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The cable system has been the subject of controversy in recent months and a target of vandalism over the past week.
City manager Louis Smitherman says the head end station, located near Ratliff City, has been targeted since Friday. The resulting vandalism has caused damage to the cable and Internet in terms of financial loss and service.
“Based on information we have, someone has vandalized our system,” Smitherman said. “They moved the dish and cut some of the wires. It appears they scaled the fence and mashed it down. Hopefully we get enough evidence to convict.”
The Carter County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the vandalism, which Smitherman feels was a deliberate attempt to sabotage the cable system.
“They had to know what they were doing,” Smitherman said. “The average Joe wouldn’t know to go cut some of the wires and some of the lead wires. They also pulled the T1 wire which affected the Internet.”
Reports of cable problems began filtering in on Friday. Repairs were made but a renewed effort caused much more significant problems.
“It happened somewhere between noon Monday and 6 a.m. on Tuesday,” Smitherman said. “We started getting calls on Friday and didn’t think anything about it. Now it is in really bad shape.”
Based on information relayed to Smitherman, it will take 16 to 20 hours of labor to get the system back up fully. There will be additional hours needed to realign some of the channels. Smitherman said any charges could also fall into the realm of the Federal Communications Commission.
“We own the property but the FCC controls the system,” Smitherman said. “You are messing with big brother.
“Why would you want to do that to a system which is doing everything it can to make it right for the citizens? Until we get it back up, we won’t know how much damage has been done.”
The cable system has been the subject of controversy in recent months and a target of vandalism over the past week.
City manager Louis Smitherman says the head end station, located near Ratliff City, has been targeted since Friday. The resulting vandalism has caused damage to the cable and Internet in terms of financial loss and service.
“Based on information we have, someone has vandalized our system,” Smitherman said. “They moved the dish and cut some of the wires. It appears they scaled the fence and mashed it down. Hopefully we get enough evidence to convict.”
The Carter County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the vandalism, which Smitherman feels was a deliberate attempt to sabotage the cable system.
“They had to know what they were doing,” Smitherman said. “The average Joe wouldn’t know to go cut some of the wires and some of the lead wires. They also pulled the T1 wire which affected the Internet.”
Reports of cable problems began filtering in on Friday. Repairs were made but a renewed effort caused much more significant problems.
“It happened somewhere between noon Monday and 6 a.m. on Tuesday,” Smitherman said. “We started getting calls on Friday and didn’t think anything about it. Now it is in really bad shape.”
Based on information relayed to Smitherman, it will take 16 to 20 hours of labor to get the system back up fully. There will be additional hours needed to realign some of the channels. Smitherman said any charges could also fall into the realm of the Federal Communications Commission.
“We own the property but the FCC controls the system,” Smitherman said. “You are messing with big brother.
“Why would you want to do that to a system which is doing everything it can to make it right for the citizens? Until we get it back up, we won’t know how much damage has been done.”
