New tower delivered to the Evansville State Post.

Heavy winds knock down Indiana State Police tower

August 30, 2004

Evansville -- High winds knocked down the Indiana State Police
communications tower Saturday in Evansville and toppled eight to 10
utility poles in northern Vanderburgh County.

State Police Cpl. Bob Taylor told the Evansville Courier & Press that
at about 2:15 p.m., the winds knocked down the 300-foot-high metal
tower. The tower relays messages from State Police to officers
outside the post and to district sheriff's departments and is used
for Internet communications.

Police re-established communication with district sheriff departments
and with police officers in the field.

A dispatcher at the post said Sunday night that workers erected a
temporary 40-foot tower, which allowed for limited radio
transmissions, to replace the toppled 300-foot tower.

However, she and other dispatchers were often having to communicate
by cell phone with officers farther away. Even then there were "dead"
areas where neither the cell phone nor radio could reach in the
southwestern Indiana district.

About five parked cars were scratched by guy wires when the tower
fell, but no one was hurt. About 35 troopers staff the district.

Mike Roeder, a spokesman for Vectren power company, said winds
knocked down wires on the utility poles, which seemed to affect
northern Vanderburgh County along U.S. 41.

About 60 customers, mostly businesses, lost power. Roeder said crews
had cleared the roads of wires and had restored power to all but two
customers as of early Saturday night.