Phone code switch
New area code set for
Eastern Oregon

By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Friday, May 8, 2009 10:18 AM PDT

Larry Meyer | Argus Observer Kristina Kissinger, manager of the new Verizon Store in Ontario, is busy showing cell phones to customers Thursday. Cell phone users will also be affected when the new 458 area code is instituted this summer in much of Oregon.

ONTARIO—Big change will arrive for Malheur County residents and other Oregonians living in the  geographic region covered by the 541 area code when they pick up the phone soon.

Residents used to dialing 7 numbers to make local calls will have to learn to dial 10 numbers as a new area code will be instituted in most of Oregon as the result of action by the Oregon Public Utilities Commission. The number for emergencies will not change.

In a letter to the Argus Observer, Dave Gabica, president of Malheur Bell, said, as of July 12, the majority of phone patrons in the state will have to dial three additional numbers, whether calling their neighbors or across town, when the new 458 area code is instituted, as an overlay to the existing 541 area code region. Residents in the northwest corner of Oregon, stretching from about Salem north to Astoria, including the Portland metro area, have been dialing the 10 digits for several years since the 971 area code was overlayed in the 503 area-code region.

In addition to the calls within Oregon, people calling Nu Acres from Nyssa or Fruitland and Payette from Ontario will have to start their dialing with 208.

There will be a six-month grace period for people forgetting to use an area code to call a local number to still have their calls go through. However, starting Jan. 10, 2010, the new dialing procedure will be required to complete a phone call. A recording will inform errant callers about the new procedure. Starting Feb. 10, new phone lines or services may be assigned the new area code.

ADVERTISEMENT

People may need to reprogram automatically dialed calls, such as life safety systems, fax machines, internet dial-up numbers, alarm and security systems, speed dialers, call forwarding settings and voice mail service.

Specialized equipment like a PBX, electronic telephone sets, auto-dial systems or multi-line key systems may need to be reprogramed to use the new dialing procedures, Gabica said.

“You should still dial just three digits to reach 911,” he said.

At least two area officials and two merchants delivered definite opinions about the phone code switch.

“That is going to be something of a challenge,” Bernie Babcock, director of physical plant and campus security at Treasure Valley Community College said.

He said some of the fire alarms involved auto-dial systems and is not sure how they may be affected.

“I’m going to have to look into it,” he said.

Nyssa School District Superintendent Don Grotting said he will be contacting the district’s telephone system contractor to find out how the schools might be affected. 

“It will affect filling out forms,” Grotting said. 

In filling out student and other records, staff will need to make sure the correct area codes are included in the phone numbers, he said.

Mara Slinker, advertising manager at Kinney & Keele Hardware, said, “It is going to be more cumbersome.”

Mike Pratt, co-owner of Kinney & Keele said it would not affect any of their numbers, but added.

“We’ll have to make sure we get full phone numbers,” he said.

CHeck out more local news at www.argusobserver.com