BAYVIEW - Locals call it the "dead zone" or "the hole."

Cuddled into a geographic bowl on the southwest shore of Lake Pend Oreille, Bayview is one of the few remaining places in Kootenai County with no - or extremely limited - cell phone service.

"Depending on who your carrier is and which direction you stand, you can sometimes get bars," Bayview resident Norma Jean Knowles said.

Knowles and more than 300 of her neighbors in Bayview have signed a petition asking Verizon Wireless to build a cell phone tower to improve coverage. For the people who live there, the lack of cell coverage poses an inconvenience. Many still use landline phones.

Tourists who visit Bayview - the population swells in the summer months - are often caught off guard and out of luck. Not only is there no cell coverage, there isn't even a pay phone.

"There are some areas where they can't get cell service on the lake, either," Knowles said. "It's dangerous."

Ted and Faye Bare have three vacation rentals in Bayview. They put their home phone out their window and onto the porch so visitors can have access to a phone. A prospective tenant told the Bares they would rent from them if only there was a cell signal.

"Everything is becoming more and more digital and computerized," Faye Bare said. "You just look down the road a ways and you think, Bayview is going to be so backward in five years."

Kootenai County's Planning and Zoning Commission on March 6 will consider a conditional use permit for Verizon to construct a cell phone tower on Lone Moose Trail Road, 6 miles west of Bayview.

The Bares say a Verizon representative told them the tower, though nearly three and a half miles closer than the next nearest tower, would not improve the signal in Bayview.

Verizon Spokesman Scott Charlston said Verizon Wireless is always looking for ways to expand coverage, but he could not speak specifically to the coverage woes in Bayview.

Knowles said the lack of coverage isn't just mere inconvenience - it's also dangerous.

"There are some areas where they can't get coverage on the lake, either," she said.

Nearby Farragut State Park has more than a quarter-million visitors each year and extremely spotty coverage.

Park employee Pam Ellis said it's common to get calls from hikers lost on the park's trails and, because of the weak reception, only be able to hear bits and pieces of what they are saying.

"We get a bleep here and a bleep there," she said.

Park employees carry cell phones, but rely on radio communication. In case of emergencies, park staff are often notified only when someone drives to the headquarters seeking help.

The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office doesn't rely on cell phones for communication, according to Lt. Stu Miller, but even with a robust two-way radio network, there were some areas in Bayview where it didn't work.

"We had to add some radio transmit/receive components within the community," Miller said. "But now we have a very good system there."

The residents of Bayview have learned to adapt, and figured out where they will find the strongest signal.

At Ralph's Coffee House, a cell phone signal booster donated by a customer has made Ralph Jones' business the one spot in Bayview with unfailing reception for Verizon Wireless customers. Word has gotten out that Ralph's serves up a strong signal. Some take advantage of the five bars the booster provides to catch up on phone calls while they sip coffee.

Some just sit in the parking lot and do their talking.

"People show up to use their phone," Jones said. "We provide a service."

The Bares are among those who appreciate the signal boost. Taking advantage for incoming calls requires a little planning, though.

"If someone wants to call you," Ted Bare said, "you have to tell them, 'I'll be at Ralph's at 5 o'clock.'"