Big thanks extended for sharp eyes
photo submitted As Dan Schmucker from White River Valley Electric Cooperative was driving around the Gainesville square Friday morning, he noticed one of the large phase switches on the pole was hanging down by a wire. The phase switch had been hit by lightning sometime during the recent bouts of severe weather. The crew from WRVEC was able to change all three phase switches on the pole at the southeast corner of the courthouse, preventing a city-wide power outage.
As Dan Schmucker from White River Valley Electric Cooperative was driving around the Gainesville square Friday, April 11, he looked up at the power lines and noticed that something wasn’t right, said Eastern District Commissioner Jim Britt on Monday.
“He was just driving around the square that day and just happened to glance up,” said Britt.
What Schmucker noticed was that one of the large three phase switches on the pole at the southeast corner of the courthouse had been hit by lightning and had blown loose. It was hanging by a wire.
“Dan called me and said ‘Hey, we got an issue.’”
Britt said that Dan and his crew changed all three phase switches. “He said if [the phase switch] had [come completely down] all the town would have lost power.” But instead of a citywide blackout, the courthouse was without power for only an hour.
Storm damage cleanup continues
During Monday’s Ozark County Commissioners’ meeting Britt informed the other commissioners that his crew would be starting to clear the road and bridge by Dawt Mill this week.
“It’s still shut down so we’re trying to get the road back open and it’s going to take a little work there,” he said. “Water’s back down but we have trees across the bridge.”
Bids opened
Commissioners opened bids for cutting edges from FabickCat and Viebrock. FabickCat submitted a bid for $126 per blade delivered and Viebrock submitted a bid for $140 per blade. The commissioners unanimously awarded the bid to FabickCat from Springfield.
Road closure
During the meeting held on April 7, commissioners agreed to close County Road 161, from its intersection with N Highway. Presiding Commissioner Terry Newton presented the commissioners with the completed application and petition by county resident Gary Hevin.
“The road in its entirety passes through property owned by…Hevin,” Newton said. “It’s his property on both sides of the road, and goes back 1.3 miles to where his house is…It’s entirely within his property.”
According to Newton, Hevin wants the dead-end road closed because as a county road, people go in and out of the road all of the time. Newton said Hevin will take care of and maintain the road.
Because Hevin was able to obtain the necessary signatures on the petition, the commissioners agreed to close the road.
The Ozark County Commissioners hold a regular weekly meeting at 9 a.m. on Mondays in the upstairs meeting room in the Ozark County Courthouse in Gainesville. Meetings are open to the public.