within the organi zation the educational program wiu help cut down on the num ber of calls that are inappropri ate it will help free up people who handle the calls coming in we just have to recommit ourselves to the educational component he added when a 91 1 emergency call is placed by a york region resident it is answered in ottawa at the public service answering point psap within seconds the emer gency is defined for fire ambu lance or police response and is downloaded to the appropriate york region emergency service and once emergency details are confirmed emergency com municators for the york regional police york region emergency medical services or die fire departments of the nine area municipalities dispatch the respective emergency service to the scene since 1994 250000 new resi dents have moved to york region a statistic highlighting the need for improved education in the 911 program thats a whole new genera tion of school children so we have to start targeting them as well as senior citizen groups and new canadians brian hook the regions manager of emergency services said ifs almost like we take 911 for granted but there are still see emergency page 16 thel arthritis cnrifty tomorrows whether jts a bequest agift of life insurance or a charitable annuity you can plan to ensure continuing support for arthritis research nearly four rriillion canadians who have arthritis are counting on you for more information about our planned giving program contact the arthritis society give to give hope richmond hill 5805177 this message brought to you as a community service of the economist sun v f i york region is going smoke free the regional municipality of york has a new nosmoking bylaw for details attend one of our many public information meetings specialized sessions york region nosmoking bylaw information meetings for ownersoperators of recreation facilities restaurants bars taverns bingo halls bowling alleys billiard halls will be offered location date time richmond hill municipal tower 225 east beaver creek rd richmond hill monday april 23 830 to 1000 am vaughan police station 2700 rutherford rd vaughan tuesday april 24 830 to 1000 am location date time richmond hill municipal tower 255 east beaver creek rd richmond hill tuesday april 24 700 to 900 pm georgina civic centre 26557 civic centre rd keswick wednesday april 25 100 to 300 pm whitchurchstoufrville municipal offices 37 sandif6rddrstouffviile- wednesday april 25 700 to 900 pm aurora jownihall- lopjohnwestway auroral thursday april 26 700 to 900 pm 1 1 for- more information contact york region health connection at 1 vi786o36i 6f tf 905 89 vgicmaifm yl ptyisit purwej3ste atxr fmmr- sr wwwrrekiorivbvlcf6hica y v vtk little theatr- oil t awt su mj mud cumie by marc camoletti adapted by robin hawdon icss directed by timhawco april 25 to 28 2001 800 pm tickets 1900 students seniore 1600 on thursday markham theatre for performing arts 171 town centre blvd box office 905305seow 7469 llulcr produced by special arrangement with samuel french canada ltd great seats still wwftzefor r north american hairstyling awards finalist voted best hair salon 2 years running voted best hairstylist nt fay that traffic ticket 3senicedm1 v y vsv v ic prh vvs