Lisbon cemetery foreman accepts blame for outage

By D.A. Wilkinson

Some, but not all, county offices have backup power.

LISBON — Benjamin Franklin said, “Honesty is the best policy.”

Rod Sechrist, the village’s cemetery foreman, followed that advice when he admitted he caused Monday’s brief power outage.

First Energy said about 6,300 customers were affected. Portions of Columbiana County, including Lisbon, Leetonia and East Liverpool, had no power from 9:30 to 11:40 a.m.

Sechrist said he was working in a low portion of the cemetery to make room for more graves.

The foreman said he was going back and forth with a backhoe, bringing dirt back and pushing rocks toward the cemetery’s boundary.

Sechrist said he didn’t think he hit anything while backing up. Whether he scored a direct hit or merely the loosened dirt, as result of his work, a tree fell and hit a power line.

He said he heard cracking, turned and saw “a ball of fire.”

An early report said a private contractor cutting trees caused the outage. But Sechrist said he told village officials what happened.

Despite being a stand-up guy, he admitted, “It was not a good morning.”

County officials didn’t close the courthouse. The courtrooms, which have large windows, stayed open during the blackout. The power came just before the commissioners left for a meeting on solid waste.

Because of a generator, the clerk of courts office on the courthouse’s third floor had light that sometimes flickered and working computers.

Nancy Milliken, the county auditor whose office is on the first floor, said her office had lights but no computer service.

She has two backup systems that preserve data. She said if her office had a generator, it could continue operations during blackouts.

Todd Mumpire, who oversees county computer systems, said, “She can have it, if she has the money. It would have to come out of her budget.”

The county jail and the county emergency management agency have backup generators.

Mumpire said it would cost anywhere from $100,000 to $175,000 to provide enough generated power to keep the courthouse open.

Governmental and social service agencies on the north side of the village made do with the lack of power.

Jessica Borza, the chief operating officer of the One Stop Program, said workers were creative, and had meetings near open windows.

Several village restaurants closed early, but The Steel Trolley Diner stayed open because it has gas grills and fryers, said owner Jackie Hersman.

wilkinson@vindy.com