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10 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday March 21, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Coping without a phone By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF DAVID LEA / OAKVILLE BEAVER WAITING TO BE CONNECTED: From left, John and Diane Trovato, Gina Mickleson, Malcolm Teal, Louise Fortin and Sylvia Otten all had their phone service cut without notice. Dessert Extravaganza & Images That Suit Fashion Show Presenting sponsor Fashion show presented by Featuring desserts and hors d'oeuvres by IMAGES THAT SUIT Join us for dessert and help support arthritis research. Call today for tickets: $30.00 each or $225 for a table of 8 The Arthritis Society, Halton Peel Region: 1.888.434.0009 Date: Thursday, March 29, 2007 Time: 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Location: Le Dome 1173 North Service Rd. E., Oakville Residents of an Oakville neighborhood are learning how truly dependent they are on the telephone after their service was abruptly disconnected March 13. The disconnection of service, which is being blamed on damage to an underwater Bell Canada phone cable, has affected a number of people in the Queen Mary and Riverside Drive area, who are calling this more than just an inconvenience. Queen Mary Drive residents John and Diane Trovato noticed their phone wasn't working last Wednesday when John tried to call home. "I was trying to get hold of Diane and I kept getting a busy signal. I called three or four times and it was like, busy, busy, busy. So then I called her on her cell phone and she noted that the phone was dead." Thinking it was only her house that was affected Diane went on with the rest of her day, delivering newspapers with her son, but as she did so she came across more and more neighbors who informed her that she was not alone. "It started to become clear that the phones in the neighborhood had been out since the previous night at around 10 p.m." John called Bell and was told that the maintenance would not be complete until Friday morning and to cope without service as best he could in the meantime. This has proven a huge problem for the Trovatos as they have a son with special needs and rely on the phone to inform them of important medical updates on his condition. "We're always waiting for lab reports. We're on waiting lists for doctors appointments. We're on waiting lists for surgeries," said Diane. "We need those calls to come in or at least we need those people to know that the calls are not getting through so they can try a different line because right now all they're getting is a busy signal. There's no message." John and Diane are not the only people for whom the phone is a lifeline. Sylvia Otten runs an appliance service business out of her home and says she's losing money every day that goes by because her customers can't contact her. "All they get is a busy signal so they think I'm on the line, but I'm not on the line," said Otten. "Monday is my busiest day on the phone, so it better be up and running by Monday 8 a.m. that's all I can say." By all accounts Monday's service was sporadic at best for many residents. Like the Trovatos, Otten is upset that no efforts have been made by Bell to notify incoming callers that service has been interrupted and provide them with an alternate number. "That's all we're asking." "Generally we don't do that," said Paolo Pasquini, Bell spokesperson. "Generally there would be connection between the people in different manors. It's a difficult thing to comprehend and to resolve efficiently for every consumer out there." Louise Fortin, who runs a graphic design business from home, is having similar workrelated problems as she has lost not only the phone, but also the Internet, which she has through Bell. "I've had the job since yesterday afternoon, but I've not been See Damage page 11