Daylight Saving Time

Don't forget to set your clocks " back " one hour before you go to bed this Saturday,  October 28^th, 2006  or at 1:59 a.m. Sunday morning October 30^th, 2006 - because DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ENDS!

 

Daylight Saving (no "s") Time has been used in the United States and many European countries since World War One.  In an effort to conserve fuel, Germany and Austria began setting clocks ahead one hour during the spring months through the fall.  This 1916 action was immediately copied by 14 other European countries, including Britain.  The following year, Australia, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia followed suite.  The plan was not adopted by the U.S. until 1918 but proved to be so unpopular that it was repealed by President Wilson in 1919.  DST became a local option and was continued in many states and cities.  During World War Two, President Roosevelt instituted year-round Daylight Saving Time, called "War Time".  After the War, and until 1966, there was no federal law about DST.  States and localities were free to chose whether to observe DST and could chose when it began and ended.  This, however, lead to mass confusion for the broadcasting industry, railways, airlines, and bus companies.  One example: On one 35 mile stretch of highway between Moundsville, West Virginia and Steubenville, Ohio, passengers would pass through seven time changes.  On April 12, 1966, President Johnson signed into law the Uniform Time Act.  This act established a system of uniform DST throughout the U.S., exempting only those states in which the legislatures voted to keep their state (or a portion of their state) on Standard Time.  In 1986 Ronald Reagan, made a small change to the current system where Daylight Saving Time takes place on the First Sunday in April (prior to Reagan it was the last Sunday) to the Last Sunday in Oct.  Daylight Saving Time is NOT observed in Hawaii, the Eastern Time Zone of Indiana or Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Indian Reservation).

 

Date change in 2007

 

On August 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005.  This Act changed the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. The Secretary of Energy will report the impact of this change to Congress.  Congress retains the right to resume the 2005 Daylight Saving Time schedule once the Department of Energy study is complete.

 

2007

March 11 - Daylight Saving Time Begins

November 4 - Daylight Saving Time Ends

 

 

So remember "Spring" Forward---"Fall" Back!

 

A safety reminder

 

Many fire departments encourage people to change the battery in the smoke detector when they change their clocks because Daylight Saving Time provides a convenient reminder.  REMEMBER:  A working smoke detector more than doubles a person's chances of surviving a home fire!

 

So...change that battery!