Linemen pay electrifying visit to Halsted Street School

Newton - Jim Hofmann’s sixth grade technology class at Halsted Street School watched and then talked to a working crew from JCP&L’sd First Energy. The crew replaced a transformer high up on a utility pole on Halsted Street. After completing the job, the workers, Paul Williams, Keith Verga, Joe Underwood,and Anthony Salokas, answered questions, taught the kids basic safety measures when working around 4,800 volts of electricity and let them handle the special rubber gloves which prevent electrocution. “These gloves are rated for 34,500 volts,” said the lineman Paul Williams. Two of the students, Connor and Kelsey Huber, told about their father, Dennis, who is an electrician in the area. The linemen told the students that the median age for linemen in this area is 48. Many will retire shortly and will need to be replaced. Jobs are available now and these workers had a chance to explain to the kids some of thier experiences. One told of traveling to Maine to help rebuild the area after an ice storm. The job, he said, entails travel, overtime, dangerous weather and hazardous conditions some times. Linemen come out in any kind of weather to keep the electricity flowing.