FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: David Fiske March 22, 2001 (202) 418-0513 STATEMENT OF FCC CHAIRMAN MICHAEL POWELL We at the FCC were grieved to hear that Commissioner Laska Schoenfelder of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission recently passed away. She served South Dakota well for over a decade on the PUC. I considered her a great public servant and an invaluable asset to the nation in our implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and, in particular, our efforts to promote and advance universal service. The Act's success depends on a close and evolving partnership between federal and state regulators, and Laska's dedicated service to the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service embodies that partnership. Thus, it is a great loss to all of us at the FCC, her state and the country as a whole that she will no longer be with us. It has been my privilege to be her colleague and to call her my friend. - FCC - 1 2 News media Information 202 / 418-0500 Fax-On-Demand 202 / 418-2830 TTY 202/418-2555 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov ftp.fcc.gov Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).