The Athens County Board of Commissioners received an update on storm recovery throughout Athens County from Director of 911 Emergency Communications Teresa Fouts-Imler.
Six homes were reported to the state for minor loss due to structural damage or significant water intrusion. One home in Buchtel was hit by flooding on three separate occasions between July 21 and Aug. 17.
Hardest hit by flooding are communities in the north of Athens County, such as Trimble, Buchtel and Glouster.
Athens County 911 continues to conduct damage assessments in affected areas on both homes and businesses, though many businesses in the north of Athens County have opted to take matters into their own hands.
While some residents in affected areas have insurance, they face challenges with restoration companies, such as SERVPRO, which require upfront payment, Fouts-Imler explained.
Athens County 911 is coordinating with the mayor of Trimble to provide dumpsters for residents to clear out flood damaged furniture and carpet.
The agency is also managing various donations, including cleaning supplies from a Parkersburg church and gift cards from an Amesville church, Fouts-Imler added.
Hocking-Athens-Perry County Community Action (HAPCAP) is providing transportation to shelter for affected residents, meals and showers at the Perry County Fairgrounds.
While groups such as Samaritan’s Purse are active in Perry County, resources are limited, and getting assistance to those who are in need has difficulties, Fouts-Imler explained.
The agency is searching for box trucks to collect and deliver donations for distribution in affected areas.
The decline in membership of volunteer groups, such as the American Red Cross and of volunteer fire departments, poses a significant threat to Athens County in the long-term, Fouts-Imler explained.
Currently, Athens County’s fire service is around a third of the size that it was in 1998, when the last major flooding in Athens County took place, Fouts-Imler added.
“What would we do in Athens County if we were hit with what Perry County has been hit with? It’s very scary, and we've got to get a pool of volunteers together that we can call out,” Fouts-Imler said.
Broadband and copper phone lines
In other news, some Athens County residents are concerned about what the elimination of copper phone lines by telecommunications giants, such as Frontier Communications, will mean for them.
While broadband is expanding throughout the county, certain customers with copper phone lines will not be able to receive broadband service, according to a recent report on broadband in Athens County published by the Reid Consulting Group.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has identified 22,801 broadband serviceable locations within Athens County. Of those locations, 4,943 have received funding through local, state and federal broadband programs.
However, 1,906 locations are likely to be left behind.
Some areas of Athens County assigned to receive broadband through low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites may be at risk because reliable broadband service depends on having an unobstructed view of the sky.
Foliage and terrain can block reliable broadband service provided using LEO satellites, and most of the 1,906 locations that are likely to be left behind are in areas that will receive broadband through LEO satellites.
Doug Brooks, an Athens County resident who lives on Wallbrown Road, is among those who are at risk of losing their communications link to the outside world if copper phone lines are eliminated.
Frontier Communications plans on removing the copper phone lines that serve Wallbrown Road on or around Oct. 23 but does not plan on installing fiber-optics to replace them, Brooks explained.
“[Frontier Communications] said they will not run it down my road because my road's about a mile and a half long, and there's only five houses,” Brooks said.
There is no cellular service where Brooks lives, and the only means of calling left available to him will either be Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or Wi-Fi calling.
However, using VoIP or Wi-Fi calling will require the use of SpaceX’s Starlink. This will be difficult, as Wallbrown Road is located in an area that does not have an unobstructed view of the sky, Brooks explained.
The Athens County Commissioners will hold their next meeting Aug. 25 at 9:30 a.m. in the commissioner’s conference room, located on the second-floor annex of the Athens County Courthouse at 15 S. Court St.
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