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Mid-Rivers Telephone Cooperative, Inc., d.b.a.
Mid-Rivers
C O M M U N I C AT I O N S
Vol. 29, No. 5
Holiday 2009
ter for Mid-Rivers’ mem
t
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w
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bers
An
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cust
omer
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Miles City business rebuilds after losing everything in a fire
485-2497
a flower shop opened by Corina Berry and her
mother, Dorothy Mayberry, 27 years ago. When
Berry arrived at the scene, 911 had been called,
fire trucks were beginning to arrive, and smoke
continued to bellow out of the three-story building
in downtown Miles City. By mid-morning it was
clear that Family Floral, along with several other
downtown businesses, would not survive the fire.
Corina Berry stands with a display of Family Floral’s
Holiday arrangements. The new Family Floral shop is
located at 911 Main St. in Miles City.
March 23, 2009, was a typical Monday
morning for Corina Berry. At 8:15 am, Corina
was on her way to work at Family Floral in
downtown Miles City. The only difference was
that on this particular Monday she arrived to
witness a fire quickly taking over Family Floral,
On September 1, 2009, when Family
Floral opened the doors to their new flower shop
only two blocks away from their previous location,
they made it clear that they would have never been
able to reopen without the overwhelming support
from Miles City and the surrounding areas. “The
support from the community was unbelievable; we
could have never done it without them. They are
the reason we have been in business for 27 years,”
The accidental fire that claimed nearly a explained Berry.
block of Miles City businesses, including the total
loss of Family Floral, left Corina Berry wondering
“We were extremely lucky, had it been a
what would happen next. “It was extremely half hour later we would have been in there. We
devastating,” explained Berry. “It took us three or are very blessed that nobody got hurt, and as
four days to evaluate the situation but we decided devastating as it was it was just stuff,” said Corina.
the only thing you can do is rebuild.” Although “You can’t replace people, but you can replace
the decision to reopen didn’t take long, the actual stuff, and that is how we knew we would rebuild.”
rebuilding process took nearly six months. During
that time, Berry continued to make flower
arrangements from her home in Miles City. “I
Online Video –
Watch videos with interviews
created arrangements for weddings, funerals,
and footage of Miles City
and Mother’s Day all out of the kitchen in my
Fire at http://www.midrivers.
home,” Corina stated.
com/411/
Grants Secured with Mid-Rivers’ Assistance
Though 2009 was a challenging year for grant writers due to the nation’s
economic condition, Mid-Rivers’ Rural Development and Grants Coordinator was
successful in securing $30,000 in grant funds for community projects in the MidRivers service area. Nicole Jones wrote the successful grant applications for the
projects below, and is available to assist any community-based organization in the
Mid-Rivers service area with free grant-seeking and grant-writing services for the
benefit of Cooperative members.
•
•
•
•
•
Three grants for the new “FUN2U” Aquatic Center project in
Miles City
A grant to the non-profit Kool Kids Childcare in Glendive for
new windows in their facility
Two grants to the McCone County Fair Board in Circle for
enhancements to the fairgrounds
A grant to the Town of Fairview for playground equipment in
the town park
A grant for Walleye’s Unlimited in Miles City to construct a
handicapped fishing platform at Spotted Eagle Recreation Area
Million of this funding has been awarded to Public Safety projects including fire
departments and ambulance services; nearly $750,000 to Youth and Education
including many local schools; $350,000 to Sports and Recreation projects;
$300,000 to promote Tourism in Eastern and Central Montana; nearly $150,000
to Health and Human Service projects; and just over $100,000 to Community and
Civic projects throughout the region.
Jones continues to work with a variety of new projects every day, accepting
requests on a first-come, first-serve basis. To contact her for assistance with a
project important to your community, call the Miles City Mid-Rivers Business Office
at (406) 234-3336 or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Mid-Rivers has helped organizations obtain over $2.7 Million in grant
funding since our Rural Development services were instituted in 1999. Over $1.1
Children playing on the new playground
equipment in Fairview. The playground was secured by a
grant through the Mid-Rivers assistance program.
