JUnE - Wheatland Electric

101 Main, P.O. Box 230, Scott City, KS 67871
620-872-5885
www.weci.net
W h e at l a n d
E l e c t r i c c o o p e r at i v e
Wheatland Electric
Cooperative, Inc.
Bruce Mueller–General Manager
Board of Trustees
Wes Campbell
Woody Barnes
Dave Lowe
Vic Case
Patrick Riley
Bob Hiss
Dan Bonine
Lawrence Houston
Ron Davis
Roe Johnson
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
President Emeritus
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
Charles Ayers
Trustee
District Offices
Garden City
2005 W Fulton
P.O. Box 973
Garden City, KS 67846
620-275-0261
Scott City-Main
101 Main Street
P.O. Box 230
Scott City, KS 67871
620-872-5885
Great Bend
2300 Broadway
P.O. Box 1446
Great Bend, KS 67530
620-793-4223
Syracuse
206 1/2 N Main
P.O. Box 1010
Syracuse, KS 67878
620-384-5171
Harper
302 W. 6th
P.O. Box 247
Harper, KS 67058
620-896-7090
Tribune
310 Broadway
P.O. Box 490
Tribune, KS 67879
620-376-4231
Leoti
N Hwy 25
P.O. Box 966
Leoti, KS 67861
620-375-2632
In Case of an Outage
After-hours and emergency reporting call
1-800-ON AGAIN.
From The Manager
news
Help Us Battle Copper Crime
Metal theft–the crime that endangers
lives and can result in thousands of
dollars in damages ultimately paid for
by you–continues to plague electric
utilities all over America.
Copper wire is appealing to
thieves who look to sell it for scrap.
Burglars often climb power poles,
scale fences, and break into buildings
to steal the precious metal–almost always endangering themselves and others in the process. Between 2001 and
2008, the price of copper skyrocketed
500 percent. After a brief decline in
2009, it has hovered at a strong $3.40
per pound for the past several years.
To a would-be thief, stealing
copper may seem like a quick way to
make a buck, but it’s illegal, it’s costly,
and it’s not worth a life. Working with
any metal and electricity is a dangerous combination, even for trained
employees using proper equipment.
Stolen wire is commonly
brought to recycling centers and
traded for cash. Although many state
laws require recycling centers to keep
records of transactions, enforcement
can be difficult. Legislation introduced on the federal level aims to
improve tracking and impose stiffer
penalties; most states have toughened metal theft laws over the past
few years as well.
Thieves may not understand
that they are risking their lives by
taking copper from utility poles or
substations, where high
transmission voltage is
stepped down to a lower
current for distribution
lines.
During the past
year, Wheatland Electric
has experienced cooBruce Mueller
per theft to its facilities
throughout our 19 county
service territory. From Scott City
to Harper, the effects of copper
theft have been felt. There are news
releases in your local newspaper this
month detailing the type of copper equipment stolen along with the
amount and actual locations.
At Wheatland Electric we encourage our members to follow these
guidelines to assist us in preventing
copper theft.
ff
If you notice anything unusual with
electric facilities, such as an open
substation gate, open equipment,
or hanging wire, contact Wheatland
Electric immediately.
ff
If you see anyone around electric
substations or electric facilities
other than Wheatland Electric
personnel or contractors, call the
police.
Please help us prevent these
thefts. Once again, if you notice anything unusual, call your local Wheatland Electric office immediately or call
us at 800-762-0436.
Until next time take care.
June 2013 Kansas Country LivinG
20-A
EisenhouertoBoard
Goes on Despite Freezing Conditions
First place standard class winners were
from Beloit High School. From left, Alex
Mears, faculty advisor; Tanner Culp and
Aaron Beam.
The cars are built and designed
by the students. They design the
chassis (body of the car), wheels and
other parts of the car. Parts from
other ElectoRally cars can be salvaged
to use on the newest-built car.
ElectroRally offers four classes:
novice, standard, experimental, and
open. The experimental class allows
teams to have an additional power
source. Each class comes with guidelines and safety rules that apply to
teams, cars and drivers.
Winners in Standard Class were
(in order) Beloit, Scott City, Scott
City, Hays, Clearwater, Clearwater,
Scott City, Great Bend, Hoisington,
Stockton, Scott City, Hays, Wheatland, Wheatland, Hodgeman, Stock-
Second place standard class winners were from Scott Community
High School. From left, Andrew Brown, Paco Banda, Josh Yeager,
Jamie Dyer, and Chuck Ellis, faculty advisor.
ton, Hays, Hays, Wheatland.
Winners in Solar Class were Hays,
Campus, Dighton, Wheatland, Campus, Wheatland, Dighton, Campus.
