BO:
THERE IS A GOOD REASON.
HOWEVER, IS EIGHT MONTHS AN
"UNREASONABLE" AMOUNT OF TIME TO
WAIT?
LORI:
SOME CHURCH MEMBERS IN
FRIENDSVILLE CALLED WATE SIX ON
YOUR SIDE CONSUMER
REPORTER DON DARE ABOUT A
DAMAGED UTILITY POLE NEXT TO
THEIR PARKING LOT.
DON:
ONE DAY LAST WEEK, IT TOOK ABOUT
FOUR HOURS TO GET THE
JOB DONE.
THE DAMAGED POLE WAS SPLIT IN
HALF LAST 4TH OF JULY. FOR
MONTHS, PEOPLE WHO LIVE
IN FRIENDSVILLE ASKED TO HAVE
THE
POLE REPLACED BECAUSE THEY
FEARED SOMEONE MIGHT GET HURT.
FINALLY, AND JUST RECENTLY, THE
WORK GOT UNDERWAY.
FRIDAY, 9:30 AM, MARCH 6. THE
BROKEN UTILITY POLE IN FRONT OF
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF
FRIENDSVILLE HAS LOOKED THIS WAY
FOR 8 MONTHS.
BUT BY 2:30 PM, MARCH 6, THE
POLE
IS GONE MUCH TO THE RELIEF OF
CONCERNED CHURCH MEMBERS
IT WAS JUST BEFORE 11 AM WHEN
THE FIRST UTILITY CREW
ARRIVED ON FARNUM STREET LAST
FRIDAY. HOW THEY FINALLY GOT
THERE IS THE STORY. SINCE LAST
JULY, CHURCH MEMBERS
FEARED THE WORST ABOUT THE
BROKEN
POLE. THE POLE WAS SPLIT DURING
AN ACCIDENT ON THE 4TH OF JULY
LAST YEAR. KIDS FROM
FRIENDSVILLE
SCHOOL WOULD WALK BY THE POLE
EVERYDAY.
RON JARVIS, CHURCH MEMBER: THIS,
THIS WAS LEANING OVER.
A CAR HAD HIT IT. THEY HAD A
ROPE TIED TO THE POLE THEY
HAD REPLACED AND A ROPE TIED TO
THIS ONE TO KEEP IT FROM
POTENTIALLY FALLING. BUT AFTER 8
MONTHS THEY HAD
MORE THAN ENOUGH TIME TO GET IT
COMPLETED.
AN AT&T LINE CREW WAS CALLED TO
THE CHURCH FRIDAY MORNING.
KAY BATEMAN, CHURCH MEMBER: AT&T
WAS HERE
PROBABLY AT 11. THEY CAME OFF
ANOTHER JOB AT
MARYVILLE. SO THEY INTERRUPTED A
JOB TO COME OVER HERE. WHEN I
STARTED MENTIONING YOUR NAME
TODAY
THAT YOU WERE COMING OUT TO DO A
PIECE ON THIS, THEN
EVERYBODY WAS ANXIOUS TO GET
SOMETHING DONE. WE'RE NEAR A
SCHOOL HERE AS YOU CAN SEE UP
HERE. KIDS WALK
TO DO A PIECE ON THIS, THEN
EVERYBODY WAS ANXIOUS TO GET
SOMETHING DONE. WE'RE NEAR A
SCHOOL HERE AS YOU
CAN SEE UP HERE. KIDS WALK BY
THIS WAY. OUR CARS
COMING IN AND OUT OF THE CHURCH
ENTRANCE ALL THE
TIME. IF THAT HAD SNAPPED AND
LET LOOSE, IT COULD HAVE
HIT A CHILD, IT COULD HAVE HIT A
CAR. BY NOON, AT&T HAD REMOVED
THE
LINES THAT BELONGED TO THE
UTILITY. THE DANGEROUS POLE WAS
NOW IN TWO PIECES. KAY: STILL A
LOT OF SPLINTERS AND STILL A LOT
OF DANGER RIGHT THERE. HOPEFULLY
THAT WON'T BE THERE LONG. FORT
LOUDON ASSURES ME THEY HAVE A
WORK ORDER TO
QUICKLY COME OUT AND PULL IT.
DARE: WE SEE AT FT.
LOUDOUN ELECTRIC CO-OP TRUCK
RIGHT THERE. KAY:
THERE IT IS, I DIDN'T SEE IT.
ONCE THEY GOT WORD THAT UTILITY
LINES FROM THEIR POLE WERE
CLEAR,
A CREW FROM FT. LOUDOUN ELECTRIC
PULLED UP.
AS MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH
WATCHED, IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG
FOR
THE CREW FROM THE ELECTRIC
UTILITY COMPANY TO WORK ON
PULLING THE POLE WHICH IT OWNS.
WE
TALKED WITH THE MAYOR OF
FRIENDSVILLE.
ANDY LAWHORN, FRIENDSVILLE
MAYOR: AT&T AND COMCAST
HAD TO COME AND MOVE THEIR WIRES
BEFORE FORT LOUDOUN
COULD COME AND MOVE THEIR POLE.
THEY'RE ALLOWED TO SET A NEW
POLE, BUT THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED
TO TOUCH
ANOTHER UTILITIES EQUIPMENT THAT
IS MOUNTED TO THESE POLES.
TECHNICALLY AY WASN'T
SAFE. DID I THINK THE
LWAS GOING TO FALL? NO. WAS
EYESORE? YES. DID IT
ED TO BE REPLACED? Y.
Y: LOOKS GREAT. WHO WOULD
VE KNOWN WHEN I
ART LNG PEOPLE YESTERDAY
TERNOON, TODAY THERE WOULD BE
THING THERE. DA: THIS IS NOT
E
BIGGEST NEWS STORY IN THE WORLD.
Y: NOIT'S NOT. BUT IT IS TO
US. WLOOKED AT IT ALL THE TIME
EN WE CAME
AND LEFT THE CHURCH. WE
RED ABOUT IT, WHO WAS
GOING TO GET HURT BY IT. DAR
AND NOW THAT IT IS
NE? KAY: WE'RE HAPPY.
.
BY 2:30 ON FRIDAY, THE JOB WAS
DONE
AND EVERYONE WAS RELIEVED.
DON:
IF THERE IS A UTILITY POLE IN
YOUR COMMUNITY THAT IS DAMAGED
AND YOU BELIEVE IT NEEDS TO BE
REPLACED THERE ARE SOME THINGS
YOU CAN DO.
CALL THE UTILITY COMPANY IN YOUR
AREA AND GIVE THEM THE EXACT
LOCATION OF THE POLE AS WELL AS
INFORMATION ABOUT THE DAMAGE.
IF THE POLE IS OWNED BY YOUR
LOCAL UTILITY COMPANY, AND IF
THERE ARE LINES ON THE POLE THAT
BELONG TO ANOTHER UTILITY,
THE OWNER OF THE LINES HAS TO
ACT FIRST.
AS FOLKS DISCOVERED IN
FRIENDSVILLE, SOMETIMES IT CAN
TAKE A WHILE BEFORE REPAIRS ARE
MADE.
LORI AND BO --
THANKS TO KAY BATEMAN SHE WAS
PERSISTENT .
BO:
IF YOU HAVE A CONSUMER
QUESTION FOR DON -- SEND HIM AN
EMAIL AT D-DARE AT W-A-T-E DOT
COM,
OR CALL HIS SIX ON YOUR SIDE
HOTLINE
NUMBER AT 865- 633-5974.
LORI:
STILL TO COME -
KNOXVILLE - TURNING GREEN
THIS WEEKEND...
BO: