Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us September 20, 2005 During the power outage that affected 17,700 customers throughout Jacksonville and most of Medford — including 2,200 in Ashland — Britt Pearson, an employee at the Living Gallery in Ashland, works on a crossord puzzle. Photo by Kara Q. Lewis | Ashland Daily Tidings Lights go out in the valley Regional power outage affects Ashland, Jacksonville and most of Medford Alan Panebaker Tidings Correspondent A grounded powerline near the California/Oregon border halted business, phones and even police communication Tuesday afternoon in Jacksonville, Ashland and parts of Medford for nearly an hour and a half. “We couldn’t be dispatched to anything over the radio,” Ashland Police Department Sgt. Bob Smith said. Smith said the department wanted all officers out in their cars because the power outage killed their radios. Officers had to communicate using mobile data computers and cell phones. There were no calls about accidents, robberies or other serious crimes during the outage. “In fact, most people were pretty good at stopping at the intersections,” Smith said. While two patrol officers and two sergeants patrolled the streets, City of Ashland employees set up stop signs at downtown intersections. Fire Department Captain Scott Hollingsworth said his most important call came from Ashland High School where catalyst teacher Caroline Spear got stuck in the elevator of the school’s science building. “We went there and worked for a while,” Hollingsworth said. “We lowered the elevator down by bleeding the hydraulic system and manually opened the doors.” Hollingsworth said he did not receive any local calls for fires. “We reset a lot of alarm systems,” Hollingsworth said. Monte Mendenhall, a spokesman for Pacific Power — the company responsible for the area that caused the blackout — said his company had located the general area where a powerline was grounded, but it was unclear what caused the break in power. A bicyclist maneuvers the intersection at Tolman Creek Road and Ashland Street during the power outage Tuesday that knocked out all traffic lights in Ashland. Photo by Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings “It could be a downed line,” Mendenhall said. “It could be a tree. It could be anything.” Pacific Power has crews looking in the rural area where the wire was grounded trying to decipher exactly what caused the blackout . The company has temporarily transferred power around the fault and will continue to do so until it has clarified the exact root of the problem and repaired it. According to Mendenhall, 15,500 customers in Jacksonville and East, West and Southwest Medford were without power from 1:58 p.m. to 2:20 p.m., and 2,200 customers in Ashland and the surrounding area were without power from 1:58 p.m. to 3:18 p.m. Ashland School District Superindendent Juli Di Chiro said all schools in the district were contacted by cell phone to make sure things were OK. She said there were no problems during the blackout. Ashland Community Hospital Public Information Officer Carolyn Johnson said the hospital operations were uninterrupted during the loss of power. “The emergency generator supports essential services and lasts up to 96 hours,” Johnson said. “Elevators are used only for supplies and dietary needs, which can be delayed until power is restored.” Many Ashland businesses were shut down during the power outage, including banks and gas stations. Floyd Spradlin, manager of Ashland Auto Repair and 76 gas station in Ashland said all his pumps, air compressors and phones were down. Pat Spino of Ashland , was not able to make a purchase at Advanced Photo and Imaging in Ashland during the 1 1/2 hour-long power outage that affected nearly all Ashland businesses Tuesday. Photo by Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings “I got nothing,” Spradlin said during the outage. “I hope it’s not out for awful long.” Other businesses, like Standing Stone Brewery, were not so affected in the blackout. Adam Benson — brewer, manager and bartender of the brewery — said his business has a backup plan for power outages including some reserve power and flashlights. And as far as the beer is concerned, Benson said, “It’s such a mass, it would take a while for it to heat up.” Like Standing Stone Brewery, Ron Roth — co-owner of Geppetto’s restaurant — said he was still able to keep a small menu open, and his non-electronic phone even worked the entire time. “Hey,” Roth said. “If we were in Baghdad, it’d be out part of every day.” DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Free Music Downloads Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks Heloc Mortgage Calculator FREE Entertainment Guide Calenders 2006 Calendar Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Memory Foam Mattress tcg student loan consolidation Home Equity Loans teleconferencing W2 Forms cortisol; weight loss Diamonds Futures Broker Bad Credit Loans Auto & Personal Loans Search Engine Optimization Free Home-Loan Referrals Sportsbook Website Design & Marketing Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Security Systems Helzberg Diamonds Currancy Exchange Online Casinos Community Student Loans Bonus Casino Poker Games ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Mailing Lists Mystery Shopping Jobs Debt Consolidation Loans Canadian Pharmacy Casino Gambling Sites Click Here .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams