BROOK PARK, OH — In Brook Park, a month after five tornados ripped through northeast Ohio, everyone has power, but the cleanup is still underway.
First Energy crews have worked for days and weeks to restore for everyone in the area. Everyone they are seen on Settlement Acres Drive, Gladis Shareban hopes her TV will work again.
"It's been over a month, August the 6th. We have no TV, no internet, nope, no landline, so I don't know what's happening," said Gladis.
Gladis lost power after the Aug. 6 storms and got it back within the week, but a month later, she still doesn't have wifi or a landline. That's because the pole that carries those services still lies on the ground. First is a pole charge, and then utility companies can connect their services.
"It's terrible, just terrible, maybe it's just me, but you know, they don't, you don't appreciate something until it's gone," said Gladis.
She isn't the only one waiting; next door, across the street from Marty Surella's house, is a leaning utility pole that was temporarily fixed after the storm.
"That's hole sitting there. This thing looks like it could fall over tomorrow or, like, in half an hour," said Surella.
Since Aug. 6, Brook Park Mayor Edward Orcutt says workers have been going nonstop to get the city back on its feet.
"The cleanup is very complicated because we're, not only are we working with the state, the emergency management agency, with them, we're also working with our insurance companies," said Orcutt.
Hannah Catlett, a spokesperson with First Energy, said that, as of now, everyone has power, but many places look like Marty's with temporary fixes.
"We prioritize fixes that impact peoples liability, we don't want people to lose power again because of temporary fix those are the orders we start working first," said Catlett.
Once FirstEnergy gets the poles back up, other utilities can connect their services, but in many cases, the damage is more severe than expected, so it's taking longer.
"Some of these places, we must use special equipment to dig for poles to be put back into the ground. It's just work that takes time; we want to do it safely and right, said Catlett.
Catlett added that is the reason for delays on Settlement Acres Drive, but on Friday, that wait was over after crews came and replaced both poles.
Gladis said she won't believe it until the cable company comes out and she can finally turn on her TV.
If you are in a similar situation, call First Energy or your city's City hall. First Energy said they have 90 days to finish the job, but it is trying to do it as soon as possible.
