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Official: Power restored to part of downtown

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Cars sit in a traffic jam along High Street in Hamilton as people try to leave the city where there was no power and no traffic signal, Friday, June 26, 2009.

Staff photo by Greg Lynch Cars sit in a traffic jam along High Street in Hamilton as people try to leave the city where there was no power and no traffic signal, Friday, June 26, 2009.

American Red Cross and the city of Hamilton to open an emergency shelter at Princeton Pike Church of God.

By Staff Report Updated 3:52 PM Friday, June 26, 2009

Acting electric director Tony Pochard said as of a few minutes ago power is being restored downtown. The vast majority of customers should be restored by midnight, but there are some that may not be restored by tomorrow morning, he said.

The American Red Cross in conjunction with the city of Hamilton is opening a shelter and cooling center at the Princeton Pike Church of God in Fairfield Twp., 6101 Princeton-Glendale Rd. It is in the process of opening and should be up in about an hour, said Kay Farrar, public health nursing administrator for the city of Hamilton.

Officials said they will provide food and water at the shelter since power may not be restored to all parts of the city today.

Power is expected to be restored to Fort Hamilton Hospital by 4 p.m. and to the business district by 5 p.m., City Manager Mark Brandenburger said. Neighborhoods should be restored after that, he said.

Making progress

“We are moving forward,” said Tony Pochard, acting Hamilton electric director at about 1:45 p.m.

The problem with one essential line has been located, they are working on finding trouble in a second.

But the prediction by Hamilton Mayor Don Ryan of power restoration by 2 p.m. to the downtown area and Fort Hamilton Hospital did not happen.

Ryan also said much of city’s customers may not have power restored before 6 p.m.

Pochard could not give a prediction this afternoon.

Traffic remains snarled and office building dark. The only street light operating in the city at 12:30 p.m. is at High Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard. The light is powered with a battery backup purchased with stimulus money.

Prisoners moved from Court Street Jail

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones moved about 200 prisoners from the Court Street Jail to the recently closed Resolutions minimum security at about 2 p.m. due to the power outage.

The Court Street Jail has not air conditioning and is powered by a diesel generator which was emitting fumes into the facility due to the humidity. So, the decision was made to move the inmate population.

“We are taking are big black buses and we are moving out prisoners to whence they,” Jones said. The prisoners will be moved back to Court Street when power is restored.

Around 2 p.m. when the prisoners were moved, they appeared in good spirits, whopping and hollering at passerbys from their big black bus.

Fire department pumping basements

The Hamilton fire department has received as many as 100 calls on flooded basements, said Deputy Fire Chief Steve Dawson.

“We put everybody on the list. We’re trying to get to them as soon as we can,” he said.

Dawson said the department will pump basements with more than six inches of water.

He said the department also received many calls for downed lines, but haven’t experienced any problems with heat.

Businesses suffer damage

Businesses across the city are waiting for power and examining damage from the storms.

Ryan’s Tavern suffered water damage, but Ryan said he hopes to have the restaurant open for dinner.

Jim Rooney, who lives on Main Street and works as a kitchen manager at Walt’s Barbecue, said his roof was damaged by large hail overnight, and he is going to have to replace it.

The owner of Walt’s Barbecue in Hamilton said he would also have to start storing food in refrigerator trucks if power isn’t restored within the next hour.

The Marsh grocery store on Main street is running on a back-up generator and has full power. However the other two Marsh locations, on Millville Avenue and Ohio 4, have no generators and are without power.

March co-manager Tim Lariccia said those locations have begun removing perishable food from the shelves and putting it into refrigerator trucks. He said business is a bit slow and that customers are coming in looking to purchase ice.

Ryan Shoemaker, owner of Galaxy CDs, said this is the second time this month he’s had to close his store due to a power outage. Fridays are busy days for his store, Shoemaker said, and losing that business hurts.

He said last night’s storm was like none he’d seen before.

“It seemed like it was one storm after another that came through,” said Shoemaker, who lives on Haldimand Avenue. “One (storm) would die out and another one would start. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

County health officials warn that food left in a refrigerator without power for more than four hours should be thrown out.

“If you have any doubt about it, don’t trust it. Play it safe and throw it out,” Brian Williamson, chief of environmental services for the county health department.

Looking for the problem

Hamilton workers are working to find the problem in a main power line that is believed to be the key to restoring power that was knocked out during strong early morning storms.

“We are still trying to find it,” said Tony Pochard, acting city electric director.

But as of 11:30 a.m., 90 percent remains without power.

When workers tried to power up lines in a wooded area on the city’s south side after clearing away storm debris, they learned there was a larger problem.

“I can’t predict how long it will take, we just have to find the cause of the problem. It could be something small like a crack,” he said.

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I would like to say that my power did not come on until 12 noon Saturday and I have nothing to say but positive about the utility department. Look at the "Rich" in West Chester. There are still areas at this time without power. Hummmm?? I also saw alot of Police directing traffic and Fire Trucks all over Hamilton helping. GREAT JOB SAFETY SERVICES! To those whinning and pointing fingers - GET A GRIP. Thank God you are alive and no one died!

Susan
5:31 PM, 6/27/2009

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For Bill...how stupid of a comment to post..that makes no sense at all...of course he owns his own businesses bc the Mayor position isn't a full time job in the city! Conflict of interest?! If thats the case then what about Corky Combs owning his realty company, Jolivette owning Jollys??? HMMM..as far as I'm concerned, the Mayor has INVESTED in his city unlike people like you who don't care...so sad...please call Ohio Ethics Comm bc your going to embarrass yourself.

Bill Get Real
1:08 PM, 6/27/2009

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How many times is the Hamilton Electric utility going to "try and find the problem"? Obviously after this happens about 5-20 times per year, you would think somebody would suggest something more than duct tape to fix the problems.

Outa Biz
1:00 PM, 6/27/2009

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As soon as I can sell my Hamilton home for a decent price I'm gone!! Infrastructure is pitiful here. We have new government buildings, new jails, no power for the people who paid for it. In Lindenwald the power goes out when there's no weather. You can bet that all the fat cat politcians have power.

mel
8:43 AM, 6/27/2009

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Larry - I see you took time to post a comment too, what are YOU doing?

Hamiltucky, no I have never worked for the J-N nor am I a journalist. But I certainly feel that people who WRITE for a living should be able to utilize the simple rules of grammar effectively in their writing.

Kellee
8:16 AM, 6/27/2009

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