Lakeland Electric lineman breaks jaw, cheek bone in attack while restoring power in NY

ABC Action News ^ | November 13, 2012 | Ryan Raiche

[SoFloFreeper]

LAKELAND, Fla. - A bay area electrical lineman who got attacked while helping restore power in the storm-ravaged area of New York will likely need surgery to repair his face.

John Applewhite was wrapping up a long day Friday with his 24-member crew from Lakeland Electric, when they pulled into a restaurant for a much needed dinner break.

That's when a stranger drove up, yelled something, and took a swing at John.

[SoFloFreeper]

Knowing how electricians from the south have been treated because they aren't union, I won't be surprised if this guy was assaulted because he is from a non union shop.

[jagusafr]

Yah. Their own overtime is more important than the safety and security of their neighbors. Time to make some hay out of this kind of situation with major exposure of every single union thug incident that happens post-Sandy.

[cripplecreek]

It isn’t just the south. Several non union truck drivers from Michigan have been turned away as well.

[Vaquero]

scumbag thugs in my neighborhood. too bad the Florida line worker wasn’t packing and blew the head off this thug.

[Enterprise]

My thoughts were similar. On the Drudge site people were wondering if the attacker was Amish because there was no description. Ethnicity aside, I was wondering if Applewhite is non union, and if the attacker is union.

[MrB]

Leave ‘em to rot.

[MrB]

Someone needs to take out a big ad pointing the finger squarely at Unions for the slow recovery time.

[NonValueAdded]

We saw in the year of the hurricanes how hard these linemen worked, the concern they showed. We offered them our gratitude, our water, our assistance.

[count-your-change]

Oh my ears! “...who got attacked..” Raische says. I wonder too if the lineman broke his own jaw? Maybe it was the whogot.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

A company I used to work for was subject to strikes every twenty years or so. The strikers did little things like dropping bowling balls from the bridge over the employee parking lot onto parked cars and shooting ball bearings from sling shots at the non-union technical and management employees who kept the plant running during the strike.

Union thugs are criminals, and Ubama is about to give them card check. Good luck to the decent people out there.

[Boogieman]

And the Lakeland Lineman... is still on the liiiiiiiine.

[X-spurt]

Ad? The whole population in NE Red States loves the unions. The slow fix will be blamed and lapped up by NE sheeple as the fault of stupid southern scabs refusing to agree to temporary union, I mean it was ONLY about SAFETY and the union knows best.

[anoldafvet]

Guns are pretty much illegal in New York. The electrician would be in jail right now.

[donna]

I’m starting a new club called STAL:

“Stop the Amish Libel”

[chuckles]

It's about 90% union trouble. I went 31 days without power in Rita and no one thought of attacking the people that came from all over to help get the power on. Anyone could see they worked 12-14 hour days and never hardly stopped for food or drink. They slept in tents in a baseball field because we don't have but one motel and the roof was gone. OTOH, ALL union activities usually ended up with police called or hospital visits. I was a phone man for 30 years and saw many strike actions that were dangerous. I dropped out of the union after about 10 years for a variety of reasons, mostly because they supported politics I couldn't stomach and later for religious reasons. I will not give any money for abortionists and gun grabbers, but that's the only people they gave money too. When I joined the Teamsters in High School, the very night I joined the police and and ambulance was called. As a longshoreman they didn't even try to hide the fact that they beat people up that disagreed with them, even their own members. After watching union behavior for a few years, I just couldn't justify it anymore. Then they came after me. Lucky for me I had some friends that felt about the same as me. When I left the union, that year they lost a out 15 others from my garage. Every threat was met with more loses. The union would brag about what gains they had achieved, but most couldn't remember any good that had come in the last 20 years. It's just a bunch of bravado.

Hostess just shut down 3 plants permanently in Seattle due to a strike. I'm sure the union is bragging that they showed management who's boss.

[Donnafrflorida]

Wow. i work in lakeland. wth. no good deed goes unpunished.

[Bringbackthedraft]

I recall Gloria in 85, there were no problems with the out of state help. The first thing that hit me was BMW, irate Islander = punching a helper? I didn’t buy it, I figured it was one of the Union types. The police are investigating, but I doubt if anything will come of it. If people are irate they should be irate with the Union, not the volunteers from the south.

[B212]

the linemen that I know, are a tough bunch of guys....if they can find that jerk,,,he is in for big trouble...!

[FamiliarFace]

With any luck, the thug who did this will brag to the wrong people, and he will be turned in. It may take a while though. I hope he screws up and talks about his prowess.

[Sigurdrifta]

I noticed that also.

The “lineman breaks jaw, cheek bone” walking into the fists of the thug who attacked him?