The bay area was spared the horrible damage of Hurricane Charley, but many of us are still suffering from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Frances. I live in a working class neighborhood in Clearwater two blocks from Keene Road, and we have been without power since Saturday afternoon.
There are no downed trees or power lines. The roads have been dry and clear since Sunday. We can understand if there is an emergency. But when you look across the street and see a home with power and you are without, logic and patience go out the window.
I contacted Progress Energy to report the outage and was told my neighborhood was a low priority. How do I tell my children, who are suffering in the heat while their friends across the street have power, air conditioning, cold water to drink and hot water to bathe in, that we are not a high priority?
I challenge the media to get out of their air-conditioned offices and look into Progress Energy's policy when it comes to restoring power. I know the utility company buys a lot of television and radio ads, but someone needs to stand up for those in this community who are suffering in silence.
I call on the Public Service Commission to make Progress Energy more accountable to its customers and provide a service timetable. If I had known it would take days to restore power, I would have moved my family away instead of waiting in the heat.
I ask state and federal lawmakers to come down to my neighborhood, with or without the bright lights of the media, and see for themselves how unbearable the situation is.
-- Andrew Williams, Clearwater
Put power lines underground now
After Hurricane Charley passed, you asked residents to describe what they did to prepare. Now that Frances, barely a tropical storm in Pinellas, has passed, maybe you need to ask the power companies that question.
Most of the wind that we had in Clearwater didn't even reach the speed of a tropical storm. However, as of this writing on Tuesday, we're going into our third day without power. As longtime campers, we are fully prepared and, except for sleeping in the heat, we are comfortable.
It would seem that the power companies would put their lines underground, especially when roads are undergoing major construction. Municipalities should require it. Myrtle Avenue in downtown Clearwater has an unsightly mess of power lines, and yet, are they being buried now that the road is being completely torn up? The Curlew Road lines are simply being moved farther from the road. I realize underground lines have their problems, but I have to believe they would be fewer.
If cost is the factor, this would seem to diminish over time. The cost of constantly mutilating trees around lines, poles that fall into roads, lines that snap, pay and overtime for employees and for those from other states who also have to be fed and sheltered, and the many accidents from traffic lights would seem to exceed the cost of underground construction.
None of this factors in the human discomfort cost or the loss to small businesses. The power companies should start making better preparations for a real hurricane.
-- Brenda Harris Nixon, Clearwater
Commends city for sand and bags
I would like to thank the waste management department of the city of Largo along with the others who were kind enough to provide sand and bags to put it in. It really helped us out during the storm. The gentlemen who were working in the parking lot of Kmart were helping many who could not shovel or carry the filled bags to their cars. Many other areas required proof of residency to obtain the sand and you had to bring your own bags. Thank you, Largo.
-- Carol S. Hager, Seminole
Move his debris now, get his vote later
I have tried to find out something about getting Frances brush removed. According to Pinellas County there will be a six- to seven-week wait to get my brush removed. A huge pile of tree branches should make great missiles during the upcoming Hurricane Ivan. I would think clearing the streets might be a top priority before the next storm, even if it means day and night efforts.
We don't get any other kind of trash removal for our high taxes in Palm Harbor. I know how I'll vote in the next election.
-- Andy Anderson, Palm Harbor
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