Fallen Tree Knocks Out Power to Shopping Complex

Folks check out a downed tree that knocked out power to the Corner Cafe restaurant and other businesses in the 3900 block of Ringgold Road, Friday morning.

A tree fell on power lines behind The Village at East Ridge, a shopping complex in the 3900 block of Ringgold Road, knocking out power to several businesses there, Friday morning.

East Ridge Fire Chief Mike Williams said the tree situated on a hillside behind the complex fell onto lines at about 8:30 a.m.. The strain on the lines snapped a power pole on the west side of the shopping center, sending lines and the transformer to the ground. A private contractor for the Electric Power Board shut the power off to the downed lines that service the entire complex and the Sunoco gas station next door. No injuries were reported.

The shopping complex is home to the Dollar General Store, a pet grooming center, an Asian food market and The Corner Cafe, a popular restaurant in the city. Corner Cafe owner Melissa Davenport said that this incident couldn’t happen at a worse time, as her restaurant is hosting it’s spring Cruise-In on Saturday evening.

“The Cruise-In is still on,” Davenport said as she made plans to secure perishable food items. “I don’t care if I have to sit outside and cook on a grill, it’s still on.”

Davenport said that EPB crews would be out some time on Friday to help restore power. It is unclear how long that effort might take.

“As soon as the (EPB) crew gets here I’m going to feed them biscuits and gravy,” Davenport said. “It might make ’em work faster.”

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.