By Dan Merritt, Advocate reporter
It’s progress for the good of the residents says Linda Hespe of Colome about insertion in the ground of new cable lines all over town by Golden West Telecommunications.
“I want fiber optics,” says Gerry Bingen, another town resident.
It means better internet, TV, and phone service, according to GW.
It also means backhoes and trenchers is people’s yards, men in lime green neon shirts walking around on people’s property, and big rolls of orange cable set in various places.
“I really would rather them not,” said Bobbi Harter when reached by phone by the Advocate early last week.
“They’re going through my yard and my dog pen and through my driveway and all the way up to the west side of my house.
“And my husband (Casey) three or four years ago, he put an electric line from our house to our shed so we had light out there. And we told (them) that they’re going to go right over the top of it.
“So I don’t know, when they start diggin’, (possibly) they’ll run into that wire.”
All in all, “I don’t know,” Harter bemoaned, “I just don’t want them to do it. But they’ve got to do it, I guess.”
Got to, though “it’s caused quite a bit of complaint,” Harter said she’s heard.
Bingen said she’s heard the same thing.
“I did hear from one of the councilmen that people have been squawking.
“But you know what, if they want better they’re going to have to put up with it.
“Because when they (cable workers) get done, the dirt is all put back. They take a rake and rake the dirt back.
“So I’m going to put up with their diggin’. Yes, they did cut a water line, but they fixed it again.”
In fact, water has been off at various times in town since the work started last month.
“The school was out of water for awhile there,” Harter noted. She has a child in the after-school program at school and they had to be re-located to another building downtown.
Hespe said the presence of workers around town and in her yard certainly hasn’t escaped the notice of her dog, Cookie.
“She was curious, something was going on that wasn’t supposed to be going on.”
But the cable workers didn’t seem bothered by her presence, probably in large part because she’s a little dog, Hespe reported.
“They would just sort of pet her and I hollered at them, ‘She’ll lick you to death before she hurts you.’
“And they would just sort of wave. And (now) they just don’t pay no attention to her. And she don’t pay no attention to them.”
In general, Hespe said she’s been impressed by the workers and their cable burying labor.
“They are respectful. On my land, they went very slow, respected the sod, didn’t tear it all up.
“Stomped it back in. Re-seeded what they had to. I was very impressed.
“And across the road from me is a pasture and they had to put in a huge box. A lot of digging.
“And the ground is all leveled back. It isn’t ruts here and ruts there. I am very, very impressed with them.”
Likewise, said Bingen. “They were right in our front yard here. And I can hardly see where they dug.
“They put everything back, except for seeding the grass and I can do that. It’s just a little spot.
“They don’t dig where they don’t have to.”
Harter — whose property hadn’t yet been touched yet by the cable workers when spoken to by the Advocate — said she was hopeful for minimal disturbance of her yard and family life and that things would be done quickly.
“That they don’t take forever.”
She realizes it’s for the best, according to Golden West, she added.
“I’m hoping so. When it’s done and over with I’m hoping we have better internet, cable, and so forth.”
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