KANSAS CITY, Kan. — When a car ran into a telephone pole, nearly ripping it from the ground, a worried mom called for help. But when everyone she called kept pointing their fingers at somebody else, she finally called FOX 4 Problem Solvers
When we first heard about a leaning telephone pole,we weren’t sure about the story. That was until we saw the pole and realized exactly why this mom was so upset. If you drive down Third Street near Quindaro in KCK you can’t help but notice the leaning pole. All that appears to be holding it up is a cable.
The Board of Public Utilities said it’s doesn’t belong to them and Tasha Kinzey had struggled trying to get someone to fix it.
“I think it’s going to fall on my house,” Kinzey said.
And that is the way it has been leaning ever since a car plowed into it three days ago.
“I called AT&T. I called BPU and I called the city,” Kinzey said.
Everyone has been out to look at the pole, including someone from KCK’s Streets and Roads Department. The department removed the city stop sign that was attached to the pole and put up a different one, but left behind the leaning pole.
“Nobody is fessing up to it. Everybody is pointing fingers,” Kinzey said.
She even called her insurance agent for help.
“He said document, document , document,” Kinzey said.
And she has documented every single phone call, but she doesn’t want to file a claim for damage caused by a falling pole. She wants the problem solved.
“It’s going to fall on my house and my son is going to be here by himself when it happens,” she said.
If not her house then possibly a passing car or a kid on his way to school. Since the pole has no markings to show which utility owns it, we called KCK’s Public Work’s Department which keeps a record of every utility pole.
Less than an hour later, KCK had established it was a long-abandoned AT&T pole that was leaning against a Time-Warner line. A representative said it had notified both companies. The next day the pole was gone and the problem was solved.
Often utilities are quicker to respond to a call from a city official than a homeowner. So if you find yourself in a situation that’s potentially dangerous, call the utility, but follow that up with a call to the city public works department and let them know the danger you’re in.