Scott City Aviation and Spencer
Flight and Education Center allowed
the workers and participants the use
of their building to meet, enjoy a
meal and conduct book work. The
center houses the Fedbird FMX, a
FAA certified flight simulator, which
allows pilots to experience full motion of flying, in a safe environment
at a huge cost saving (rather than an
actual aircraft rental).
Brian Vulgamore and Trent Wiens
taught participants who wanted to
experience flying in the simulator.
The simulator includes
a vision of what a pilot would see
and how an airplane would feel in
takeoff, flight and during a landing.
Scott City is fortunate to have this
modern training method for flying.
Wheatland Electric is proud
to be a sponsor for Kansas ElectroRally at this event. Other sponsors
were: City of Scott City, Lane-Scott
Electric, Pioneer Electric Cooperative, Prairie Land Electric Cooperative, Scott County, Sunflower Electric
Power Corporation, Victory Electric
Cooperative and Western Cooperative
Electric.
For more information and
to see race results at www.
kansaselectrorally.com.
Outside the
simulator
room, a large
screen was
available to
watch the “pilot”, instructor
and the gauges.
Brian Vulgamore (right) instructs an ElectroRally volunteer in flight simulator.
June 2013 Kansas Country LivinG
20-C
Payment Options
Transforming Garden City Substation
Wheatland Electric Offers
Members Several Ways to Pay
The following are the authorized bill payment options available to Wheatland Electric
members. Payments by cash, credit card (for
residential members only), money order,
personal check, certified check or bank draft
will be accepted. A fee of $3.50 will be charged
for every credit card transaction. All payments
must be in a Wheatland Electric office before 5
p.m. on the Delinquent After Date printed on
your billing to avoid late payment penalties.
Drop box: Deposit your payment, including payment stub and check or money order, in
the payment drop box at any of the locations
listed below or at Scott City Hall, 221 West 5th
in Scott City.
In person: Pay your bill at any of our
offices in:
ff
Caldwell–City Offices, 14 W. Central
ff
Crystal’s DVDs–111 W. Spring St, Suite B
(Open Tues., Wed. Thurs. & Fri. from 3-9 p.m., Sat. from 2-9 p.m.)
ff
Deerfield–City Hall, 622 Main Street
ff
Garden City–2005 W. Fulton
ff
Great Bend–2300 Broadway
ff
Harper–302 W. 6th Street
ff
Leoti–N. Highway 25
ff
Scott City–101 Main
ff
Syracuse–206 ½ Main
ff
Tribune–310 Broadway
Mail: Enclose your bill payment stub
along with a check or money order and mail
in the envelope provided with your bill. Please
allow three to five days for delivery.
Online: Visit www.weci.net and click on
Online Bill Pay. Sign up for service and enter an
e-mail address for receipts. Please make sure
we have your e-mail address on file for your
electric or internet account.
Phone: Call any Wheatland office to pay
by phone.
All other payment options are considered
“unauthorized pay agents.” Unauthorized pay
agents have no contractual requirement with
Wheatland Electric to operate under rules approved by the Kansas Corporation Commission
(KCC). Wheatland Electric provides no assurance
as to the timeliness or accuracy of payments
made via unauthorized agents.
20-D
Kansas Country Living June 2013
Wheatland workers remove the old transformer at Garden City substation.
The Wheatland employees
in our Garden City District
removed a 40 year-old
115/35kv transformer from
the Garden City Substation
in April.
This was no small task,
literally! The existing transformer had to be removed
and a new 50-ton transformer had to be moved
into place using skids.
A new transformer in
the substation will help
improve the performance
of the substation and
therefore improve service
to Wheatland members.
Above workers unload new 50-ton transformer.
In Memory of Martin Brau & Wilford Crist
Martin J. Brau worked for Wheatland Electric from 1956, until 1994
as a mechanic. He was a US Army
veteran of the Korean conflict. He
was born in Lake View, SD, on May 7,
1929, and died April 21, 2013, in Scott
City. Burial was April 24, 2013.
Survivors include three sons; Don
and Mark of Scott City, and Ed
of Holcomb; one daughter, Gloria
Wren of Scott City; two brothers,
two sisters, nine grandchildren; and
nine great-grandchildren. His wife,
D. Corrine Shearmire, preceded him
in death, along with two sons, James
M. and Michael D. Brau.
Wilford Crist was a Trustee
from District 1 of Wheatland Electric
from 1972 until 1985. He was born
April 18, 1920, in Scott County. He
died April 21, 2013
Survivors include his wife,
Louise D. Graham Crist; a son, Terry
of Texas; a sister; three grandsons;
two great-grandchildren and one
great-great grandchild. He was preceded in death by a daughter and a
brother.
Wheatland Electric extends
sympathy to both families.