Neighborhood without gas for three days
JEFFERSON TWP — When Neupert Road neighbors Kim Sasse and Janet Flanders woke up shivering on Sunday morning, they figured the natural gas supply to their homes had suffered a weather-related problem and service would be restored in a few hours at the most.
But they and eight other families on their street between Winfield Road and the Christ is the Answer Church had to tough it out in the subfreezing temperatures until Wednesday morning, when their homes were connected to a temporary gas line.
Sasse said she initially thought the home's furnace had quit working, but determined their Peoples Natural Gas service had been interrupted when the natural gas dryer would not work.
According to Sasse, Peoples told her they would dispatch a crew as soon as possible.
“They got here at about 5:30 that evening and have been working around the clock,” Sasse said.
Peoples spokesman Barry Kukovich said ice inside a gas pipe caused the problem for the eight to 10 buildings on the street.
He said because of the unusually cold weather it is impossible to dig the lines up to see if they are damaged. That means the houses affected may be forced to use the temporary gas line laying on top of the snow until the arrival of spring.
The flooding followed by the freeze, Kukovich fears, may have damaged the lines on or near Neupert Road in more than one area.
Peoples workers have responded to more than 1,200 service interruptions as a result of the extreme weather, Kukovich said.
A full story will appear in Thursday's Butler Eagle.