Mid-Rivers Trustees
Mark Robbins, Roy District 1
Donald Kimmel, Roundup
District 2
Dennis Green,
This 411 Newsletter is published
Cohagen
for the benefit of the members and
District 3
customers of:
Gene Engen, Circle
District 4 & Sec./Tres.
Mid-Rivers Communications
Mark Tombre, Savage
Editor: Kayla McPherson
District 5
Video: Jake VanEvery and
Craig Johnson, W. Sidney
Larry Severson
District 6
P.O. Box 280
Robert B. Reukauf, Terry
District 7 & President
Circle, MT 59215
Kevin Braun, Baker
(406) 485-3301, (800) 452-2288
District 8
www.midrivers.com
Alan Sevier,
Glendive,
id t
District 9, Vi
Vice P
President
488-3044
Featured Photos in This “411”
ABOVE – Barbara Bollmann took
the above photo at her property in
Roundup. This picture depicts one of
few snowfalls that occured this past
fall.
B A C K
PA
PAGE – Margaret Sorenson took the
pi
picture of the snowcovered tree in
ea
early October. If you look closely, there
ar
are some robins in the tree that should
be headed South.
486-5632
R an
ndom
Telephone Number Prize
Ten
telephone
numbers
of
Mid-Rivers
Telephone
Cooperative
members are listed throughout this issue
of “411.”
If one of these phone numbers is
yours, you are eligible for a $10 credit
applied to your next
Mid-Rivers bill.
Call Mid-Rivers at
1-800-452-2288 to
get this $10 credit.
What you may not know about
Mid-Rivers Wireless...
583-7531
• We offer the BEST local coverage, with more towers in eastern Montana than any
other provider. Mid-Rivers offers dependable coverage in the areas where you use your cell
phone most, and when you travel you will also have the best NATIONWIDE coverage available!
• We offer UNLIMITED home minutes, and when we say UNLIMITED, we mean it. On
plans starting at less than $45 per month, you can talk as long as you want, any time you want,
to anywhere in the United States and Canada from any Mid-Rivers home towers. When you’re
not on a home tower, our plans provide you with plenty of nationwide minutes so you won’t pay
extra for roaming or long distance.
• We offer up to 15% off every month, when you combine Mid-Rivers local telephone
with a Mid-Rivers cell phone and your other Mid-Rivers services. Start saving money every
month on services you already have with us by signing up for Mid-Rivers Wireless! Existing
customers are also eligible!
Come in to our offices to shop
the new retail displays!
• We let you keep your local cellular number. Mid-Rivers Wireless offers incredible
calling plans with unlimited home minutes, fantastic local coverage and the best in nationwide
roaming. Are you still hesitant to make the switch because everyone you know has your cellular
number programmed into their phone? Well don’t let that stop you! NOW when you switch to
Mid-Rivers Wireless you can keep your existing local cell number. The transition is simple, and
the savings, coverage, and quaility of service are GREAT!
Hassle Free Pay- Just A Click Away!
With Mid-Rivers eBill, you can take care of your payments from the
comfort of your home computer.
Mid-Rivers eBill is an Internet-based bill payment option that allows
customers with Internet access to connect to a secure website and view
current or past telecommunications statements. eBill offers users a simple
way to pay their Mid-Rivers bill with a credit card. eBill is easy to use,
free of charge, and can be accessed at any time. With Mid-Rivers eBill,
customers can rest easy knowing there are no more checks to write, no
more stamps to buy, and no more rushing to get that payment in the mail.
Registration is easy!
By following a few quick steps, registration for eBill can be completed at
www.midrivers.com or by calling Customer Service at 1-800-452-2288.
Lifeline, Link-Up and Toll Blocking
Mid-Rivers Communications offers two low-income telephone
assistance programs known as Lifeline and Link-Up. Lifeline
provides Federal Universal Service support to reduce monthly
service charges paid by qualifying low-income customers.
