An electrical equipment incident that sparked a small brush fire in Lancaster County is drawing concern from a local homeowner and a response from the utility company. Bailey Loving told county leaders the lightning arrester on a nearby pole was outdated and appeared to explode without any storm activity. Northern Neck Electric Cooperative spokesman Jim Robertson pushed back, saying the device did not detonate and likely reacted to a voltage surge, possibly caused by wildlife or debris. He says the system functioned as designed and helps protect property. The homeowner also questioned maintenance records, but the co-op says all equipment is regularly inspected as part of routine operations.
ed@edhisted.com
Ed launched his radio career in 1975 and has spent more than five decades in the broadcasting industry. During that time, he has served in a wide range of roles including Air Personality, News Director, Sales Manager, Operations Manager, and General Manager at numerous radio stations in various markets across the country. Beyond on-air and management responsibilities, Ed has also worked extensively on the technical side of broadcasting. His background includes RF engineering and information technology, with particular experience configuring digital automation systems and remote voice-tracking platforms used by stations across the country. Ed was also among a select group of industry professionals invited by Google to its California headquarters following the company’s acquisition of Scott Studios. He was one of just 12 broadcasters nationwide chosen to participate in discussions and provide input during the design and rollout of Google’s digital broadcast automation platform. Although the majority of Ed’s career—spanning roughly four decades—was rooted in music radio, he transitioned into news and information programming in 2012. He says the move into spoken-word broadcasting was a natural evolution after decades of experience in multiple areas of the industry.