LCEC unbeatable
To the editor:
It is absolutely amazing to me that anyone in their proverbial right mind would honestly think that the City of Cape Coral could do a better job at a lesser cost than Lee County Electric Cooperative. The old saying goes, “Been there, done that.” Well, so have I and it was Friday, Aug. 13, 2004 when I saw first-hand what happened as Hurricane Charley touched down in our area. Phyllis and I were living in the Snug Harbor Condominium on Country Club Boulevard. We had a direct view from our second floor windows watching as Charley’s wind blew and leveled most of the trees on the golf course across the roadway.
Until you have been through it, most people do not realize that some of the major effects, like the sweltering August heat, no electricity and the torrential rains that come even days after the major event. With intersections full of downed trees and dangerous electrical wires, how do you even get a cup of hot coffee? If you want to see a real traffic jamwhen the first convenience store was able to generate electricity and provide regular coffee and working gas pumps, they practically sold out of everything that first day.
Now, I say this, Lee County Electric Cooperative had every single employee working 12- to 24 hours a day until electricity was restored and the event was partially under control. They worked their hearts out and the officers of the Cooperative were right there supervising and contributing out in the field with the linemen and others in dangerous occupations. My hat is off to anybody who can climb one of those electric poles working next to 50,000 volts!
Finally, LCEC brought in several strategic units from other parts of the United States to expedite the return to normalcy and mitigate the problems caused by Hurricane Charley.
Cape Coral and North Fort Myers should be very proud of Lee County Electric Cooperative. I have lived in North Fort Myers and Cape Coral for many years and I’m pleased to have been serviced by LCEC during that time.
Jon Larsen Shudlick
Fort Myers