January 2015 - Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative
Transcription
January 2015 - Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative
ENERGIZING Our Communities Exploring the Counties We Serve – MECKLENBURG This is the first article in a series highlighting the counties and areas served by Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative. Abbreviated historical facts about the county will be spotlighted followed by mention of some of the community’s businesses and establishments served by Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative. M ecklenburg County came into legal existence in 1765 as the result of the Virginia General Assembly dividing Lunenburg into three smaller, localized counties: Lunenburg, Charlotte, and Mecklenburg. Mecklenburg was named for the wife of King George III, Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, queen of Great Britain and Ireland. History buffs can experience the earlier lifestyle of Southern Virginia by visiting Prestwould, a beautiful plantation home built in 1794 near Clarksville, MacCallum More Museum and Gardens in Chase City, the Boyd Tavern built in 1790 in Boydton, 92 mecklenburg 637 47 15 • CLARKSVILLE Virginia Avenue Mall 49 Meherrin River Open 7 days Open Wed-Sat 360 and South Hill’s Colonial Center and Tobacco Farm Life Museum of Virginia. Of particular interest to historians, Mecklenburg County is the site of the original Randolph-Macon College campus. The college’s official seal depicts the fourstory brick structure built in 1832 in Boydton. A historical marker is located on Route 58, within view of the original building’s fallen remains. Continuing with educational history, we must remember the Thyne Institute, established in Chase City in 1876 by the Rev. J.Y. Ashenhurst, United Presbyterian Church, and a group of local citizens to VISITOR INFORMATION LOCATIONS i • BOYDTON Boyd Tavern provide an opportunity for AfricanAmericans to obtain an education. John Thyne donated five acres of land and built the first school building, thus the church named the school in his honor. In 1914 Thyne Institute gained high school accreditation by the Virginia Department of Education with enrollment peaking at 650 by 1951. Mecklenburg County is probably best known for Buggs Island Lake, which affords camping, boating, swimming and fishing to locals and tourists alike. With 50,000 acres of fresh water and over 850 miles of beautiful shoreline, it also holds the world record for the largest blue catfish (caught in 2011) weighing a whopping 143 pounds. Anglers, hoping to surpass this record, stop by Bobcat’s Bait and Tackle on V I R G I N I A • KERR LAKE • BRACEY Visitor Assistance Center at North Bend I-85 Virginia Welcome Center Open Mon-Fri Open 7 Days Open 7 days Open Mon-Sat LEGEND i i • SOUTH HILL Visitor Center & Museum • CHASE CITY MacCallum More Whittle’s Mill Chase City 92 660 636 Staunton River WAY AMERICAN RUDDS CREEK WINERY PARK Campground Boat Ramp Wildlife Management Area (WMA) Parking Canoe/Kayakk Launch Information Center Park Golf Course Airport Winery Civil War Marina 47 654 92 660 47 South Hill HOGAN CREEK WMA STAUNTON RIVER STATE PARK La Crosse Lake Gordon 58 Tobacco Heritage Trail 15 BUFFALO WMA 694 722 BLUESTONE WMA 762 688 WALL BRANCH WMA PRESTWOULD PLANTATION 58 705 RUDDS CREEK WMA Tobacco Heritage Trail i 58 637 Boydton RUDDS CREEK PARK 848 BUFFALO PARK MAP COURTESY OF VISITMECKVA.COM Brodnax 58 STAUNTON VIEW PARK 49 22 i 1 344 85 1 707 4 58 Clarksville i Clarksville 722 772 703 823 OAKLEAF WMA 705 GREENWOOD WMA 707 835 MERIFIELD WMA LONGWOOD PARK DICK CROSS WMA 707 EAGLE POINT WMA 824 723 678 i 637 JOHN H. KERR RESERVOIR DAM 710 Kerr Lake IVY HILL WMA 903 615 615 OCCONEECHEE STATE PARK 15 626 LOWER BUTCHER CREEK WMA OCCONEECHEE WMA LIBERTY HILL WMA ROSEMONT WINERY Bracey Bracey 903 711 NORTH BEND PARK BEAVER POND CREEK WMA 85 CEDAR GROVE WMA OLD SOUDAN WMA THREE RUDDSSISTERS CREEK OF PARK SHINEY ROCK WINERY VIRGINIA NORTH CAROLINA 819 825 IVY HILL 1 PARK 836 PALMER POINT PARK 719 822 Lake Gaston Americamps (Campground) i ISLAND CREEK DAM 820 ISLAND CREEK PARK ISLAND CREEK WMA 39 Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative Highway 15 just south of Clarksville to gear up for their fishing adventures. There’s no better way to start a great tale. Another popular recreational site in the county is Occoneechee State Park located just outside of Virginia’s only lakeside town, Clarksville. Facilities there include cabins, campsites, an equestrian campground, picnic shelters, an amphitheater, a playground, boat ramps, and a private concession offering boat rentals and snacks. The