Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, September 27, 1993                   TAG: 9309270059
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KAREN BARNES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MONTVALE                                LENGTH: Medium

MONTVALE A LITTLE CLOSER TO A LOCAL CALL

But if he calls Buchanan, about 10 miles over the mountains in Botetourt County, he will pay a local rate.

That soon may change if a telephone company survey finds that a majority of Montvale residents support toll-free calling between there and Bedford.

Late in July, a C&P Telephone area manager sent information and survey postcards to Montvale residents explaining the proposed plan, a response to a petition bearing more than 70 signatures from area residents. Residents have until Tuesday to return the cards.

The telephone company needs at least half of the survey cards returned, said Paul Miller, a spokesman for C&P.

If toll-free calling comes to fruition, businesses would face a $9.73 increase in their monthly service charge, while residents' bills would go up by $2.58. But residents no longer would pay long-distance rates to call Bedford. "If your phone bill goes up $2 or $3, it would still be less than what I spend calling Bedford," said Kay Dooley, a Montvale resident.

Janice Luck pays about $25 a month to speak with her friends in Bedford, 12 miles away.

She sent her response card back the same day she received it.

"I'm totally in favor of it," she said. "I've told everyone I've run into to support it. I would say that 95 percent of people in this area support toll-free calling."

But Charlie Bailey said he does not care about the future of toll-free calling and has no plans to return his response card. "It doesn't make a difference to me one way or another," he said, "but a lot of people who have friends in Bedford will probably use it."

The impetus for the petition drive came when Crouch and other citizens formed an informal committee about a year and a half ago. The District 6 Taxpayers for Equal Shares - which is concerned about statewide distribution of tax revenues, among other things - collected petition signatures and mailed them to the State Corporation Commission.

If the survey concludes that a majority of Montvale residents want the service, and the increase in basic-service charges is less than 5 percent, toll-free calling could begin as soon as next year. But if basic-service charges increase by more than 5 percent, customers in Bedford also would have to be surveyed.

"We're still looking at 12 to 18 months if it goes over 5 percent," Crouch said. "Otherwise, it'll be late next year."

If both communities approve, toll-free calling could be in use in 1994, Miller said. C&P officials will tabulate the survey results and report their findings to the State Corporation Commission.

Donald Reid, a regional manager for C&P, said the results of the Montvale survey will be available within several days after the deadline.