NEW WILMINGTON, PA. Cable system problem probed

AmpOhio will update its map of the borough's electrical system in the future.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Borough officials are trying to determine why the recently completed cable system keeps getting knocked out by storms.
Borough Superintendent Fred Garrett told New Wilmington Borough Council members at their meeting Monday that the installers said some trees need to be cut down because there is not a clear sight line for the signal. Garrett said he will remove the trees and pursue the matter further if that doesn't work.
Also Monday, council unanimously approved paying AmpOhio, the Ohio company which supplies the borough with electricity, up to $15,000 to do an updated mapping of the borough's electrical system. Council President Larry Wagner said AmpOhio can do the job for less than any subcontractor. The mapping is part of an effort to determine if another electrical plant is needed to supply the needs of AmpOhio customers in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
Festival complaint
Council also heard grocer Jeff Gilliland complain that local businesses were not taken into account in planning for the New Wilmington Chamber of Commerce's upcoming art festival, Aug. 8-10. He is worried that his Market Street grocery may lose significant business because his customers will not be able to park in the borough's parking lot if it is filled with tourists. Council and Police Chief Carmen Piccirillo promised to check into it before the next meeting.
Councilwoman Susan Ligo asked that a sinkhole and some broken curbing in a borough parking lot on Market Street be reported to the contractor who did the job so that it can be repaired.
Mayor Wendell Wagner reported the borough will look into buying its own speed trailer next year for about $3,500 instead of joining with the Lawrence County Council of Governments. The trailer flashes the speed to encourage motorists to observe the speed limit.
Solicitor Tom Mansell reported that Westminster College has declined AT & amp;T's offer to put a communications tower on college property. Council had objected to that tower at the last meeting.
Sidewalk blacktop
And a motion to enforce an ordinance prohibiting residents from blacktopping over sidewalks passed by a slim margin. Councilmen John Altman and George Shaffer voted in favor, with Ligo against and Wagner abstaining.
Altman made the motion after a report that a New Castle Street resident covered the sidewalk while blacktopping a driveway. According to the ordinance, the resident can be forced to remove the blacktopping and restore the sidewalk.
Ligo said after the meeting she doesn't believe residents should be forced to dig up the blacktop unless it is causing a safety problem. Wagner agreed, stating during the meeting that he sees no difference in sidewalk surfacing or blacktopping as long there is no tripping hazard.