Cut in trunk line causes phone problems in parts of Greene County

AT&T Spokesperson Jackie Janus reported technicians working to repair the break were able to restore service around 2:30 p.m.

"The cut was caused by a third-party contractor performing construction work earlier this morning," said Janus.

AT&T contacted the Linton Police Department (LPD) early in the day to inform them that the trunk line from Evansville had been cut and service would be disrupted. However, they said there were two trunks that carry Linton's 911 service calls -- one from Kokomo and the other from Evansville. Since the one running to Kokomo was working properly, the LPD was capable of receiving 911 calls.

Landline telephone service, AT&T cell phone service and some computer/internet services were all disrupted.

AT&T customers in the Linton and Jasonville areas were experiencing the most difficulty but some problems were reported in other areas of the county as well.

Landline customers in Linton reported they could call other numbers in the 847 exchange but were unable to call other areas. The same was true with the 665 exchange in Jasonville. And both landline and cell phone callers from outside the Linton and Jasonville areas were unable to get a call through to either the 847 or 665 exchanges.

Although 911 service continued to work in Linton and the Greene County Sheriff's Department reported they continued to receive 911 calls throughout the outage, other areas were not so lucky.

Jasonville's 911 service did not work.

Officer James Gadbery of the Jasonville Police Department said they were concerned because residents there were unable to make a 911 call but no emergency situations came up during the outage.

"The nursing home here was worried about not being able to call 911 but we were able to set up an arrangement with a radio so they could call for an ambulance in case of an emergency," said Gadberry.

Law enforcement's 800-mHz radios did not work but they were able to maintain communications on older radios.

Many businesses in both Linton and Jasonville were hobbled by not being able to accept credit and debit cards.

In several other areas of the county, landline customers reported they were able to receive calls but could not call out.

Eastern areas of the county were unaffected and the gates of Crane NSWC remained open. The Crane Public Affairs office said the Crane facility was not affected.

Credit and debit cards were being accepted and it was business as usual in Bloomfield at the Bloomfield IGA and the Pamida Store and in Worthington at Vest's QuikMart and Subway and the Worthington Country Market.

Lyons Town Clerk-Treasurer Kim Flynn said she placed outgoing calls and received incoming calls from the Lyons area as well as from Sandborn, Loogootee and Indianapolis but Town Marshal Ron Sparks had experienced difficulty reaching law enforcement in Daviess County.

Daviess County service was also severely affected and 911 systems reportedly were down. A local radio station was advising Daviess County residents with emergencies to go to the nearest fire station where ambulances could be summoned by radio.