Dear Action Line: Durangotangs are used to seeing/hearing military helicopters flying over our town. On Feb. 11, I saw three triangle-shaped military jets in formation fly over Durango about 5:30 p.m. headed from southwest to northeast on a heading of 30 to 45 degrees northeast. Any idea what type of jets they were? – Just Curious
Dear Curious: Action Line Emeritus Tom Sluis is going to be so pleased that you used the term “Durangotangs.” But we’ve covered all that in a previous column.
So to answer your question, we attempted to contact the commander-in-chief. Not sure who that is, but we’re told he or she lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in the District of Columbia. Sound familiar? Anyone? Anyway, no response yet.
Action Line then went to the next-best source, someone who keeps track of high-flying objects around here, and that is Tony Vicari, aviation director at the Durango-La Plata County Airport.
“There isn’t too much to go on here, but my best guess is that these were F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft,” Vicari said. He said the Colorado Air National Guard’s 140th Wing operates F-16s out of Buckley Space Force Base in the Denver area, and occasionally these aircraft operate in Southwest Colorado. “I’m largely basing this on the triangle reference, as the F-16 has a fairly distinctive cropped delta wing profile.”
The 140th Wing’s public affairs webpage says the F-16’s flying window is Tuesdays through Fridays and one weekend per month. The fall/winter/spring window is between noon and 10 p.m. Feb. 11 was a Friday, so it all fits.
The Colorado Air National Guard says it performs “six unique missions, training and preparing the citizen-airmen to respond to the governor of Colorado for state emergencies or to the call of the president in times of crisis.”
Maybe others did a double-take with the phrase “Space Force base” a few paragraphs back. Buckley – in Aurora, just east of Denver – was officially renamed Buckley Space Force Base on June 4, 2021. This must be pretty special because there are only three other Space Force bases: Vandenberg in California, and Cape Canaveral and Patrick in Florida.
There you go. Maybe there was an answer here, maybe not. Hopefully, we’ve all learned something.
Dear Action Line: Why do I have to dial 970 now for local calls? It’s so annoying! – Ms. Wine-er
Dear Wine-er: Action Line’s first reaction, was, what?!? Where do you live and what kind of ancient technology are you using? Most of us in the modern world have been doing 10-digit calls with our cellphones, and even our land lines, for decades.
Alexander Graham Bell invented the phone in 1876, so it must have been a little after that? Anyway, the point being, it’s been a long time.
Turns out upon further questioning of Ms. Wine-er that she is using something called VoIP, which you often get with satellite TV deals that include internet service. VoIP, an acronym for voice over internet protocol, is popular in the business world as well. Basically, with VoIP you’re using the internet to make phone calls.
Action Line is curious: When Bell made that famous first call to Mr. Watson, how did he know what number to dial, and how many digits were there? Or did he just dial “0” for the operator?
Change is hard, but a recent national edict declared that even VoIP users must dial 10 digits all the time. You probably want to know why. That’s going to take more work and Action Line expects a big tip for this, but it’s because of a really good cause that’s going to make you feel very silly for whining about this in the first place.
It’s about making the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline more accessible. The hotline uses a three-digit number: 988. So anyplace that uses 988 as a local exchange – the local exchange is the first three digits of a seven-digit number – would be in conflict with the national hotline. Think of dialing 988 like dialing 911.
The mandate for everyone everywhere is to go to 10-digit dialing by July 16, but many companies are making this transition sooner. Ms. Wine-er, you have been transitioned!
That seems like enough new knowledge for everyone today. Here’s a Herald story from October if you have more questions about the change: https://bit.ly/3gKA6hB.
Email questions and suggestions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. Beginning July 16 anyone in crisis and needing a trained counselor can call, text or chat 988. The current national Lifeline number, (800) 273-8255, will remain in effect.
