The Altus Times (Altus, Okla.), Vol. 61, No. 149, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 22, 1983 Page: 2 of 24
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News
I he Altus Times
Seniors house sitters
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Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
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Saturday
Lasagna 2.99
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Brenda Nebling
News Editor
Wisconsin-born engineer
proposes taking the new
cellular technology, direc-
ting it from cell to cell with
a $3 million computer and
hooking up all the elements
Elks Country Club
477-0200
Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Variety Music
’5.00 Family 2.50 Each
’2.00 Military I.D.
mayonaise) in the house.
The vacationer has enough
on his mind without worry-
ing about what the sitter
likes to eat,” Ms. Poston
said.
Sutherland said his
clients leave shopping
money for the sitters.
Houston Police Capt.
Vance Tomkins said
although he is not aware of
the house sitting com-
panies, “any home that is
also computer data, fac-
simile and slow-scan televi-
sion to transmit explora-
tion, drilling and produc-
tion information to head-
quarters.
He said his system would
take 18 months to install
once the FCC gave its ap-
proval. More than 3,000
users are expected to sign
up in the first five years,
providing annual revenues
approaching $30 million.
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Thursday
7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Country Music
’2.50 Each
told about his idea seemed
enthusiastic.
Feeling it was time for
his big gamble, Petranek
retired from Motorola
three months ago after 23
years in engineering and
sales. It was during his
decade as a salesman that
he encountered the off-
shore industry and its
blank check for anyone
who could connect remote
operations to headquar-
ters.
He also discovered the
kind of numbers he needed
to plan the Petro Com
system: 3,000 fixed struc-
tures in the Gulf, 350 drill-
ing rigs, 900 marine ves-
sels, 2,000 commercial
fishing boats. He found a
total of 7,000 people work-
ing offshore every day.
With promised financing
from the Allied Bank of
Texas and several commit-
ted investors, Petranek
laid out a limited partner-
ship to supply desk-top
phones for platforms,
mobile units for boats and
portable units that look like
digital walkie-talkies for
personnel.
Each would have its own
phone number; none would
require a license or be
limited in range or type of
call.
“The Gulf is growing,”
he said. “The system
should expand at about a 20
percent annual growth
rate.”
Eventually, Petranek
sees his system carrying
not only voice communica-
tions around the Gulf, but
Underwood’s Cafeteria N
Specializing in Bar B-Q
Fried Chicken-Chicken Fried Steak .
From now until the end of June 1983, stop by
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Call our catering hotline:
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LUNCHEON
SPECIALS
4
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occupied is less attractive
to a burglar.”
“If there is someone to
pick up the mail and
newspapers, cut the lawn
and make the house look
lived in, thieves would
rather go somewhere
else,” Tomkins said.
Sutherland said he has no
fears of discrimination
suits being filed against
him by younger people
“because the younger ones
are not available 24 hours a
day for these wages This is
only to supplement a retire-
ment income.”
Mrs. Locke said the
seniors are the best can-
didates for the job because
they have had their own
homes in the past and are
experienced.
“Some of the older peo-
ple want to work, but they
can't stand on their feet all
day. They offer a lot of ex-
perience because they have
owned houses and know
what to do if a pipe breaks
or if a tree falls during a
storm,” Mrs. Locke said.
The hiring of house sit-
ters is the most time-
consuming part of the
business, Sutherland said.
Each applicant is visited
in his or her home at least
twice by a representative
of the company, where an
interview is conducted and
the home is scrutinized for
A sexy rear view" is
yours if you work out with
this easy exercise regularly.
You'll need a table or desk
to perform it properly. Lean
over at the waist placing
stomach and chest on table-
top and grasping the sides
Country Club
Restaurant
Friday Night
"Little Star"
Dinner and Dance $10.00 Per Person
gDance $5.00 Per Person
An instructors' clinic in Swim Lite water exercise teaching techniques was held at
Western Oklahoma State College. Instructor, Charlene Counts, middle row, far
right, was the clinic coordinator and assisted in the instruction. Penny Scott, top
left, was instructor, and 20 out-of-town swimming instructors participated. Top
right is Jolene Phillips. Front row from left includes Vicki Mills, Anadarko; Lee Ann
Wetzel, Norman; Sheryl Sheppard, Norman; Brenda Petzold, Granite; Laurie Flan-
ner, Altus; Patti Hinds, Burns Flat; Kathy McClure, Joyce Strong, both of Lindsay;
Kim Norton, Martha Baker, both of Mangum; middle row, Jimmye Lee Brown,
Palestine, Texas; Josephine Parker, Gracemont; Dorcas Downs, Thomasville,
N.C.; Gayle Osborne, Mount Pleasant, Texas; Cathy Stroud, Carnegie; Suzanne
Graham, Marlow; Gaynell Seager, Clinton; Joyce Cline, Rush Springs; Robin Lantz,
Elk City.
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Swim I ite water exercise
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out of the house, Ms.
Poston said. Thieves have
been known to read death
and wedding notices to find
homes that might be easy
targets for burglaries.
Many of the senior
citizens live in small apart-
ments or homes. When they
are hired for jobs, they
often move into large, nice-
ly furnished homes. There
an elderly sitter is free to
use the swimming pool, col-
or and cable television and
sometimes can have guests
in the house.
“It is almost a vacation
for the elderly. It gives the
sitters a break from their
routine,” Sutherland said.
Friendly relationships
between the families and
the sitters often emerge
and some homeowners re-
quest the same senior
citizen each time they
leave town.
“The senior becomes
part of the family. And they
just love it," Sutherland
said.
