Last week, a LIPA (Long Island Power Authority) wire fell on Sheridan Boulevard, between Jerome and Raff Avenues. The incident marked the third time in 14 months that the same wire has fallen. Mayor John P. Colbert and Mineola Fire Department Chief Mike DeStefano went to the scene of the incident and although they aren't certain why the same wire has fallen three times, they are certain something must be done to prevent the safety hazard from happening again.

The incident occurred between 8:45 and 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 5 and caused a power surge. One home lost its power for the entire day. "There were several residents of the community on Jerome and Sheridan who had power surges," said Mayor Colbert.

The mayor said the village has contacted LIPA in an attempt to rectify the situation. The incidents are a source of concern since the fallen wire is "live." The proximity of the incident is also a concern because of children in the area going to school. "It came down right in the area where there is a bus stop," said Chief DeStefano. "If it had been an hour earlier, we may have had a major problem."

Chief DeStefano said the western phase of the three-phase primary line between Jerome and Raff Avenue is the one that has fallen three consecutive times. After the second time it came down, all new wire was put up. However, the incident happened again. "From the best we can tell, one phase of the primary, when it came down, landed right across the open wire secondary, which cannot handle that much electricity without first going through a transformer, " he said.

As a result, damage was caused to the home on the corner of Sheridan and Jerome as well as to appliances throughout the neighborhood. According to Chief DeStefano, one house had lost its power overnight. "The question remains as to why this is happening," he said.

"It's a concern of ours because the lives of the residents have been interrupted because of the power failure and also their lives are being interrupted because of quality of life and the assurance that these wires aren't going to drop," Mayor Colbert said.

The mayor said the village has been in contact with LIPA. "They are adhering and trying to work out the situation with the residents and hopefully within a short period of time, we'll have this corrected," he said, adding that the village is also working on claims for equipment that was shorted out.

"LIPA was on it once because they changed all three phases in that area, but for some reason, it's happened again. They are going to have to look into it further and find out why," said Chief DeStefano. "The danger still exists."

Spokesman for LIPA Michael Lowndes said the first incident, which brought the line down for the first time, occurred in April 2000 happened because of a lightning strike. A month later, the line came down again. It was determined that although the line had been repaired where the lightning strike had occurred, the lightning had caused some damage elsewhere in the line that LIPA wasn't aware of, which was responsible for the line coming down a second time, Lowndes said.

After the wire came down a second time, LIPA replaced it since LIPA wasn't sure how much damage the original lightning strike had caused. Last Tuesday's incident, Lowndes said, had nothing to do with the first two. The line coming down a third time can be attributed to mechanical failure. "This was not a result of that initial lightning strike. What happened on this third incident is the type of thing that can happen with any line at any time," Lowndes.

The LIPA spokesman described the three incidents happening at the same location as "bad luck."

"All three incidents are not related. The wire has been repaired and we don't anticipate that this will be a problem in the future," Lowndes said.

The type of incident that occurred last Tuesday is something that can happen at anytime anywhere. "We try our best and do maintenance and preventive maintenance so that these things don't happen with any regularity, but they are going to happen from time to time unfortunately. Your dealing with mechanical devices and wires that are exposed to the environment so anything's possible," Lowndes said.

A resident of Sheridan Boulevard disagrees vehemently with LIPA's assessment that the first incident was caused by lightning. Mary and Michael Fragiacomo documented the first incident when it occurred, they said, on April 16, 2000. According to Mr. and Mrs. Fragiacomo, the day was beautiful with no traces of lightning.

Mr. and Mrs. Fragiacomo also doubt that the incidents are unrelated and urging LIPA to take action. "No one wants to take responsibility," Mrs. Fragiacomo said.

"If it was lightning, then why did LIPA pay to have my concrete repaired because the line melted my concrete. My concrete [in front of my house where the line fell the first time] was bubbling like pea soup," said Mr. Fragiacomo.

Mayor Colbert warned residents about a group of youth who have been going door-to-door selling magazines. One resident was told that the youths were collecting for "Senior Night."

The resident then called village hall. After contacting the Nassau County Police Department and dispatching two employees from the building department, it was discovered that the members of the group were all over the age of 21, according to their identification, and were from Virginia or states south of Virginia. A man accompanying the youths said he was from Florida and along with nine others were residing in a motel in Connecticut. "This is against village code," Mayor Colbert said, adding that the group was served with a summons. "They were told to get out of the village."

Mayor Colbert warned residents that some people who collect door-to-door aren't collecting as responsible people. "We're not talking about the Boy Scouts or the Girls Scouts or the kids from Little League or the girls from softball. We're talking about strangers who do not have permission from the village board," he said.

Anyone collecting door-to-door in the village must obtain written permission from village hall. "We had never given this group any permission. This is probably the second year in a row they have done this. They still haven't learned to stay away from this village," the mayor said.

If someone does come to your door and you have a question as to whether they are authorized, the mayor said to contact village hall.

Mineola Civic Association President Bill Urianek wanted to remind residents that in case of an obscene or threatening phone call, residents should immediately dial *57 and then notify the police department. This puts the call into a databank and holds it for 30 days. If the resident gets a second phone call, he or she should dial *57 again. At this point, it may be possible for the police to pull the phone company's records and find out where the calls are coming from.