To the editor:

At 6:30 p.m. Jan. 4, my electricity went off due to the ice storm. At 11 p.m., the electric lines, heavy with ice, were lying on the tree trunk in my back yard causing a fire. The fire department arrived quickly and called Westar; they asked that my problem be listed as a priority. Westar arrived around 1 a.m. and turned off the power to those lines and cut the tree limbs away. They left without turning on the power to those lines.

The following morning, the electricity was still out. Most of the surrounding neighbors were restored. Mid-afternoon, I began calling Westar again. I tried to explain there was no major repair work necessary, just a matter of turning on the power to those lines. Each time I called, I was told something different about what the problem was and about when the power would be restored. It became clear that the people in Wichita had no idea what was happening in Lawrence.

At 5:30 a.m. Thursday, KANU radio reported only 6 degrees — still no heat, other than the oven in my gas stove. I understand there is nothing anyone can do about the weather. However, it is Westar’s job to deal with these kinds of emergencies and restore electricity as quickly as possible, especially in frigid weather.

If Westar customer service had simply listened, our electricity could have been restored Wednesday afternoon in less than 10 minutes. I did everything possible to address this complaint. Now, my only recourse is to the Journal-World and the City Commission.

Robin L. Rogers,

Lawrence