Some Hot Info About CU of SGF
A few minutes ago I called CU customer service to straighten out a problem that I may have because of the confusion of reconnection of power. The repairmen may have switched my meter with my neighbors. OK ... he gave me the serial number of my meter and we can check and get it straightened out ... not a big deal.
And then I asked about my mother's house (roughly in the Phelps Grove area)(don't worry she is out of town and the house is safed). They promised on Thursday to release where crews are working, and what the expected timelines were for entire neighborhood to be reconnected on Friday .... well, they didn't and they haven't. And of course, this has not been reported, and they haven't been held to account by any reporter.
When I asked this guy at CU the same questions, he responded, and this is a direct - tape recorded - quote, " We arn't going to disclose it ...." When I asked for his name -- he hung up on me.
That is why we will have to do an investigation --- and also why the news media has failed us so badly during this disaster. There are no Times-Picyaune reporters in Springfield.
Oh, yes ... and I might add ... I got my CU bill yesterday. So apparently the billing computers are working in top form down on Central Street. I will let them know when I am ready to pay it. Don't call me, I'll call you.
And then I asked about my mother's house (roughly in the Phelps Grove area)(don't worry she is out of town and the house is safed). They promised on Thursday to release where crews are working, and what the expected timelines were for entire neighborhood to be reconnected on Friday .... well, they didn't and they haven't. And of course, this has not been reported, and they haven't been held to account by any reporter.
When I asked this guy at CU the same questions, he responded, and this is a direct - tape recorded - quote, " We arn't going to disclose it ...." When I asked for his name -- he hung up on me.
That is why we will have to do an investigation --- and also why the news media has failed us so badly during this disaster. There are no Times-Picyaune reporters in Springfield.
Oh, yes ... and I might add ... I got my CU bill yesterday. So apparently the billing computers are working in top form down on Central Street. I will let them know when I am ready to pay it. Don't call me, I'll call you.
posted by John Stone at 8:38 AM
6 Comments:
My Mother is in the same fix, lives southwest of the park, no power, no hope for quick resolve.
I would be interested in seeing grid of where the power is out.
First ... busplunge ... I forgot that I enabled comment moderation to take care of a couple of spammers and deleted your comment before I approved it ... please repost.
I had also sent an email to some friends in town before I posted this. Billy Long is a high school buddy of John Twitty, and sent it on to him. Here is Twittys mail back to Billy and passed to me:
"We will likely have some switched meter issues to resolve and we certainly will resolve them. As to our promise to publish plans for reconnecting neighborhoods or tell folks where we were working - we never did this. I would know because I've been the person speaking to the media everyday. We did say we would provide an estimate as to when everyone that was capable of accepting service could expect service, and we did that last Friday. If someone from here hung up on a customer, that is wrong and I would always apologize for that. If you want to pass this along to the original writer that would be fine with me and you could tell them I would be pleased to visit with them."
Well, I will accept his apology, but I am not sure he understands how bad this sort of thing looks for him. The customer service rep could have said that I would have to get hold of dept x (in fact I asked if there were a number I could call). If all of them are doing the same thing, and I bet they are, then they are making Twitty look like a fool for saying they were doing one thing when exactly the opposite is true.
My comment was simple: I got my mother's cu bill, about 100 bucks less than last months.
"Due to the severe winter storm, your usage may be estimated."
Her usage was estimated. So any thought of having a lower bill next month because of the power outage will be cancelled out by the underestimation of usage this month.
BTW.....all those guys in the trucks driving up and down the neighborhoods, cutting trees and hooking up power lines, Thanks, a heartfelt thanks from all of us.
To those of you who got power back, I'm glad for you. To those of us who don't have power yet, it ain't no fun!
Yeah busplunge ... great news for your mom ... my sister-in-laws daughter lives very close and I hope she got hers back too....
It has occured to me that CU had some sort of general plan that they had halfway thought out, but that when it happened it devolved into a running hither-and-nither and spreading whatever resources they had so thin that nothing got done in a timely manner. Twitty says they just do what all utilities do. Well, we don't pay him more than any other public official in the State of Missouri to read someones elses plan and blindly follow along. This will show, I think, at the end, that we have some incompetent and unimaginative leadership at CU.
I too want to thank CU for their efforts, however, it doesnt seem as though much has been done in the way of tree trimming prior to this sentinnel event. One can look down my street and many others to see why so many trees ended up bringing down power lines. Realizing the linemen are working feverishly now, perhaps after all is said and done, and life gets back to normal, they will be discussing proactive steps in tree trimming to avoid this disaster. I would estimate the costs in terms of labor (overtime), equipment purchases (power lines,transformers,etc), the costs of being PROACTIVE would have been much lower. Hindsight is 20/20 of course (Cliche, I know), I just hope we all learn from this. And just to be political (because I have to), since we've destroyed iraq's infrastructure and much of their people have no electricity, I can say I have a taste for what they're going thru (sans the bombs falling - although the limbs sometimes sounded as such).
Rob Jericho :)
(IM BAAAACK)
The following is the typed version of the complaint sent express mail to the Missouri Ethics Commission on February 30, 2007.
For several years, the City has been placing signs around roads in the City Limits before elections stating what has been done in the past and or what will be done if a tax is passed or stays in place. The City contends this is just informational yet after the election they place thank you notes on the signs. The sign convinced people to vote and so they are saying thanks for the vote. The main problem for example is the Park sign from last August which is a very large sign and cost thousands of dollars and which still stands on south National. The city does not reveal the cost. The City also prints literature which is taken directly off of their website http://www.springfieldmogov.org/elections/ Information paid for by the City of Springfield, Missouri, P.O. Box 8368, Springfield, MO 65801 • Thomas J. Carlson, Mayor
This appears to be an attempt to look to the public like they are meeting campaign law requirements as set by the Missouri Ethics Commission.
The cost being spent by the city to tax the people is like taxation without representation. The current Capital Improvement Tax ballot issue on February 6th says No Tax Increase. It does not say “vote yes” but it is implied. A copy of this is being turned over to the State Auditor to be looked at in the current State Audit and the Attorney Generals office that enforces the law per the Missouri Ethics Commission.
The best way to resolve this issue would be for the City to let taxpayers file committees to support and pay for all literature and signs. A second option would be for the City to send editorials and all information to the media and ask the media to inform the citizens. The third option would be to go ahead and include projects that have been completed in the ballot language and let the citizens decide.
The problem is anyone opposing a tax would under law have to file a committee before they campaign against it. Also if the Ethics Commission allows this practice then a candidate for any office in Missouri could use their own money or even accept contributions to run for office with literate etc. that lists what they have done or hope to do as long as it does not say VOTE FOR CANDIDATE.
In the last few days Committee for the Future, Gordon Elliot, CPA Treasurer has mailed flyers---see attachment--- saying no Tax Increase and the front has a large picture of one of the signs that says the sign tells the story---that is a sign the city put up paid for with taxpayer money. The city has placed several signs saying Capital Improvements Tax. Which is on the Ballot next February 6, 2007
In conclusion it is about the process. I may agree with the issue, but I would like to possibly see some money going to put power lines underground over a period of years to deter future power outages from storms or even possible terrorist attacks. Around 150,000 people in Springfield likely lost an average of $1,000 dollars. A Billion!
www.reedforcouncil.com
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