Most of county now has electricity

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Utility workers continue to restore power throughout the northwest Ohio area, although Van Wert County residents are mostly back on the grid, as of today.

County Emergency Management Director Rick McCoy said Wednesday that the villages of Venedocia, Ohio City, Convoy, Middle Point, Willshire and Wren have all had power restored, with the villages of Elgin and Scott the only towns of any size still without power.

McCoy said estimates that Scott wouldn’t have power until possibly July 21 have been amended, with utility officials now saying the village should have power by sometime this weekend.

Currently, AEP is showing 329 customers in Van Wert County area without power, compared to 2,645 in Paulding County, 2,661 in Putnam County, 6,033 in Hancock County and 866 in Defiance County. AEP customers in Allen and Auglaize counties have had power completely restored, the utility’s website shows.

Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative is still reporting widespread power outages due to the intense system of storms that devastated the area last Friday afternoon.  All available crews, including additional crews from Michigan and Northwestern Electric in Bryan, are working as quickly and safely as possible every day in order to restore power to your home!  All work teams were in force on July 4 as another full workday!

As of Wednesday, the number of members without power has continued to decline. Currently, approximately 3,900 of the cooperative’s 13,000 members are without service.  If you have access to a computer or know someone who does, please check the website at www.ppec.coop for additional substation updates.

For many Van Wert County residents, restoration of power couldn’t have come at a better time, with temperatures predicted to be 101 today, 102 Friday and 100 on Sunday, with 50-60 percent humidity. Local residents will likely experience extreme heat conditions until at least Saturday, with a cool-off expected for Sunday, when temperatures fall to the mid- and high 80s, and continue like that for four days before again rising into the 90s.

The chance of rain is 30 percent today and only about 10 percent for Friday and Saturday.

Assistance is being made available in the following counties: Allen, Athens, Auglaize, Belmont, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clermont, Clinton, Coshocton, Fairfield, Franklin, Gallia, Greene, Guernsey, Hamilton, Hancock, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Knox, Lawrence, Licking, Logan, Meigs, Mercer, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Paulding, Perry, Pike, Preble, Putnam, Ross, Scioto, Shelby, Van Wert, Vinton, Warren, Washington and Wyandot.

Low-income families with children, including pregnant women, may be eligible for up to $1,500 in assistance per household. Elderly individuals and those with disabilities may be eligible for up to $750 in assistance per household. The assistance can be used for a range of necessary expenses and essential purchases.

Assistance is available to families, elderly individuals and those with disabilities who earn 200 percent of the federal poverty level or less, or about $46,000 for a family of four.

Those who believe they may be eligible should contact their county department of job and family services to apply for assistance. A directory of county agencies is available online at http://jfs.ohio.gov/County/County_Directory.pdf.

In addition, Van Wert County residents who had buildings damaged by the June 29 storm should call Jamie Bradford at the Van Wert County Auditor’s Office (419.238.0843) for a DTE Form 26 – Destroyed or Damaged Property Form.

The form is also online at www.ohiorevaluation.com/Forms. Click on the third item under the Forms link: “Reporting Destroyed/Damaged/Removed Property.” Print and fill out the form and return it to the County Auditor’s Office at 121 E. Main St. in Van Wert.

A county auditor’s appraisal staff member will come out to inspect the damage and the damage, depending on its severity, could help save property owners money on next year’s property taxes.