EVANS CITY — First Energy, owner of the electric company Penn Power, has reversed its decision to prohibit veteran banners from being hung on its utility poles in the borough.

On Monday, Mayor Dean Zinkhann said his plan to hang 2-foot by 3-foot banners of individual veterans along Main Street was thwarted when First Energy officials said they do not allow items to be hung on the company’s poles.

But after an article in Tuesday’s Butler Eagle and a Wednesday report on the issue by a Pittsburgh news station, First Energy on Thursday sent out a news release stating that the banners would be allowed.

“This project is important to the community, our customers and our employees in the area,” Randall Frame, president of Ohio Edison and Penn Power, said in the release. “We look forward to working with area officials and others to find a way to safely place these banners on display in Evans City.”

Zinkhann had planned to institute the Military Banner Program in the borough after seeing it in Castle Shannon, Allegheny County, where it originated.

In the program, a large banner with a picture of a current, former or deceased veteran can be bought for $80, which also includes two small banners and the bracket to hang the large one on a telephone pole.

Duquesne Light has partnered with the operators of the Military Banner Program in the Castle Shannon area, but First Energy told Zinkhann the banners could damage equipment on the poles or come into contact with live wires in a high-wind situation.

Zinkhann invited District 25 VFW Commander Wayne Perry to the Evans City council meeting on Monday night to tout the program, and to present a banner to David and Jan Holman, the father and stepmother of Army Staff Sgt. Eric Holman, who was killed in August 2009 in Afghanistan.

Perry said the VFW backs Zinkhann’s efforts, and he had expressed disappointment that the program couldn’t be carried out because of First Energy’s pole policy.

David Holman, himself an Army veteran of the Vietnam War, also was frustrated with the issue.

On Friday, Zinkhann was beyond thrilled with the news that First Energy had changed its position.

“I just get goose bumps every time someone mentions it,” Zinkhann said. “The fast turnaround was unbelievable, and it was all because of that Eagle article.”

He said First Energy officials told him that their engineers must look at the banners to see how big they are and what material they are made of. He said the officials did not say why they changed their minds.

“I just think it’s great, because we can have a partnership with them like other municipalities (that hang banners) have with their energy companies,” Zinkhann said.

He hopes to have banners hanging along Main Street next year from Memorial Day in May until Veterans Day on Nov. 11. He said he already has a handful of orders for the banners.

“I’m just elated and excited,” Zinkhann said. “The banners will be flying high.”

Jan Holman said her family also is thrilled with First Energy’s decision.

“We thank First Energy (officials) for changing their mind,” she said.

She can’t wait until her stepson’s banner is aloft in the town where he owned a home before being deployed.

“It’s a great honor to him,” she said. “Anything to honor our service guys and gals.”