infastructure and communications

[Tom Cicala]

Last evening, Sunday December 14, with temperatures only in the teens andhypothermia warnings in place, at 5:05 p.m. power was lost to some residentsof Bedford County PA. Alleghany Power and the Flintstone fire departmentResponded and were on the scene in short order. Flintstone V.F.D.Expeditiously cleared the dangerous wires and cut-up and removed the fallentree from the roadway. The intensity of the crisis was averted as AlleghenyPower emergency crew were able to restore power by 10:46 p.m. AlleghanyPower and Flintstone V.F.D. are to be commended for their preparedness inresponding to this emergency power outage. Embarg should be commended aswell for restoring telephone services more than 18 hours ahead of theoriginal estimated repair time.However, loss of phone service as well as Internet access is a reminder ofhow vulnerable and frail our existence becomes when these services aresuddenly unavailable. Communication appears to be our weakest link. Wedbetter prepare for every condition of survival locality to locality acrossthis great land. We can start right here in Bedford County, PA. I strongly believeinstallation of a Mars 1 radio tower,with EMS and GPS capabilities along side commercial cell towers / our first line of defense" In reporting emergencies the Citizen Communication system " .[cell phones]the Polish mountain ridge and other strategic locations is imperative ,im sure my father would make the cicala mountain top available. These Lines would help to resolve communication paralysis. .We must act now..will this initiatice gather support and momentum . "If it is to be it is up to we".. We must protect our family's and neighbors .Thomas Cicala