DEAR ABBY: Many households no longer use landlines and rely on cellphones. It could save someone's life if they would enter the phone number of the sheriff's office of the county in which they reside to ensure there's a backup to the frequently overloaded 911 system.
This is important, especially if you have two homes. However, it's also a good idea for people who own a single residence. In rural areas, it can take a long time to locate someone calling from a cellphone, which is no replacement for a landline in an emergency. -- BE PREPARED
DEAR PREPARED: Thank you for the suggestion. Many people forget that cellphones -- unlike landlines -- are not connected to a network from which their location will automatically appear on a screen when they call an emergency number. With cellphones, the caller must verbally give the dispatcher the location of the emergency.