August/September 2016 - Runestone Telecom Association

THE CONNECTION
August/September 2016
In This Issue
What Are Capital
Credits? 2
Seasonal Vacation
Rate Available 2
It’s Directory Time 2
GM’s Update 2
Truck for Sale 3
Annual Meeting
Winners 3
New Customers 3
DMX Lineup Change 4
TAM Price Change 4
Online Security 4
Meet Your Directors 4
100 Runestone Drive
PO Box 336
Hoffman MN 56339
Phone: (320) 986-2013
Fax: (320) 986-2050
Hours: Monday-Friday
8:00 am-4:30 pm
www.runestone.net
Editor: Carolee Haack
Development Partner:
Cooperative Network Services
Runestone Telecom Association is an equal
opportunity provider and employer.
Get Your Student an
Internet Speed Advantage
Give your student the advantage of faster
Internet because it makes a difference.
Homework is done faster and more can
be learned. We have various speeds to
choose from and more speed is often only
a few dollars more. If you are not sure what
speed you need, we can help with that too.
The new school year will be starting
soon—so contact us today to make sure
you have the right Internet package for
your whole family.
* Not all speeds are available in all areas.
Business rates are slightly higher.
CAPITAL CREDIT REFUND
Checks Being Mailed in September
The Board of Directors has approved a refund of Capital Credits for 50% of the remaining amount for the year 2000. Checks
will be mailed out in September to customers who had service with us during that
year.
More about Capital Credits on Page 2.
WHAT ARE CAPITAL CREDITS?
Capital credits are a valuable benefit
for members of Runestone Telecom
Association.
They reflect each member’s ownership in the cooperative.
At year end, any revenues related to RTA services remaining
are returned to our members in the form of Allocations. The
individual’s amount depends on the amount of services that
Did You Know?
Seasonal Vacation Rate
Available
Summer is not over, but fall will arrive. Keep in mind that
you can put your services with us on a simple seasonal disconnect called Vacation Rate.
were purchased from RTA. Allocations are
put in a Capital Credit account for each
member. The Capital Credits are kept in the
customer’s account until a year or portion of
a year is retired (refunded) by the request of
the Board of Directors. Refunds are mailed
out to the current address we have for each customer.
These checks are one way we can say “thank you” for having services with us.
Your phone service is temporarily disconnected and people
will hear a recording explaining it. While on Vacation Rate,
you pay just half of your monthly local line and residential
access charge each month and you’ll reserve your phone
number. There is no charge to reconnect.
Internet and cable TV service can also be put on Vacation
Rate. While away, the service is temporarily disconnected
with no monthly service charge. When you return home,
there is a $25 reconnect charge for each service.
IT’S DIRECTORY TIME
Don’t Let Your Business Get Left Out
Representatives from Pinnacle Publishing will be here starting in September contacting business customers for updates
and changes to appear in the next issue of the Vikingland
Regional Telephone Directory. The 2017 telephone directory will be sent to customers in February, 2017.
If you are interested in placing an ad
or making a change to your listing,
please contact our office.
GM’s Update
By Kent Hedstrom, General Manager
I would like to thank all of you who were able to attend Runestone Telecom’s
66th Annual Meeting on July 13th. I would also like to thank Peace Lutheran
Church for the use of their parking lot and Rainbow Rider from Lowry for
being able to schedule us in for shuttle service on such short notice.
There have been significant changes during the 66 year history of your cooperative. This article will take a look at some of the
milestones of the first 37 years.
2
In 1949, the Rural Electrification Act was amended to include loans for Telephone Companies, helping them to expand and
provide services to rural areas. The organizational meeting of Runestone Telephone was held on November 16, 1949 in Alexandria at the office of Runestone Electric Association. Clifford R. Hove, manager of Runestone Electric Association, became
the first manager of Runestone Telephone Association. The articles of incorporation were adopted in 1949 and the bylaws in
1950.
TRUCK FOR SALE
2006 GMC Sierra 2500 HD Crew Cab
Mileage: 100,xxx
Doors: 4
Transmission: Allison Automatic
Engine: V8, 6.6L Turbo Diesel
Drivetrain: 4WD
Running Boards
Premium Wheels
Towing Package
ABS
Air Conditioning
Power Windows
Power Door Locks
Power Steering
Tilt Wheel
Power Seats
Cruise Control
Dual Air Bags
AM/FM Stereo
Single Disc CD
Tool boxes, ladder rack,
strobe light included
BARRETT
Beyer, Jessica................................. 528-2008
Hennen, LaVerne M.................... 528-2088
Wilson, Karla.................................. 528-4131
CYRUS
Anderson, C.................................... 795-2050
Sargeant, Jeff................................. 795-3132
DONNELLY
Disselkamp, Jesse......................... 246-2020
Lentsch, T & S................................ 246-2005
Race, Chiara.................................... 246-2024
Reimers, Henry.............................. 246-3214
Shipley, JC....................................... 246-2002
Trucks are for sale by sealed bids. All
bids must be received by 4:00 p.m., August 22, 2016. The Runestone Telecom
Board of Directors reserves the right to
accept or reject any or all bids.
Annual Meeting
Winners
A big thank you to all who
attended our Annual Meeting on July 13th. It was nice
to see so many of you there.
Welcome New
Customers!
Congratulations to the winners of
our Grand Prizes…$50 credit on your
account.
