By Debbie Robinson
news@joplinglobe.com
PICHER, Okla. — Cable-television customers in Picher and nearby communities will no longer have service after Mediacom, the cable-television provider, decided against rebuilding the master-distribution equipment damaged in the May 10 tornado.
The equipment also served Quapaw and Cardin in Oklahoma, and Treece, Kan.
The Picher equipment was heavily damaged by the same tornado that destroyed 140 homes in Ottawa County, including 114 in Picher. The town also is the subject of a government buyout in connection with the pollution and cave-in problems left by the area’s history of lead and zinc mining.
“We were just faced with a choice, and we didn’t see any way around it,” said Randy Hollis, senior manager of government relations for the company.
The equipment received broadcast signals that were transmitted through service lines to customers.
Hollis wouldn’t release the amount of damages or the cost to rebuild the equipment.
“We are a public company, and we have that responsibility as well,” he said.
Customers in the four communities were sent letters from the company late last month notifying them of the decision, Hollis said.
Hollis said in a letter to the customers that the company would refund any money owed to customers.
“Be assured that we would prefer to continue to provide service to our customers,” the letter read. “In fact, Mediacom has continued to serve your community for more than 10 years even as our subscriber base declined and costs rose.”
The company will remove any existing facilities that service the four communities, he said.
“Obviously, we would prefer to continue service,” Hollis said. “After doing a damage assessment, we were forced to make a very difficult decision.”
Picher City Clerk Carolyn Elmore said residents still living in Picher, as well as residents in the other three affected communities, are using “rabbit ears,” other types of antennas or changing to satellite-dish television.
She said most customers understand the company’s decision.
“It’s not worth the capital investment,” she said.
Unfortunately, she said, satellite television is not an option for some residents because providers require a credit card.
“We have a lot of people who don’t have credit cards,” she said. “It’s really been tough on folks.”
Residents who are using antennas only receive three local channels, Elmore said.
“The main concern is to have something to watch for the weather,” she said.
