27942.docx

(text box: 1)BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF CUSTOMERS OF THE RURAL TELEPHONE COMPANY TO JOIN THE TREASURE VALLEY EXTENDED SERVICE CALLING AREA .

IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF CUSTOMERS OF THE RURAL TELEPHONE COMPANY BOISE RIVER EXCHANGE TO JOIN THE U S WEST MOUNTAIN HOME EXCHANGE AND/OR THE TREASURE VALLEY EXTENDED SERVICE CALLING AREA.
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CASE NO. GNR-T-97-9
CASE NO. GNR-T-98-18
ORDER NO.  27942
VACATING TECHNICAL HEARING
On February 19, 1999, Rural Telephone Company, U S WEST Communications, Inc. and the Commission Staff filed a Stipulation agreeing to vacate the technical hearing scheduled to begin on March 2, 1999, and to request it be rescheduled within sixty days.
Based on the record before the Commission, the parties’ Stipulation and the Commission rules, the Commission vacates the March 2, 1999 hearing and will reschedule that hearing within sixty days.
BACKGROUND
On August 28, 1997, the Commission received petitions from one-hundred thirteen (113) Rural customers requesting EAS from Rural’s Boise River Exchange (the communities of Pine and Featherville) into the U S WEST exchange of Mountain Home and/or the entire U S WEST Treasure Valley EAS region.  The Commission previously received petitions from Rural customers residing in or near Tipanuk, Idaho requesting EAS between Tipanuk and Mountain Home and/or Boise and the entire U S WEST Treasure Valley EAS Region.  Generally, all the petitioners claimed that the county seat, schools, medical facilities, law enforcement and Internet access are available only via a long distance call to Mountain Home and that many services not available in Mountain Home are only found in Boise.  
The Commission consolidated Case Nos. GNR-T-97-9 and GNR-T-98-18 for the purposes of scheduling and hearings on December 10, 1998, and adopted a hearing schedule.  A public hearing was held in Mountain Home on February 16, 1999.
O R D E R
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the technical hearing in Case Nos. GNR-T-97-9 and GNR-T-98-18 scheduled for March 2, 1999, is vacated, to be rescheduled at a later date.
DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this                  day of February 1999.
                                                                                                                                      DENNIS S. HANSEN, PRESIDENT
                                                                                           MARSHA H. SMITH, COMMISSIONER

PAUL KJELLANDER, COMMISSIONER
ATTEST:

Myrna J. Walters
Commission Secretary
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Service Date
February 25, 1999