Beginning January 2, the city of Reeves, Louisiana will no longer carry the mark of the beast. After 40 years of carrying a stigma for having the number 666 as its area code, Reeves starts 2008 with a new code; 749.

Mayor Scott Walker made changing the city's area code a personal crusade after he got tired of receiving admonitions from friends and strangers to drop the number linked to the Devil. He made representations with the local phone company CenturyTel and the state Public Service Commission to amend the city's area code.

"It's been a black eye for our town, a stigma," Walker said, adding, '"I don't think it's anything bad on us, just an image."

Walker pointed out Reeves is a religious city with three churches, two Bible and one Baptist congregations. It has less than 450 homes. "This is a good town... We're good Christian people," said Walker, who is a long-time resident of Reeves.