Copper thieves knock out phone service to Greene County community
GREENSBORO, Pa. (KDKA) — Almost a quarter of a small town in Greene County lost phone service on Thursday after thieves targeted the copper cables around town.
The copper thieves hit Greensboro three times, disrupting phone service to 60 of the 249 people who live in the community.
Gene Everly was one of the people impacted.
"I was without service for about a week, but I don't know if this was the time it was taken or not," Everly said.
Everly, who volunteers at the Greensboro-Monongahela Township Volunteer Fire Department, said he used his cell phone to get by.
Gary Moser, the fire department's president, said it's a serious public safety concern for the town.
"That's a terrible thing to do, especially in an area that has a high degree of senior citizens that depend on, that's their lifeline," Moser said. "If they needed emergency service during that time, they were out of luck. It's a terrible thing what these people did."
Kinetic, the service provider, said the thefts happened at the Windstream Greensboro central office off Kiger Road. Right now, there is a $10,000 reward leading to an arrest.
"Whoever is doing it should be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Everly said. "That affects a lot of people in this area."
KDKA-TV reached out to the Pennsylvania State Police for more information but did not hear back. Kinetic is also trying to figure out when the crimes occured.