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Chicken & Dumplings 2.99
are springing up in major
cities, employing only
elderly people who live on
fixed incomes.
“I know for a fact that
senior citizens do not have
enough job offers or enough
money,” said Emily Locke,
who recently started
Residential - Sitter Securi-
ty Service in Houston.
"This type of work is tailor
made for the seniors.”
Al Sutherland, who
started Home Sitting Ser-
vices Inc., in Denver 11
years ago after he retired
from the insurance
business, has helped other
“associate owners" start
up their own companies in
16 cities. Three others are
being planned now.
“No one loses in this
business, except the
burglars. The senior
citizens make some money,
the plants and pets are
cared for and the home
owners don’t worry about
their homes when they’re
away,” Sutherland said.
"And the seniors feel useful
again."
Sutherland sells the
rights to use his company’s
name to one person per ci-
ty, and trains them on how
to start the business and
build clientele. He charges
$6,000 if the city has a
population of 100,000, plus
$1,500 for each additional
100,000.
"We supply the business
forms, operating manuals,
training and continued
consulting," Sutherland
said.
But Jane Poston of Tuc-
Why watch summer reruns on network TV
when you could be watching first runs of
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II, Some Kind of Hero, plus live world champion-
ship boxing and star studded specials like
Willie Nelson or Dolly Parton in concert.
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uatinets sunoar Onr »«■ i» >! zn ««
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Rock-N-Roll Music
'4.00 Each
can be a full or part-time
job and is the answer for a
lot of elderly people who
need the income,” said Ms.
Poston, who runs Housesit-
ter Security Service.
Most of the companies of-
fer the same benefits. For
about $20 a day, a senior
citizen will stay in the
house around the clock,
feed pets and water plants.
The sitter keeps half the
fee; the company gets the
rest.
The caretaker may leave
for up to two hours a day
for personal errands, but
sleeps and eats meals in
the house.
Some of the companies
stipulate that the
homeowners must arrange
for food for the sitters,
while other companies tell
their employees to bring
their own food.
“We tell our people to br-
ing their own food, but they
can use the condiments
HOUSTON (UPI) - son, Ariz., says there is no
Senior citizens across the need for expensive train-
country are making money ing. She wrote a 46-page
as professional house sit- book, “How to Run a House
ters, watching over the pro- Sitting Business," which
perty of homeowners who she sells for $35 from her
are away on vacation or home.
business. “This business could be
House sitting companies set up for less than $100. It
cleanliness. References firmly with your hands
and background are check- Keep legs straight Now,
ed before anyone is hired. point your toe and raise the
Sutherland insures and right leg out behind you as
bonds his employees; Mrs. high as you can. Lower leg
Locke and Ms. Poston do slowly. Repeat with the left
not feel that is necessary. legaStart withonesset of 12
c ... .: . repititions on each leg. grad-
Some sitters are hired ually working ‘four
only for one day, such as sets. As you progress, add
when a funeral or a wed- ankle weights to make the
ding takes the entire family exercise harder
NEW ORLEANS (UPI) - via a leased $100 million
There are no telephone satellite. The result would
booths in the Gulf of Mex- be a phone system even an
ico. But if Art Petranek oyster fisherman could af-
wins federal approval for ford.
his $18 million cellular Instead of an expensive
system, the Gulf soon will private linkup between
have the next best thing. points A and B, Petro Com
Petranek, president of a customers would be able to
new company called dial any point in any of the
Petroleum Communica- system's 27 cells as well as
lions, is awaiting word hook into traditional inter-
from the FCC on an un- national phone services -
precedented license re- all for the cost of a phone, a
quest. monthly fee and an addi-
There are 1,157 ap- tional per-minute charge.
plicants for cellular “This is the first time the
telephone licenses in the FCC has been approached
nation’s 90 largest cities, to use a satellite as the
Petranek’s is the only backbone for a cellular
application that seeks to system,” said Petranek,
link 68.284 square miles of whose firm has offices in
coastal land and open New Orleans, Lafayette
water between Venice, La., and Houston.
and Brownsville, Texas. “It’s also the first system
In simple terms, he that’s areawide in concept,
wants to provide phone ser- since in rural America
vice to offshore rigs and there’s not much demand
commercial vessels by for rural telephones. We
beaming voices off a have merely taken the Gulf
satellite. The huge area as a unique rural environ-
will be divided into 27 cir- ment."
cular entities, called cells, The FCC conceived the
and connected by high- idea for cellular radio
frequency radio signals. telephone service in 1968
“We have to get more ef- and granted the first
ficient in the Gulf," he said, developmental licenses for
The days of being able to Chicago and Washington in
throw money away out 1977. The use of UHF chan-
there are over. ’' nels for voice transmission
Petranek said the major freed all parties in a con-
oil companies have spent versation to walk, drive,
more than $100 million set- float or fly as they spoke.
ting up limited com- Petro Com devised its
munications between their Gulf of Mexico system in
offshore platforms and 1977 and applied for its
land. The costs involved developmental license last
were so high that only October. Petranek has no
mammoth, high-profit idea when the FCC will act,
operations could consider but every panel member he
such systems.
Saturday 8:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.
Soul Music
’4.00 Each*“1.00 If You Come Just For Dance
7 The Return of
e A the Great
77 Adventure.
J < 37DAlRs
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LOST ARK
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Monday T
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Wednesday, June 22, 1983 2
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Gilmore, Robert K. & Hale, Dave. The Altus Times (Altus, Okla.), Vol. 61, No. 149, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 22, 1983, newspaper, June 22, 1983; Altus, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2116309/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.