Pole nightmare is over
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? It can also be very annoying but that’s part of the process.
Regular readers of this column may remember a piece I wrote back in early May about trying to get a damaged utility pole removed from our front yard. A truck hit it late one night and splintered the bottom, spreading wooden smithereens across our yard and leaving the pole dangling dangerously by the wires.
The power company restored electricity immediately by installing a brand new utility pole and moving its power lines onto it. What confused me was they didn’t remove the damaged pole but merely tied it to the new pole with twine. They did this work overnight, and the next morning, I called the power company and asked when they would remove the damaged pole. I was told they couldn’t until other utilities migrated their lines to the new pole.
Were they asked to? Were they in contact? No and no. I wasted time calling the cable and telephone companies trying to explain the situation and reach someone who could make the removal happen. Both utilities promised to move their wires so the power company could take down the old pole.
We waited. And waited. And waited. I called the utilities again mid-summer to no avail. One day, I spotted a phone company worker at the new pole and tried to pin him down to get results. He promised to report the situation to his boss. I made more calls but the pole still stood there … mocking me.
Each time I cut the grass, I hit it with the mower hoping to topple it. At this point, it was literally hanging by a thread – albeit a wire one. Miraculously, the cable company showed up a few weeks ago and moved their wires. They said all that was left were telephone lines. I called again and was told the phone company moved those lines in May. Ha!
Finally, I could take no more and became the squeaky wheel. I contacted a colleague in media relations at the power company who has to deal with us reporter/meteorologist types on a regular basis.
I pleaded my case once more, and he promised action. Voila! The very next day, the phone company vowed to move the lines by the end of the week.
Now … who removes the pole? He said it’s sort of a “last one there is a rotten egg” rule which meant the last ones to remove the lines have to take down the pole. I am thrilled to report the phone company kept its promise to move the lines and removed the damaged pole the next day.
It only took six months and lots of squeaking, but our long, national nightmare is finally over! Wait, no … that’s the presidential election. Hang in there, that’ll be over soon.
Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.