Pole vault pit damaged in storm (OH)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/co ... 40520.html


Thousands in Valley Still Have No Power
From Staff Reports
POSTED: August 7, 2010 Save | Print | Email | Read comments | Post a comment
Article Photos

Photo by Mike Strough
A fleet of trucks blocks access to Green Street in Belmont Friday as American Electric Power crews work to restore electricity to residents there.

WHEELING - More than 14,000 local customers of American Electric Power remained without service late Friday - 48 hours after a severe storm toppled trees and brought power lines crashing to the ground throughout the Ohio Valley.

In AEP's Wheeling area - which includes Ohio and Marshall counties -7,557 were still waiting for the lights to come back on, according to spokeswoman Shelly Clark. Across the Ohio River in Belmont County, that number stood at 6,557.

Estimates provided by Clark state full restoration may take until Monday afternoon in some local areas. Immediately after the downpour and accompanying high winds Wednesday, more than 40,000 AEP customers had lost power. Clark said 90 percent of the AEP customers in the Belmont County and Wheeling areas are expected to have electrical service by midnight Sunday.

"We're keeping restoration times but additional crews are coming into those areas (Belmont County and Wheeling areas)," Clark noted.

Outages in the Steubenville area were pretty much restored Friday. Crews from that area were being sent to the Wheeling area.

The storm's wrath was felt in other ways as well.

A home on Old Cadiz Pike, Bridgeport, was destroyed. Other structures suffered roof damage, broken windows and more. Some falling trees landed on homes and vehicles, causing damage from Barnesville to Wheeling Island.

Union Local High School's athletic complex was ravaged by the storm. Athletic Director Mark Cisar - who also serves as the Jets' football coach - had been on the practice field with his team until about 3 p.m. Wednesday, when they went into the field house to watch some film.

"We lucked out that we had everyone off the field," Cisar said of the storm that struck about 4 p.m. "We were in the field house and the power went off. We stayed there on kind of a lockdown for 45 minutes to an hour when it ended."

When the Jets' players and coaches emerged afterward, they found the athletic facilities had been hit hard - especially the softball field. Both dugouts had crumbled to the ground and the bleachers, which were situated down the right-field line, were lying between first and second base on the infield. Much of the fence surrounding the field also was taken down.

"The wind had to catch everything just perfectly to do that kind of damage," Cisar said. "Those bleachers are only about a year-and-a-half old and they're not light, so that tells you what kind of power those winds had. What's amazing is our bus garage was perfectly fine, so it's just how the storm comes through."

The damage wasn't limited to the softball field, however.

The Jets' baseball field, which sits just above the football field, had the roof ripped off one of its dugouts. The roof landed on a power box, which knocked out power to the field house and school.

"We probably won't have power for a while," Cisar said.

As parents sat in vehicles near the baseball field waiting on their children, the aforementioned roof of the baseball dugout flew over their vehicles.

"Again, we're just thankful no one was hurt," Cisar said. "Obviously, it was a sad sight when we got to the field (Thursday), but it's important to keep in mind that some of the kids' houses were affected as well."

The high jump and pole vault pits were also damaged. Cisar indicated the pole vault pit was recovered just short of Interstate 70.

Half of the signage on top of the Jets' press box was ripped off, and Cisar believes the top of the football stadium lights may have been struck by lightning.

Union Local Superintendent Kirk Glasgow and High School Principal Joel Davia spent most of Thursday working with the school district's insurance company to file a claim.

Cisar could not put a monetary figure on the damage.

[Divalent]

The money quote: "A storm that was merely ravaging the local HS sports facility took a tragic turn for the worse when it upended the pole vault pit. Survivors flocked to the Pole Vault Power website seeking consolation for their loss."