Western Pa. officials provide resources for residents as questions linger on power restoration

After more than a week, communities in Churchill, Fox Chapel and O’Hara Township continue to struggle with widespread power outages. Churchill Assistant Borough Manager Ashley Brown said they have pushed utility companies to take action.“The borough and many council members are still without power. We’re doing everything possible to get the situation resolved,” Brown told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 Tuesday.Brown said Churchill officials have used their own money to buy and cook a meal for their residents, which was being offered at the municipal building from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. They said they will be answering questions, too.State Rep. Mandy Steele organized a free lunch for residents in O’Hara Township and Fox Chapel to hear families’ stories firsthand. “We need to examine exactly what went wrong, why the response has taken so long, why the communication hasn’t been as strong as it should be between the electricity providers and their customers,” Steele said.Sheila Stagnitta lost power eight days ago.”All of the stress from it just going on and on and on. I feel like it’s giving me a brain fog, I’m worn out, tired, had enough, and you keep thinking that today, maybe today is the day. I want to hear the refrigerator kick on,” Stagnitta said.Families like the Garfinkels, who recently regained power, continue to face challenges.”We still don’t have Verizon service. Wi-Fi that’s out. We have no indication of when that’s going to be restored,” Sandy Garfinkel said. “I plan to return to Harrisburg and hold hearings to create a strategy moving forward,” Steele said.