Link-Up provides Federal Universal Service support to reduce
service connection and line extension charges paid by
qualifying low-income customers. Mid-Rivers also offers toll
blocking, a service that prevents long distance calling from your
telephone. Please contact your nearest Mid-Rivers customer
service office, call Mid-Rivers at 1-800-452-2288, or visit
www.midrivers.com/low-income-assistance/ for more information.
535-4829
Page 2
Holiday 2009
557-2130
New Member
Services
Coordinator
Mid-Rivers announces the hiring of
Kayla McPherson to the position
of Member Services Coordinator.
McPherson began her employment
with Mid-Rivers in August. Kayla’s
primary responsibilities are editing
the “411” Mid-Rivers Quarterly
Newsletter, and managing the
Community Channel. She will also
be attending and helping coordinate
Customer Appreciation Days around
the Mid-Rivers service area.
According to Kayla, “Mid-Rivers is an
exciting opportunity and a natural fit
for me! I felt an immediate connection
with the team and share many of the
same philosophies on providing and
improving services to our members. I
am so happy to be back and working
in the Glendive community.”
Kayla graduated from Montana
State University Billings in May 2009
with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in
Mass Communications. She grew
up in Glendive and graduated from
Dawson County High School in 2005.
584-7585
2009 Photo Contest Winners Selected
““Reflections of the Mid-Rivers Serivce
A
Area” was the theme for the 2009 MidRivers Photo Contest.
R
Kacey Thoeny, Fallon, won first place in
K
tthe 2009 Mid-Rivers Photo Contest with
a photo of Pat O’Neill riding through the
Badlands north of Terry, on the O’Neill
B
rranch. Kacey’s photo is being featured on
tthe front cover of the 2010 Mid-Rivers
Directory.
D
1st Place
Kacey
K
acey Thoeny,
Tho
Fallon
2nd Place
Kathy
K
athy Stieg,
Stieg Ridgeway
Kathy Stieg, Ridgeway, took the second
K
place photo of her husband, Tom Stieg,
p
ggetting his team of horses warmed up to
ggive his family a Christmas Day sleigh ride.
This photo is on the 2010 Mid-Rivers wall
T
ccalendar.
Third through fifth place photos will be on
the front of the Mid-Rivers Long Distance
calling cards in 2010. Third place goes to
Dewey Hurick , Miles City, with a photo of a
horse on a foggy morrning in the Pine Hills
of Miles City. Margaret Bradley, Sidney,
took the fourth place photo of a peaceful
place along the Yellowstone River. Fifth
place goes to Rene LaBree, who submitted
a photo of her dog, Jazz, staring out at a
Montana sunset, south of Ismay.
Over 75 photographs were entered in
the 2009 Mid-Rivers Photo Contest.
Mid-Rivers thanks all who participated
and will feature other photos entered
in this year’s photo contest at
www.midrivers.com and in future issues of
the “411” newsletter.
525-3797
3rd Place
Dewey Hurick, Miles City
D
4th Place
Margaret Bradley, Sidney
M
5th Place
Rene LaBree, Ismay
Community Channel
Mid-Rivers Community Channel promotes community events and benefits local businesses
Are you one of many looking for an inexpensive way
to advertise an event, a sale or a service? Perhaps
you have a piece of furniture your hoping to get rid of?
Did your dog just have puppies that you are looking
to sell? Or maybe you just want to let everyone know
that it is your parents’ 50th wedding anniversary! All
of these are great reasons why YOU should use the
Mid-Rivers Community Channel.
The Community Channel is a public service provided
by Mid-Rivers to keep community members
informed about upcoming community events. The
Community Channel is also an inexpensive way for
local businesses to advertise around the Mid-Rivers
service area.
Ads on the Community Channel show seven-daysa-week, and each ad will appear once every 10 to
30 minutes depending on the number of ads running
on each Community Channel. Mid-Rivers will accept
pre-created advertisements in landscape format
or advertisers can email, fax, or call in their ad
information and Mid-Rivers will create an ad for you!
