The Town of Cranberry Isles has been awarded two new “Public Interest” pay phones by the Maine Public Utilities Commission to be located on the town docks at Great Cranberry and Islesford. Chris White, a seasonal resident of Great Cranberry, submitted the application for the phones with the help of Deputy Town Clerk Nanette Hadlock.
In August, Cliff Island in Casco Bay got a pay phone under the same program (WWF Sept. 06).
“It was a public safety issue to me.” White said. “If something happens down at the waterfront, it’s a long walk to the first house, particularly in the winter when the first houses are closed up.” When White presented the idea of applying for payphones at the Cranberry Isles selectmen’s meeting in June, Dan Lief, selectman and owner of the Islesford Dock Restaurant, noted “that even with the ubiquity of cell phones, people frequently come into the restaurant with the need to make a call.”
White hopes that because the phone was granted as a reflection of the “public interest,” the phone company will enable callers will be able to dial local emergency responders, as well as the 9-1-1 dispatch center in Ellsworth, free of charge. But simply having the phones is a good step towards improving public safety.
— Cyrus Moulton