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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-08-24, Page 15Some in Seaforth and Dublin left without power, phone, Internet or cable after train knocks over hydro pole Galen Simmons Postmedia Network Residents were left without power and Quadro Communi- cations customers in the sur- rounding coverage area were left without phone, internet and cable after a train knocked over a hydro pole at the Dublin rail- road crossing at around 10:30 a.m. Aug. 17. According to witnesses, a train travelling through the Dub- lin railroad crossing became tangled in the overhead main communications cable, pulling the hydro pole southwest of the tracks out of ground and sever- ing said cable. "I was walking with the two kids I was babysitting today and I said here comes the train, so we stopped and watched it and all of the sudden crash, bang, lines were flying everywhere and a tree came down near the one house," Dublin resident Louise Leslie recalled. "It was close, like I was afraid (the lines) were going to come back across the road - I had to backup a bit with the kids. "The train was carrying some kind of big apparatus, it was at about the middle of the train, and it just caught and the wires just took it and everything went down." At about the same time as the train got caught up in the over- head wires, Jim and Greg Par- atcheck, who live directly north- west of the crossing, were getting ready to jump in their van and head to work when the cable came down, almost on top of them. "All of the sudden we heard the noise and Greg looks up - and I've got a stiff neck so I couldn't - and he says, 'Get the F back,"' Jim explained. "We were just getting into the van before going to work and the hydro lines landed on the ladder (on top of the van) and we were just at the passenger door. We could hear the crack- ling, we could hear the electric- ity. It sounded like when I was a kid whipping rocks at the train," Greg said. Without knowing exactly what was going on, both men got themselves out of danger, but before they could warn her, Jim's wife Donna drove into the fami- ly's driveway, over top of the live wires. "I just pulled in and they told me to stay in the car," Donna related. "The train was going by and I just pulled in (to the St. Columban Cemetery 1867-2016 CEMETERY SUNDAY August 28, 2016 Mass at the cemetery -2:00 p.m. Officiating- Father Raju Allumpurath, MST WELCOME EVERYONE Please bring lawnchairs Rain: St. James R.C. Church Seaforth • Bacon on a Bun by K. 0. C. - by donation • Refreshments available Offering goes to St. Columban Cemetery Fund driveway) and the wire was already down, so I couldn't get out of my car. I was stuck for about half an hour." According to witnesses, the first authorities that arrived on scene were from the Municipality of West Perth, followed by a crew from Erie Thames Powerlines, and then within 45 minutes, the Perth County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). While the West Perth employee worked to keep vehicles and foot traffic away from the live wires, the Erie Thames crew began to assess the damage and clean up the debris. "We were thinking it might be 4 p.m. when the power is fixed (for Dublin residents), but it might be closer to 6 p.m.," com- mented Erie Thames Powerliges sub foreman Bill Van Wyk at the scene of the accident. No one was injured during the accident. St. Thomas' Anglican Church presents: MENTAL HEALTH IN OUR COMMUNITY An information night for awareness and support Thurs. Sept. 8 at 7 pm at the Church Hall on John Street, Seaforth Guest Speaker: Suzanne Simpson of the Huron -Perth Mental Health Association Refreshments to follow. Free-will donation Call 519-522-1979 for further info Don't Forget GRADE 9 ORIENTATION DAY AT CHSS Wednesday, August 31St 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. • Meet the Student Council • Play Games • Receive Your Time table • Find Your Classrooms • Attend a Barbeque Wednesday, August 24, 2016 • Huron Expositor 15 1 ... ■■ .. ... 'al ME ME ME ME MUM ME EM MM M ■■ ■■ ■■ 1 ME ME ME ME ME 1 ■■ ■•• ■■ ■■ ■■ W 1 MM MN ME ME EME. 1 ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ 1 ME MEM ME J 1 ME ME ME ME 1 ME MEM ME ME 1 .r ■■ _■■ ■■ ■■ r ■■ ,•p ■..■ ■■ i ME MEM ME ME .. ... ... .. National Post Radio offers smart -opinionated commentary, lively debates and influential round -table discussions. Join National Post columnist, Matt Gurney, as he covers engaging conversations on Canadian news, business, politics, pop -culture, sports and technology. Listen to exclusive content you can't hear anywhere else Facebook.com/NationalPostRadio Monday to Friday7.10AM Sirius XM's Canada Talks (channel 167) csiriusxrn))) MD RADIO AND brooks ��� ,e Tickets available C/ BloomsPettus i t j SEAPORT AGRI PLE 140 DUKE STRE Sandy McGlynn 519-998-9798 Deb Janmaat 519-522-1858 TributeShow slprts at 8:30pm