Company getting sheriff's calls

ELGIN, Ill., June 4 (UPI) -- An Elgin, Ill., business says a phone book misprint led to the firm's phone number being incorrectly identified as the sheriff's office non-emergency number.

Officials with Paulsen Productions Inc. said the 2008 AT&T Yellow Pages, which was distributed in May, lists the company's phone number as the Lake County sheriff's office, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.

"We get an average of 20 calls a day at least (for the sheriff's office)," said Cheryl Kaspar, chief financial officer and executive vice president of Paulsen. She said a test of the Lake County disaster warning sirens Tuesday led to about 20 calls in an hour and a half.

Kaspar said Paulson teaches professional development and communications skills to clients spanning the globe, making it problematic for the company to change its phone number.

Sheriff's Sgt. Christopher Thompson said some of the calls received by Paulson have been serious.

"One example is that a woman called (the wrong number) who wanted to report a domestic situation," he said. "While no one's life was in jeopardy at the time, it was a serious matter."