AEP REPLACES POLE ON LOWER HUNTINGTON ROAD

On Tuesday, February 12, AEP was across from the Waynedale News, replacing an outdated utility pole. Part of the AEP crew had been there a few days earlier, preparing the site. They cut a section of concrete out of the sidewalk within a few feet of the old pole.

The four-man pole crew consisted of Joe Stotler, Terry Riley, Bret Richards and Bryan Singer. They brought along an auger truck, and a bucket truck. One lane was blocked off on Lower Huntington Road and the crew went to work. Joe Stolter ran the auger and dug the hole as Terry, Bret and Bryan readied the pole.

The forty-five foot pole was from a Georgia tree farm and was treated to ward off weather and insects. The wind was gusting to thirty miles an hour and the temperature was at the freezing mark, but the crew was well prepared. They worked as a skilled team, making the unusual look routine.

Electricity…we all take it for granted, but during the January 31st ice storm many of us in Waynedale experienced a power outage. It was guys like these, out there in the bad weather, that got the lights turned back on.

With the new pole set and the mess cleared away, the pole crew opened the road, and broke for lunch.

After lunch, with line boots in place, Terry Riley and Bryan Singer went up in the bucket to switch the power lines from the old pole to the new. They made the proper connections in order to make the transition without interrupting the power. Two guys in the bucket with two guys on the ground in a thirty-mile an hour wind and they made it look easy. The cross members were placed, and the lines re-strung and that was it for AEP. The City would need to re-hang the streetlight, the phone guys would need to re-hang their lines and the cable men would need to do their thing. The AEP costs for placing the new pole would be $1905.84. Thanks guys for a job well done.