DIAL 7-1-1: Here’s something to keep in mind as your parents (or
you!) get older and maybe a little hard of hearing. There is a
special service in Pennsylvania that help allows communication for
those with a hearing loss or speech disability.[neWLine]

We all know about 9-1-1, of course, but this is 7-1-1. It’s
called PA Relay.[neWLine]

PA Relay is an AT&T phone service regulated by the PUC that
offers three ways for deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-disabled
Pennsylvanians to connect by telephone.[neWLine]

In each case, conversations are relayed by trained
communications assistants who follow a strict code of ethics and
confidentiality. And dialing 7-1-1 allows every Pennsylvanian to
connect with persons who have hearing and speech loss.[neWLine]

It is important for the hearing public to understand the PA
Relay system, or they may inadvertently hang up on a customer,
friend, relative or another legitimate caller, perhaps confusing it
with telemarketing or a prank, according to the PUC.[neWLine]

Believe it or not, surveys show that nearly one in 12
Pennsylvanians has some type of hearing loss or speech disability.
That’s fairly frequent and, in this region with a larger proportion
of senior citizens, it’s probably even higher.[neWLine]

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AND ALSO: Even if you’re a little bit “”hard of hearing,”” you
might benefit from a service available on some television sets.
It’s called “”closed captioning”” (CC in many TV guides) and
provides a written version of the spoken word at the bottom of the
screen.[neWLine]

We like to use it, in particular, for shows in which dialogue is
difficult to pick up because the script includes unfamiliar slang
or dialect.[neWLine]

One complaint we do have, however, is that the captioning is
often incomplete and contains so many typos that it’s nearly
impossible to follow.[neWLine]

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GAS PAINS: It’s happening – gas all over is dipping below 2
bucks.[neWLine]

Adam Bundy wrote earlier this week, “”Former resident in Kane
and my mom still lives there … Unleaded gas in Lexington is $1.94
and she stated it was $2.49 in Kane today.””[neWLine]

This past Tuesday, Dan Good writes: “”Just wanted to let you all
know that gas dropped to $1.99 a gallon here in York,
S.C.””[neWLine]

And, in a report just below the $2 mark, Lou Gentile wrote last
week: “”Visited my daughter in Columbus, Ohio, last week and paid
2.12 for gas and then discovered the station a block away was
2.06.””