Photo Credits: Dustin Franz
Photo Caption: A family from West Virginia and others cool off at Stround's Run State Park near Athens Friday where temperatures reached near 100 degrees.

As of Sunday morning, American Electric Power Ohio's website was indicating that nearly 2,500 Athens Countians remained without power following the powerful storm on June 29, and some later bad weather on top of it.

Though AEP crews, beefed up with many out-of-state workers, have been working long hours over the past week and weekend to restore the power here and in other places around the state, some people remain without electricity in scattered locations.

A handful of homes on Briarwood and Northwood drives, cul-de-sac roads on Athens' north side, for instance, reportedly have been without power since the storm hit Friday night, June 29. While some in the neighborhood regained power, lost it Wednesday, then got it back, Mary Costello of 24 Northwood said she and some elderly neighbors are still waiting.

Costello said she knows of four homes – hers, her neighbor's, and two on Briarwood – that have not had power since the storm.

Her neighbor, she said, is a woman in her 80s, as is a woman on Briarwood who's without power. This is of particular concern because of the sweltering heat the region has been experiencing, which is especially tough on older people.

Costello expressed frustration that she has tried and tried to alert AEP Ohio to the situation, but to no avail.

"I've called AEP numerous times," she said. "Every day, just about, I'm pleading my case." At one point, according to Costello, she was told she could expect to have power back by Friday (July 6); more recently, she added, she was told that AEP simply didn't know when she could expect to see restoration.

She added that she can't understand how the utility could restore power to almost her entire neighborhood and leave her and a few others without it.

"They did the neighborhood, but they didn't check on me," she noted. "I know it's a huge problem, but I just don't understand this kind of treatment… I'm very frustrated."

On the bright side, she said, friends and neighbors have been wonderful, offering lodging, ice and other forms of assistance. "They've really stepped up," she said. "So I'm very grumpy, but I'm very grateful."

A map published on AEP's website Sunday estimated that most sites left without power in Athens County would get it back by midnight Sunday, while a few would have to wait until midnight Monday.

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http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2012/07/08/newark-power-outage-frustration.html