<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1TOSDX_0vkyPv9400" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1TOSDX_0vkyPv9400" width="2048" height="1365" ><figcaption>Austin Brown photo.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2Qy5QI_0vkyPv9400" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2Qy5QI_0vkyPv9400" width="2048" height="1537" ><figcaption>Demolition at the old feed mill resulted in a power outage last Tuesday, Sept. 17. Austin Brown photo.</figcaption></figure>TINA L. SCOTTMore than 3,500 Merrill area residents lost power last Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, shortly after noon when demolition crews taking down a tall tower on the old feed mill building behind the current River Country Co-op inadvertently brought down a power line in the process.The unexpected power outage in the middle of a beautiful sunny day had residents scratching their heads and wondering, until many turned to social media to quickly learn the cause of the interruption to their home, business, and school day.The Merrill Police Department and Merrill Fire Department both responded to the scene.Wisconsin Public Service predicted it would take until approximately 3 p.m. to restore power to all those affected, as they did not immediately know the cause of the outage, but crews were successful in reconnecting lines and restoring power to affected homes and businesses well before the 3 o’clock hour.Merrill Area Public Schools (MAPS) Superintendent Shannon Murray sent out a thank you message and notification via social media shortly after 3 p.m. that day, commending staff for facilitating a smooth response to the outage, which affected several schools in the MAPS District.He thanked everyone “for pulling together and working through what could have been a miserable situation.” and said “Heather Kahr [Principal at Kate Goodrich Elementary School], Megan Kautzer [Principal at Washington Elementary School], and Cassie Schultz [Principal at Prairie River Middle School] did a great job of leading their buildings and were very solutions-focused throughout.”“Nick Wszalek, Andrew Caylor, John Heuer, and all the maintenance crew and custodians were very responsive and great,” Murray added.“Special thanks to Trisha Detert [Principal] at the High School for being on standby in case we needed to send the Washington kids on a field trip up there for a bit (which we were on the verge of doing when the power came back on),” he said.“Finally thanks to all the staff at the impacted buildings for keeping students calm, for being flexible, and for making the best of a tough situation,” Murray said. “The students, of course, were great.”Murray said “the time of day and the fact that we still had phones, toilets, water, natural light, and some backup power” impacted his decision to “try to ride it out and make the best of the situation rather than send everyone home on very little notice.”Power was back up and running before the time came around for normal dismissal at each of the affected schools, and they dismissed at their normal times.“We’re all a bit smarter from the experience,” Murray said.</div></body>

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Demolition takes down power line, leaves 3,500 without power

More than 3,500 Merrill area residents lost power last Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, shortly after noon when demolition crews taking down a tall tower on the old feed mill building behind the current River Country Co-op inadvertently brought down a power line in the process. The unexpected power outage in...