park has more than 18 miles of trails that meander through the forest and along the lake’s shore. Hikers, bicyclists and horseback riders enjoy the trails and the beauty of Virginia’s Piedmont. The visitor center and museum introduce visitors to Native American history and the indigenous Occoneechee people. Established businesses outside of Clarksville, such as Clarksville Community Pharmacy and Arrington’s Home Furnishings, have welcomed a new business to the area. Free Spirit Café is operating in the former Wayside Restaurant building and offers full-course breakfasts and pastries as well as deli-style subs and sandwiches for lunch. These businesses are neighbors to the Lake Country Regional Airport, which provides an air-transportation facility responsive to airport-user and community needs. MECKLENBURG ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE QUICK FACTS FOR MECKLENBURG COUNTY, VA. MEC Miles of Line 1,207 Number of Active MEC Services 9,911 MEC Substations Beechwood • Black Branch • Boydton Clarksville • D C Jackson Island Creek • Jones Store Northview • Omega • EDS Your electric cooperative originated in Mecklenburg County in 1938, and it was thus named Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative. The headquarters office is located in Chase City along with one of its three district offices. January 2015 A popular spot for pontoon and boat enthusiasts is Buggs Island Boat Company on Route 4. It boasts being the hub for information in the area while offering pontoon sales, service, and rental as well as storage for boats and campers. In addition to fishing, hunting is an especially popular sport in this county; and Twin Lakes Outfitters in South Hill offers both live bait and a great selection of fishing and hunting supplies. The Gordons are local sportsmen who know the area, and they give great advice and tips for productive outings. Archery enthusiasts can stop by and see Noel and Marian Corpus at Clarksville’s Buggs Island Archery for professional sales and service for all their sportsmen’s needs. In addition to tourism, a major source of income for Mecklenburg County residents comes from farming. For many years, and continuing today, a major crop grown in the county is tobacco; and Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative still serves many tobacco-farming operations, such as those run by the Hudson, Wilkinson and Jones families in western Mecklenburg County. Today’s farming families continue to expand as offspring grow up and join the business, sometimes From top: Buggs Island Lake is home to many boating and fishing enthusiasts. • Occoneechee Marina offers a fuel dock and boat slips with water and electric service at annual rentals. Six slips are available for rent to overnight camping and cabin guests. The most recently opened marina is Rudd’s Creek Marina in Boydton and is located at Rochichi Peninsula. planting and harvesting additional crops, such as soybeans, wheat and a new commodity for this area, cotton. Another innovative venture for rural areas of Southern Virginia is the planting of grape vineyards and production/bottling of award-winning wines. Rosemont Vineyard and Winery in LaCrosse began in 2003 with the planting of 15,000 grape vines. In addition to its wine production, the site offers a beautiful rural setting suitable for weddings, receptions, birthday parties, corporate events and other gatherings. Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative also serves River Ridge Golf and Camping Club in Bracey where there are 1,500 individually owned camper and mobile home lots. For families looking for more camping and hiking opportunities, a stay 23 Above: As a project-based learning assignment, second-graders at Clarksville Elementary School tend chickens that they have raised from an incubator. • Right: NIPRO brand medical devices and glass products produced in Chase City’s Industrial Park are used on a global scale. • Far right: Big Fork Chainsaw Art offers unique wood carvings by Tommy Winn. 24 Regarding medical and health-related concerns, MEC powers facilities such as Tanglewood Family Medicine in Bracey and the Chase City Health and Rehab Center that offers services to people in Mecklenburg County and surrounding areas. Residents are proud of Chase City’s 120-bed facility that provides short-term rehab and nursing care programs to help patients get back to their own lifestyles. It also provides a safe, secure long-term living environment for those in need. Families with members who need assistance can also count on Mecklenburg House, an assisted living facility near South Hill that offers residents independent living