Karen Alvstad
Leslie Alvstad
Alan Behm
Lee Hedstrom
Brent Larsen
Tom Perry
Audrey Ronhovde
ELBOW LAKE
Anderson, Kathy........................... 685-2049
Barber, Jerald & LeighAnne..... 685-2046
Bartness, Gary & Pam................. 685-2002
DJ’s Tree Service........................... 685-5228
Elbow Lake Baptist Church-Pastor Silas
Clarke................................................ 685-2278
Englund, Madison & Logan..... 685-3199
Franken, Alan & April................. 685-2685
Hjelle, Audrey................................ 685-5419
Miller, Scott & Elizabeth............ 685-2056
Nibbe, Wade & Marcy............... 685-2055
Schaefer, Lyndell.......................... 685-2115
Sommers, Jay & Kathy............... 685-4243
William A Vincent, PA................. 685-6400
HOFFMAN
Casey’s Carryout Pizza............... 986-5000
Jobe, Jeremiah............................... 986-2085
Lopez, Fernando B....................... 986-2950
Segura, Debbie............................. 986-2159
Vazquez, Alexis............................. 986-3595
KENSINGTON
Runestone Telephone officially began in 1951 with the Hoffman, Barrett, and Donnelly exchanges.The Kensington Exchange was added in 1955. Upon Clifford Hove
resignation in 1955, W. Berdell Skogstad was hired as the manager.
Runestone Telephone expanded in 1956 with the acquisition of the Wendell Telephone Company which included the exchanges of Norcross, Tintah and Wendell.
In 1963, the Cyrus exchange was acquired from Cyrus Mutual Telephone Company.
Much of Runestone’s rural territory was served by multi-party lines with coded ringing, but in 1966 Cyrus became one of the first private line systems in the state of
Minnesota. In 1967, the Runestone board of directors passed a resolution to provide
private lines to all of its members with the final cutover to private lines completed in
1974. In 1985, the Elbow Lake Exchange was purchased from Continental Telephone.
In 1987 after serving 32 years, W. Berdell Skogatad retired and Lee Maier was hired
as manager. It is clear that Runestone’s first 37 years were dedicated to ensuring
that area residents had access to quality, reliable telephone service. We continue
with that mission today and have expanded it to include technically advanced phone
services and broadband Internet access.
Gran, John....................................... 965-3003
Meyer, Atlantah............................ 965-5733
LOWRY
East Wind Farms........................... 283-5549
Edwards, Ross................................ 283-2294
Fischer, Jerry & Beverly.............. 283-3003
Gonzales, Tyler & Jessica.......... 283-5211
Gullickson, Jay & Iva................... 283-5549
Johnson, Henry T & Susan M.. 283-4801
Kindel, Tim & Teryl...................... 283-2083
Klemm, Matthew & Rachel....... 283-5115
Moncrief, Will................................ 283-2288
Prairie Hill Farms.......................... 283-5186
Schlosser, Adam & Melissa...... 283-2828
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New Name for
Starz & Encore
Channels
ONLINE SECURITY
You may have noticed the name
appears differently for Starz
and Encore channels. They have
joined and are now Starz Encore.
The programming continues to
be the same.
Have you noticed that when you create a login for a new website or online
service that the required username is
often your email address? And what
happens in the future if you should
forget that new password? Most likely
the website or service offers to send
you an email with a link to reset your
password.
THE SOLUTION
But wait! What if your email account
has a very simple password that a
hacker has figured out? It becomes
a simple matter for the hacker to request password changes on any site
that uses your email address as a login
credential. If this were to happen, your
personal data would then be in the
hands of the hacker.
2. DO NOT REUSE PASSWORDS FROM
ONE ACCOUNT TO THE NEXT! Every
login you create should have its own
unique password.
DMX Music
Channels Lineup
Change
Our Choice package offers 41
commercial free music channels
for your listening enjoyment.
There is a wide variety of music
selection to choose from. If you
do not have these channels, contact our office and find out how
to add them. They are part of the
Choice package of our Runestone
Cable TV service.
Save $3
Every
Month
We love saving you money.
You can get a $3 monthly credit
on your bill when you sign up
for AutoPay. You’ll need Internet service to use AutoPay,
then choose paperless billing
in our eBill service. It’s a simple
way to save a few dollars each
month—adding up to $36 per
year!
TAM Fee
Decrease
The Telecommunications Access
Minnesota (TAM) surcharge will
be reduced from $.07 to $.05 per
telephone customer effective August 1st.
4
2
Strong Passwords for Email Accounts
1. Make sure your email password (and
for that matter, all of your passwords)
are complex enough so they are more
difficult to hack. Hint: Longer passwords or passphrases are more secure.
15 characters or more. Include letters,
numbers, and punctuation characters.
Online security
is like dominos:
You don't want your
email account to
be the first to fall.
Meet Your
Directors
FRONT ROW:
John Kapphahn, Secretary/Treasurer
Representing Elbow Lake exchange
Bob Leegaard, President
Representing Barrett & Hoffman
exchanges
BACK ROW:
Tory Belgum, Vice President
Representing Lowry exchange
Jolene Vipond, Director
Representing Donnelly, Norcross,
Tintah & Wendell exchanges
Dick Staples, Director
Representing Cyrus & Kensington
exchanges