Whoops, but saved some KWs

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Wow, skated by this mess up unscathed, but it sure was close!!

As some of you remember I made a post about cutting some firewood since the price is so high. Well I got to get it out now while the ground is still frozen that way the wood is all nice and clean when I got to cut it into 16 inch lengths. Anyway I fire up my saw and tractor and head up the hill figuring I'll cut wood around the edge of the fields to keep it from encroaching.

Well one of the places thatis growing up is onthis little hill trapped between a field and the road. Some nice Ash there as well as some Black Cherry so I figured this would be a great place to start.

Well it might have been but the wind is blowing hard. I was on my 10th tree or so when the wind caught the tree, pushed it over backwards and I watched in horror as it went bouncing onto the powerlines.

Whoops.

So it makes this huge bang...so I wait for the inevitable limb chopper surge, and sure enough about 5 seconds later there is another big bang. So I get in my tractor drive down to the neighbors and ask him if he has power.

No.

So now I'm in trouble. I got a tree leaning on the line and no power to half the town. Figuring the powerline kicked a breaker, and if the power company shows up with no tree on the line, there's no evidence saying I did anything wrong. The wind was howling so anything could have tripped it.

So I take my tractor and pull the tree off the line and push all the limbs and brush into a big pile. I then decide I better hang around if the power company shows up, but I decide to cut somewhere other then beside some powerlines. Three hours later I see some Supervisor drive by, real slow looking for limbs on the powerline. About half an hour later he drives back by, but the power is back on and no one is the wiser.

That was close, but I figured I saved half the town some KW's. I just don't want to be responsible for the baby boom that results in 10 months since there was nothing to do this afternoon :)
 
10 months? Life really does move a little slower in Maine, eh....? :huh:

It used to be accepted that pregnancy was 9 months, but its actually ten months. When they give you a due date now, they calculate some stuff in, then calculate for a 10 month pregnancy. I'm not being smart here, I just forgot that the wife's pregnancy happened quite a few years back for most people.:wave:
 
I was thinking about this last night. What I should have done was when the power went out, cut wood in that area like a son of a gun, tipping as many trees over as I could so I could clean up the area. If another tree went over backwards at least the power was off and I would not be in any more trouble.

Oh well I got out of this mess alright...better not to press my luck.

The thing is though. The power company used to keep their lines cut back, but ever since that put in that limb chopper circuit breaker, it takes something pretty big to make the power go out. They have no intention of cutting brush when electricity can do it for them.
 
Travis, you sure do live on the edge.:rofl::rofl: Your still feeling the pain from the lake accident,:doh: now your trippin on (off) 13,000 volts. What's next???:huh::thumb::thumb:Can't imagine the stories from your younger days.:D
 
Travis, you sure do live on the edge.:rofl::rofl: Your still feeling the pain from the lake accident,:doh: now your trippin on (off) 13,000 volts. What's next???:huh::thumb::thumb:Can't imagine the stories from your younger days.:D

I'd tell you, but there are no statue of limitations on some laws you know.
 
Not meaning to throw rocks....but whatever happened to the notion of accepting the responsibility for ones actions?

Well, I used to think that about the kids growin up nowadays, no respect or responsibility, but more n' more adults are gettin into that frame of mind. I just hope my boys grow up to be man enough to do the right thing.
 
Not meaning to throw rocks....but whatever happened to the notion of accepting the responsibility for ones actions?

I did. I dropped a tree on a powerline, I had the neighbor call the utility company, then I went and cleaned up my mess.

A few years back my Grandfather and I decided to help the local power company out by helping them clear trees off the lines. We had got a pretty good storm and there were a dozen trees across the lines. The power was out so there was no fear of getting shocked. Plus we had a skidder, which can go just about anywhere. We had got a bunch of these trees pushed off the lines when this Supervisor came by and she was hopping mad. She started screaming about what we were doing, and then my Grandfather started screaming about how if the trimmed the trees this wouldn't happen...and on and on it went. I don't think either one of them won.

I just saw right then and there that the only thing they care about is there overtime. We had saved them about three hours work as far as I can tell. The Supervisor should have been thanking us for taking the time to help them out.
 
I did. I dropped a tree on a powerline, I had the neighbor call the utility company, then I went and cleaned up my mess.