options and daily support services. Realizing the worth of skilled and capable health care and emergency services in a community, Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative makes annual monetary contributions to the rescue squad organizations and fire departments in each of the counties it serves. In Mecklenburg County, MEC provides electric service to the Buckhorn and Palmer Springs volunteer fire departments. Good education is also important to the backbone of a strong community, and MEC is proud to provide electric service to Clarksville Elementary School, Bluestone Middle School in Skipwith, to homeschoolers, such as Kimberly and Don Bright of Clarksville, and The Lake Country Education and Enrichment Center, which provides classes in Clarksville from Southside Virginia Community College. The Center also encompasses the Mecklenburg County YMCA with its commitment to serve the communities within Mecklenburg and the neighboring counties. Its mission is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all. A variety of programs, services and initiatives are offered to ensure that investment is made in our kids, our health and our neighbors; and each year the Soccer Splash is held as a fundraiser at the Y’s soccer field. Celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, Mecklenburg County has a lot to offer residents of Southern Virginia as well as visitors to the area. The rich history, the splendor of beautiful sunsets over the pristine waters of the lake, and the Southern hospitality of its residents make Mecklenburg County a great place to live or visit; and Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative is proud to serve and support the counties and communities and those who live, work and raise their families there. COURTESY OF NIPRO at North Bend Park near John H. Kerr Dam offers lakeside camping that can be topped off with a visit to the Joseph S.J. Tanner Environmental Education Center to learn about area wildlife. Adventurous visitors have an opportunity to meet one of the resident black snakes up close. While camping at North Bend, many people patronize Lucky’s Dairy Bar and Pino’s Pizza for sweet treats and tasty Italian meals. Both are located on Buggs Island Road close to another focal point that attracts sightseers, the John H. Kerr Dam. It is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was built primarily to provide flood control and hydropower generation. Your electric cooperative receives a portion of its power from John H. Kerr Dam. For many years, in addition to providing electric power, Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative (MEC) has played a major role in economic development in all the communities it serves. In fact, it was instrumental in the establishment of a glass tubing factory in Chase City in 1990. Today NIPRO manufactures products for dialysis, transfusion, diagnostics, cardiopulmonary, and pharmaceutical needs; and the NIPRO brand is highly regarded worldwide for its technological superiority and high quality. Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative Renee Gorby Shares Meatloaf Recipe Renee Gorby of Clarksville says, “This recipe makes two meatloaves. We eat the first one fresh-baked, then I like to slice the second meatloaf into thick slices and wrap them individually in wax paper and freeze for later.” Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf 2 lbs. ground beef (85% lean) 1 lb. ground pork 1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled (except for 6 slices, which are left raw) 12 oz. onion dip (like French’s — found in the dairy case) 1 cup mini-cubed cheese (we like Colby Jack) 1 ⁄3 cup Parmesan cheese (we like the shredded kind) 1 package mushrooms, sliced and sautéed in the bacon fat, then cooled 1 onion, diced and also sautéed in the bacon fat, then cooled 1 cup Panko bread crumbs Salt and pepper to taste 1 teaspoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce After cooking bacon, drain off all but a little of the fat to cook your onions and mushrooms for about 7 minutes. Mix all ingredients together thoroughly but gently. Divide into two round meatloaves. Drape three pieces of bacon over each loaf. I like to place each meatloaf slightly raised on a cake rack positioned over a jelly roll pan or on a broiler pan to allow the drippings to drain. