To the editor:

While traveling in Nova Scotia recently, my wife and I encountered a person having a medical emergency. Fortunately, a land line was at hand and we called 911 (an emergency number that works in Canada). As our cell phones were not working in Canada, we would have been very distressed in the difficulty we would have had in summoning aid if a land line was not at hand at the time.

I mention this in response to a recent letter in the South Whidbey Record critical of cell phone towers. As in most choices in life, there are difficult tradeoffs. It seems reasonable to be concerned about having a cell phone tower in the neighborhood because of possible microwave radiation, visual blight, etc. It is also reasonable to desire island-wide cell phone coverage for situations involving medical emergencies, automobile accidents and other mishaps.

Stephan Kahn

Langley