Viewers of the Community Channel see local school,
lunch menus, sports schedules, church listings,
community events, business advertisements and
weather information.
School functions, fund-raisers for community
projects, church functions, sports schedules and
school lunch menus are aired on the Community
Channel at no charge. Non-proft advertisements
have an airtime limit of 30 days and will be shown
in the Community Channel location where the ad
originates from.
can also be run on the community channels for a
small fee. Advertisers are encouraged to try the
Community Channel, as it is an effective way to
promote your business or service at a very affordable
rate.
If you would like pricing information for the MidRivers Community Channel or would like to place an
ad on any of the Community Channels, please feel
free to email
[email protected] or call 1-800-452-2288.
Commercial, business, and political advertisements
525-3797
Employee of the Quarter
Aaron Arthur, Plant Manager in Miles City, received
Employee of the Quarter honors at the Mid-Rivers annual
Safety Meeting held in Circle on November 10.
Page 3
Holiday 2009
Mid-Rivers Telephone Cooperative, Inc., d.b.a.
Mid-Rivers
C O M M U N I C AT I O N S
Vol. 29, No. 4
Holiday 2009
ter for Mid-Rivers’ mem
t
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l
s
w
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bers
An
and
575-4320
cust
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568-2530
If you are tempted to eliminate
your landline phone service
and go completely cellular,
you should read on. While
the switch to an exclusively
cellular existence may sound
appealing, it is loaded with
pitfalls that many people don’t
consider.
Cell phones are
very
convenient, but landline phones
still have their place. Although
most of us take it completely
for granted, the telephone you
have in your house is one of
the most amazing devices ever
created. If you want to talk to
someone, all you do is pick up
the phone and dial a few digits.
A few more landline benefits...
1. Works in power outages and
never needs charging.
2. No dropped calls or fading in
and out due to radio frequency
issues.
3. Can’t be “hacked”.
4. Superior quality sound.
5. Cheaper in a “Residential
Package” bundle.
6. Provides you with a free
directory listing.
7. Fax machines work on
landline connections.
8. Provided by a local company
with local employees in a local
office.
The question is...
“Wireless or Landline?”
“Landline or Wireless?” For
most people, the best choice
is both landline AND wireless!
Give it some serious thought!
POSTAL CUSTOMER
Fall 2009 Customer
Appreciation Events
ECRWSS
Mid-Rivers Communications
P.O. Box 280
Circle, MT 59215-0280
Still tempted...?
Article information taken from PTCI
Permit No. 181
PAID
Lewistown, MT
PRESORTED STD
AUTO
U.S. POSTAGE
Landline telephones are the
backbone of personal safety.
A call to 9-1-1 placed
from
a
landline
phone
provides
potentially
lifesaving benefits with reliable,
accurate emergency response
information
for
at-home
emergencies. This feature
alone saves lives. Cell phone
users can dial 9-1-1, but there
is a chance the emergency
responders won’t be able to
track the cell phone’s location.
Another safety issue affects
parents who hire babysitters
to stay in their homes. If the
parents don’t have a landline
home phone, there is no way
the babysitter can call for help
unless the babysitter brings
along his or her own cell phone.
Is there a guarantee the sitter’s
cell phone is fully charged? The
same is true for older children
who sometimes stay home
alone.
Many home or business
alarm/monitoring
systems
also require a landline to
automatically
contact
the
monitoring company when a
switch is triggered.
Deb Wagner, CATV Manager & Customer Service Supervisor explains MidRivers Cable Television at the Glendive Customer Appreciation Day (above, left).
Glendive employees serve brats at the Glendive Customer Appreciation Day
(above, right). Mid-Rivers employees serve a bratwurst lunch at Town & Country
Days in Circle (bottom, left). A large number of people came out to enjoy the
bratwurst lunch in Circle (bottom, right.)
Online Video –
Watch a video clip of the Circle Auction
and Glendive Customer Appreciation
Day online at http://www.midrivers.
com/411/