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes so bacon can brown. January 2015 Meet Your Cooperative Employee W anda Bardenheier serves MEC members as district services representative in the Emporia office. She greets and assists members who come in to inquire about service or pay their electric bills. When helping a member, she takes time to listen to his or her request, look up needed information on the computer, and fully understand the situation to help meet that person’s need. Most often there is a steady flow of members coming into the office along with a ringing telephone on her desk beckoning to be answered and cars pulling up to the drive-thru window for assistance. “It’s a job that requires multitasking, and there are times that it can be very stressful,” she admits. In addition to assisting our consumers, she aids field personnel over the two-way radio, monitors outages on MEC’s reporting system, prepares service orders and performs clerical duties. “Customer service representatives wear many hats,” she comments with a smile. “My fellow employees and I work together as a team, and we treat each other like family,” she says. “Office staff and guys out in the field alike, we’re all here for the members; and we strive to give the best service possible. When storms cause outages, members can be assured we’re going to be working until every service is restored.” Wanda is a lifelong resident of the Emporia area, and being of assistance to residents in the communities where she grew up is a very special opportunity. “I love seeing and talking to people,” she says. “It makes me feel good when I can help someone.” She attends Main Street Baptist Church in Emporia, where she became a member at a young age. She serves as church librarian and on several committees. It’s encouraging that her family attends church by her side, and she is also proud of their other life accomplishments. Her first-born, Courtney Lynch, is a nurse with Southern Virginia Medical Group; and her younger daughter, Tori Wanda Bardenheier District Services Representative Emporia District 26 Years of Service Wills, is attending SVCC with plans to major in elementary education. Her grandchildren, Olivia Dru and Gracie, attend school in Greensville County; and the most recent addition to the family, Asher Cole, was born in October. Wanda’s husband, Daryl, is field manager for Advanced Flooring and Design, and he has a son, Nicholas. Wanda comments, “Daryl and I have been married six years and met through E-Harmony.” In her spare time she loves photographing her family, her dog Dakota, holiday celebrations and beautiful scenery. “I take my camera everywhere I go,” she mentions, “and my favorite hobby is making scrapbooks.” Her passion is quite evident as she has dedicated an entire room of her home for work tables, supplies, tools, paper, and binders. “Scrapbooking is like preserving that moment in time,” she says. “It’s a great way to record special occasions and everyday life.” If a scrapbook was made of Wanda’s 26 years of experience at Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative, it would highlight her excellent service to the members and exhibit her dedication to MEC. 25 Mecklenburg Electric Cooper a Recognized for Years o BOARD OF DIRECTORS John Waller (left), who has served on the board of directors for 15 years, is recognized by Chairman of the Board David Jones. GRETNA DISTRICT L-R: Calvin Younger (equipment operator) - 25 years Mark Tucker (district manager) - 25 years Wayne Shrader (line foreman) - 10 years Jamie Walden (lineman/serviceman) - 15 years Blake Hutcherson (manager of district operations) - 20 years ENGINEERING & OPERATIONS L-R: Guy Desantis (senior r/w coordinator) - 25 years Wayne Sheffield (app. tech SCADA/LM) - 25 years Gary Klein (field engineering supervisor) - 35 years Gary Burns (field engineering technician) - 40 years Not pictured: Warren Rutledge (draftsman) - 40 years Thanks for your dedication and 26 Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative ative Director and Employees of Outstanding Service EMPORIA DISTRICT L-R: Craig Phelps (line foreman) - 15 years David Holloway (lineman/serviceman) - 15 years Al Lassiter (district manager) - 10 years Phnon Ramsey (dist. services representative) - 10 years Bobbie Rose, Jr. (service technician) - 15 years David Rawlings (field eng. technician) - 25 years Not pictured: Andy Epperson (lineman/serviceman) - 10 years CHASE CITY DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS L-R: Jeff Irby (field engineering technician) - 25 years Brad Clark (equipment operator) - 5 years Ronnie Long (lineman/serviceman) - 25 years Clint Card (manager of district operations) - 25 years L-R: Chris Shearin (fleet supervisor) - 10 years David Lipscomb (v.p. member & energy services) - 25 years Priscilla Lawson (communications specialist) - 15 years Gwendolyn Harris (accounting & d.p. assistant) - 25 years Brian Morris (member srv./energy