If you really did that, you should have included it in your original post. I didn't, and still don't, see that in your original post that prompted my response. All I read is you dropped a tree on power lines, asked your neighbor if he had power (no), then got rid of the evidence that YOU caused the power outage so you wouldn't get in trouble. Then you posted about it on a public forum.
 
If you really did that, you should have included it in your original post. I didn't, and still don't, see that in your original post that prompted my response. All I read is you dropped a tree on power lines, asked your neighbor if he had power (no), then got rid of the evidence that YOU caused the power outage so you wouldn't get in trouble. Then you posted about it on a public forum.

Oh I had the neighbors call the power company, but my post was already to long so I did not get into all that. The conversation with my neighbor went like this.

When I drove my tractor in the dooryard, he came out with his slippers on and one big smile. Seeing that I said...

"You probably don't have power do you?"

"Nope"

"F word ommited here per FWW rules. Well you probably better call CMP then. (Central Maine Power).

I then drove my tractor back up the hill, hooked onto the tree and pulled it off the powerline. The reason I did that is because dropping a tree on a powerline is a 1100 dollar fine. I really didn't want to pay that, or have my homeowners insurance go up. Its also rural country here with the good old boy club proudly enforced.

When the power company came through a few hours later, the Supervisor saw there was nothing on the lines from my house (one of the last houses on the powerline), followed it back to where the circuit breaker is located (5 miles from my house) and then put on his spurs, climbed a pole and reset the breaker.

I tried to give my original post an oh-well tone, because that's what it is. No big deal. Even by Maine standards I live in the middle of nowhere, and being the heavily forested state in the nation, it happens all the time here. Even if the neighbor said I had dropped the tree on the powerline, there was nothing on it when he came through. As long as they aren't inconvenienced too bad, like calling out a tree crew or replacing torn down lines, they aren't going to say much about having to just reset the breaker.

One of the things you will learn about me is that I make a lot of posts. Most are just "hey you wouldn't believe what I did", kind of posts. Goof ups are the most entertaining of posts in my opinion, whether you are talking about woodworking goof ups, or logging goof-ups. So I just say what happened. Sorry I did not include 100% of the neighbor conversation in my original post. I can see where that was misleading. Sorry :(
 
Travis, I think you are sharing a bit too much with everyone here. All you need is someone from the power company to see your posting and you could be in a heap of trouble.:eek: Not that I disagree with your reasons for doing it, but some things are best just left to stories around the camp fire after a few beers. I would strongly suggest to remove this entire threat. Just a thought. :rolleyes:
 
Keep on posting the stories Travis, I enjoy them. For everyone else, I think the original story was just meant to be entertaining. People that live in glass houses shouldn't throw them stones!!!
 
Where do you guys live?????

Like the power company is going to see this anyway. The state has 1,250,000 people living in it, and there are only 1800 members on here. The chances of them seeing that are pretty nil right there. Even if they did see it, they have no legal base in which to read something posted on the internet and then proceed to legal avenues. Even in our small town court, they would be laughed at at best, and tarred and feathered at worse...

The word accountability came up on this thread and yet its been suggested that I delete and run and go hide. Huh!! I called it What If Disease. Its a system that lawyers thrive on, and where everyone thinks to themselves "Well what if the power company comes back onto Travis?" Or "What if my dog bites the mailman"...or "What if...." The problem with that is, you end up talking yourself out of doing things and having things that may give you mounds of enjoyment. Like having a dog. Yes it might bite the mailman, and it might make your home owners insurance go up, but a dog can also give you lots of well being with their personalities and companionship. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks...

That is the true problem in this modern day. Too many people are scaring themselves out of life. You do what you have to do, do what you think is right, and do it until someone with authority tells you you can't. You may be surprised to learn that I'd have to ask for directions to get to my court house. Once you stand up for yourself most people back down, whether it be neighbors, thieves, members of the law or even the department of environmental protection (long story). The probably is, most people are either to afraid to stand up, and must use the police or other government agencies to speak for them, or they get into trouble for not knowing when to back down, which is equally important.

My Uncle has a sign on his house that says it best. "We DON'T Call 911".

So that being said. IF there is a Central Maine Power Representative on here, feel free to contact me to discuss this issue.

Travis S Johnson
945 East Thorndike Road
Thorndike, Maine 04986
 
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