April 15, 1998

 Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission
PO Box 47250
Olympia, Washington  98504-7250

Re: Obligation to serve issues
Docket No. UT-970325

The following comments are a collective response from some of the neighbors in 
the allegedly unserved area of Carlton known as Libby Creek.  We appreciate 
this opportunity to comment, and we are hopeful that more than 20 years of 
misunderstanding between the residents and the Utilities Commission  can be 
resolved through the current process.

I have included an information packet regarding our recent history, and I hope 
you have all had time to review this ongoing situation.

Since the Commission is about to revise rules (and perhaps policy?) regarding 
the obligation to serve issue, the problems this neighborhood has experienced 
may provide useful information if indeed, Universal Access is to be achieved 
for all people in the State of Washington.

Briefly, we appear to be in an unserved area, although this has not been 
satisfactorily substantiated to us.  

The process of accessing service has been extremely confusing, the factors 
being:
15 families excluded from receiving phone service, while watching the rest of 
their community receiving free hookups.
The State Commission unreliably responding to the many requests for service and 
information.
Two phone companies adjacent to the allegedly “unclaimed territory” with the 
preferred company preferring not to serve us.

Our Comments on Docket No.970325:
#4 “are …designated (tarriffed) service areas appropriate…?)  NO!  Settlers 
homesteaded this area over 100 years ago and 2 phone companies are adjacent to 
us. How can such an ommission of an entire neighborhood be perpetuated?
#5 We recommend a case-by- case approach to designate a provider(s), because 
our experience is that a more general approach excludes a situation like ours 
from ever being resolved.  Criteria to be used to designate a provider must 
include access to our economic and social infrastructure through a local 
exchange.  We need to access our jobs, businesses, schools, emergency services 
and social activities.
Comment on #11 (?):  Concerning the obligation to serve requirement, other 
issues not addressed here are the Commission”s responsibility to adequately 
inform the public of the process involved to acauire service, the State’s 
responsibility to ensure that all people can have reasonable access and the 
Commission”s policy requiring the public and/or individuals to pay specific 
costs.
Comment on item #12: Re:Wireless providers- Many of us have experienced 
wireless service and pay high bills while receiving mediocre signals resulting 
in unreliable, intermittant service.  The factors of remoteness and 
still-developing technology result in a barely functioning service  which 
people living in Western Washington cannot imagine.

While I hope new rules and policies will be developed that truly give Universal 
Access to all, I also hope that this community’s reign of errors could finally 
be resolved.  911 Service would be a blessing to all of us who have lived 
through the terrors of life-threatening accidents and fires and the isolation 
of Phonelessness.

Thanks for all your considerations,


Joyce Campbell
POBox 247
Carlton, Washington  98814
509-679-1203

Some of my neighbors  concerned with this are:

Sylvia and Ray Robertson
Donna Bresnahan
Joni Hager
Wendy and Bill Snook
Carol Alexander
Mark and Laurie Seaburg
Ron and Cheri Lorenzen
Judy Olson
The Moore Family
Tara and Charles Lightwalker
Bob and Sandy Shulman
The Doane Family
Kermit and Bevery Nykreim