efficiency adv.) - 25 years commitment to those we serve ! January 2015 27 MEC Recognized for Employees’ Commitment to Safety M ecklenburg Electric Cooperative (MEC) was recently recognized by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) for its ongoing commitment to safety in the workplace and in providing electric service to its member-owners. MEC board member Fletcher B. Jones accepted the Rural Electric Safety Achievement Program (RESAP) certificate at a meeting of the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives (VMDAEC). Myron Rummel, the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative CEO and chairman of the regional electric cooperative association’s safety committee, presented the certificate to Jones. VMDAEC Executive Vice President Richard Johnstone notes, “Everyone is aware how dangerous electric utility line work can be, and that a rock-solid commitment to safety is essential every second these dedicated individuals are working to build or maintain electric lines.” He continues, “This certificate doesn’t just recognize a commitment to safety by lineworkers; it recognizes the fact that everyone at MEC, from board members and senior managers to every office worker and of course every lineman, is committed to carrying out their work safely. We applaud MEC for this commitment.” Fletcher B. Jones (right), a board member for Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative, accepts the RESAP national safety award from Myron Rummel, CEO of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative and chair of the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives’ safety committee. John Lee, president and CEO of Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative, who also serves on the regional electric cooperative association’s safety committee, explains, “Here at Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative safety is, far and away, our highest priority. Everyone here has worked hard to successfully ingrain safety into our culture and into the fabric of everything we do. For example, we have now worked over 700,000 hours without a lost-time accident, and in our industry that is a remarkable feat.” Lee adds, “I congratulate all of the employees for working safely and earning this achievement. As they construct and maintain our electric facilities, the safety of our members and the public is paramount; and the RESAP achievement recognizes our strong, aggressive work in that area.” MEC Facebook page offers real-time information: $34 Million • Restoration progress during stormrelated and other outages • Energy-saving tips ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK That’s the amount of money your Cooperative has returned to date to member-owners — the people whose homes and businesses are served by MEC. • Notifications of planned service interruptions for maintenance work This figure includes $946,307 approved by the board of directors in 2014 for return to those who received electric service from MEC during 1997. Refunds were credited on the November bills. 28 • Safety information • Public service announcements • Annual Meeting, auction sales, other miscellaneous info • How to apply for scholarships • Office closings Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative Wholesale Power Cost Adjustment to Increase In 2015 M ecklenburg Electric Cooperative’s top priorities are to provide safe, reliable, and affordable electricity to its members and to do so offering the very best in customer service. Your Cooperative works diligently to achieve these objectives while keeping a keen focus on delivering energy at the lowest possible cost. Those efforts include meeting the very serious responsibility to communicate to our members when external factors such as weather, government-imposed regulations or actions by the Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) impact the cost to provide you with electric service. During 2013, the power we purchased for your use from Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), our wholesale power supplier, represented 64 percent of every dollar we collected from you, and these costs have been under constant and extreme pressure throughout 2014. Unfortunately, we have been informed these rates will increase the average residential bill by 3.46 percent in 2015 due to three factors. First, transmission system investments are on the rise to pay for federally mandated reliability projects, as well as construction efforts designed to harden transmission facilities against both cyber and physical attacks. These upgrades will ensure the availability and delivery of power