Lincoln County community without phone, internet service for 8 weeks

LINCOLN COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – We often say that loved ones are just one call away, but for the community of Ranger, that may not be an option.

Today, 13 News spoke with Lillian Webb, a woman who has lived in the Lincoln County community of Ranger for years, who says that for almost eight weeks, they have been without phone service. Webb said they have been unable to make doctor appointments, speak to relatives, or even call 911.

She says that this nightmare scenario started when phone lines were knocked down by a logging company. Since then, 28 homes have been affected. Webb says she was able to purchase a satellite dish, separate from her phone provider, for internet use. She says she is thankful for that satellite because she and her husband can use it for some services.

“We don’t have a choice but to be stuck with Frontier. All we want is our phones back. It’ll be two months next Wednesday,” she says.

Webb says many of her neighbors still have no way to access the internet or to use their phones and that she worries for the elderly who live on her road.

“The landlines are totally gone. The poles are laying on the ground. My uncle has even made a joke saying we should send up smoke signals so they know we’re okay,” Webb said.

Today she received a notification in her provider’s app saying that a service would be prepared within eight hours, but while we were there, we did not see anyone working.

She says that they have still paid their bill, despite their services being down, and if they decided to close their account, it would cost more to reopen the account than to continue paying the bill.

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