to your homes and businesses; however, they create expenses that the state’s transmission system owners, including Dominion Virginia Power and American Electric Power, have been authorized to pass on to all who utilize those facilities ... which includes the Commonwealth’s electric cooperatives. Secondly, generation costs have increased to accommodate the Environmental Protection Agency’s Cross State Air Pollution Rule which will be enacted Jan. 1, 2015, and requires coal-fired power plants to meet more stringent emissions regulations. Ultimately, some plants will require capital-intensive upgrades while others will be prematurely shut down or decommissioned; the cost of both of these options will ultimately be borne by those at the end of the line. Your Cooperative and its power provider, ODEC, work diligently to provide environmentally friendly energy; however, these mandated regulations come with a price tag, and at a time when most Safety Director Warns of Power Line Hazards Having had over 40 years of experience in the electric utility industry, I have seen many instances when harsh winter weather has brought power lines to the ground. Ice-coated electric wires lying on the ground appear to be harmless; but, in fact, are many times still energized, with enough electricity to cause serious injury or death. Earlier predictions have indicated a rough winter for Virginia this year, so please keep the following warnings from the Electrical Safety Foundation International in mind and share them with your family: Ron Campbell Safety Director • ALWAYS assume that a downed power line is energized. • If you see a downed power line, don’t touch it or anything within 35 feet. Move away from it by shuffling away with small steps, keeping your feet together and on the ground at all times. This will minimize the potential for a strong electric shock. • If you see someone who is in direct or indirect contact with the downed line, do not touch the person. You could become the next victim. Call 911 for help. • Do not drive over downed power lines. If your car comes in contact with a downed power line while you are inside, stay in the car. Honk your horn to summon help, but direct others to stay away from your car. If you must leave your car because it is on fire, jump out of the vehicle with both feet together and shuffle away from the car. Avoid contact with both the car and the ground at the same time. are struggling through difficult economic times. Lastly, the extreme temperatures of this past January, during the polar vortex, caused heating systems to run longer, and more often, to keep families comfortable and warm as homes and businesses served by the state’s cooperatives used recordbreaking amounts of electricity. As a result, ODEC experienced an all-time record peak for electricity, and MEC’s share of that peak rose dramatically increasing our wholesale power costs. Please note this increase is a direct pass through from ODEC to Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative and will show up on your bill as a Wholesale Power Cost Adjustment (WPCA). Your Cooperative adds no additional charges to this cost. Additionally, it should be noted that any changes, including increases or decreases, to the WPCA are not permanent and the charge is reviewed and adjusted, if needed, on an annual basis. Please know that we do not take this development lightly, or without great concern given these difficult times. For assistance, please refer to our website (www.meckelec.org) and click on the “Save Energy” tab to access energy efficiency ideas that will help you receive the most value for your energy dollar and for information on other options that can help relieve the burden of high winter and summer electric bills. For additional information or assistance of any type, please contact David Lipscomb, vice president of member and energy services, at 434-372-6153 or by email at [email protected]. MECKLENBURG ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE P.O. Box 2451 Chase City, VA 23924-2451 Chase City District (434) 372-6200 Emporia District (434) 634-6168 Gretna District (434) 656-1288 Power Failure & Emergencies (877) 632-5688 Office Hours: M-F, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Website: www.meckelec.org • Stay away from trees that have downed power lines lying in them. Like us on Facebook • Be aware of fences that can become energized by downed power lines. Electricity is our beneficial companion for power at home, at work and play; but it can be hazardous if not handled properly. Please keep safety in mind. January 2015 Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 29