2016 Orange County REMC

NEWS FROM YOUR COOPERATI www.myremc.coop CONTACT US OFFICE

812-865-2229 888-337-5900 BILL PAYMENTS 855-865-2229 TOLL FREE

CONTACT US BY EMAIL

orangecoremc@myremc.coop GENERAL MANAGER/CEO

Matthew C. Deaton OFFICE HOURS

7 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday-Friday STREET ADDRESS

7133 N. State Road 337 Orleans, IN 47452 MAILING ADDRESS

P.O. Box 208, Orleans, IN 47452 EMERGENCY POWER OUTAGES

To report service interruptions, call: 812-865-2229 or 888-337-5900, day or night. Please have the phone number associated with your account ready when reporting outages. Please limit after hours calls to emergencies and outage situations.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Eugene Roberts, DISTRICT 1 Randy Roberts, DISTRICT 2 Danny Easterday, DISTRICT 3 Rodney Hager, DISTRICT 4 Ben Lindsey, DISTRICT 5 Brian Hawkins, DISTRICT 6 George Key, DISTRICT 7 REMC KEY STAFF

Marty Frank, OPERATIONS MANAGER Marcy Bennett, OFFICE MANAGER Larry Pinnick, MATERIALS MANAGER Michael Roberts, STAKING ENGINEER Misty Tincher, ACCOUNTANT Billy Chastain, STAKING ENGINEER AIDE Mark Belcher, MARKETING/MEMBER SERVICES

You never know when a medical emergency might strike. Be prepared!

2016 annual meeting review Live music, election ballots, briefings from Orange County REMC board members and CEO and more than 30 door prizes were on the agenda for the cooperative’s annual meeting in June.

MATTHEW C. Sharon Pruett of DEATON Campbellsburg was the grand prize winner, taking home $500 in cash.

“This year marks Orange County REMC’s 79th anniversary,” said Danny Easterday, who presided over the meeting as board president. “And this annual meeting is one example of what makes cooperatives great and why they remain as important and relevant today as they’ve always been — democratic control by our member-owners.”

Orange County REMC directors Randy Roberts, district 2; Rodney Hager, district 4; and George Key, district 7, were re-elected in their respective races with Rodney Hager winning a contested election over petitioner Chris Ramsey.

I want to congratulate the incumbent directors on their winning re-election to another three-year term. I also want to thank Mr. Ramsey for running and showing interest in his cooperative’s affairs.

The REMC’s seven-member board of directors serve staggered, three-year terms with the next two years having two directors elected each year. This year, 213 Orange County REMC members voted in person at the annual meeting, which was held on June 3. The event was held at the Paoli High School for the first time. Your feedback on venue and activities is always

Orange County REMC offers home medical monitoring as well as emergency medical air le transport service. Learn how you can bund . save and ces these two life-saving servi Details on page 28.

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“Orange County REMC continues to make improvements related to business efficiency, expense management and enhancements to the services we provide.” welcome, so please let us know how you thought the annual meeting went.

Approximately 700 people attended the meeting and enjoyed a meal cooked

by Orange County REMC’s very own linemen, Michael Newlin and Ed Thurman.

Based on the feedback I received so far, the meal was enjoyed by all. The business meeting included the elections, as well as updates from Hoosier Energy and me highlighting the current and anticipated future challenges the cooperative is facing, including details of two major projects in our service territory. Those projects, occurring in close proximity to each other, are the addition of a new Spring Mill substation to be located east of Highway 37 South and south of Highway 60 East and a new 1 MW solar array to be located just west of Highway 37 South and just south of White River Co-op.

Orange County REMC continues to make improvements related to business efficiency, expense management and enhancements to the services we provide.

We are always just a phone call away, so please never hesitate to contact us if you have a question. …

MATTHEW C. DEATON is the general manager/ CEO of Orange County REMC.

The Orange County REMC office will be closed July 4 as our employees celebrate the Independence Day holiday with their families.

IVE REMC safety demo at Barnyard Carnival On April 14, Orange County REMC linemen Mike Duke, Robert White and Michael Newlin presented the hot line safety demo to nearly 220 fourth grade students at the Barnyard Carnival, held at the Orange County 4-H Fairgrounds.

The photos below show how the linemen use the display to illustrate the destructive effects of electricity when it comes into contact with objects that it shouldn’t.

Rate Schedule (for July, August and September 2016) Rate Schedule for Standard Service Standard Service Consumer Charge Standard Service Energy Charge Wholesale Power Cost Tracker Total bill x Indiana sales tax 7%

$26.00 $0.1124 $0.0028465

Example for 1,200 kWh Standard Service Standard Service Consumer Charge $26.00 1,200 kWh @ $0.1124 $134.88 Wholesale Power Cost Tracker @ $0.0028465 $3.42 Total $164.30 Indiana sales tax $11.50 Total bill $175.80

Rate Schedule for Time of Use Service Time of Use Consumer Charge $30.90 Energy Charge On-Peak $0.1671 (On-Peak: 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday-Friday, EST)

Energy Charge Off-Peak Wholesale Power Cost Tracker Total bill x Indiana sales tax 7%

$0.0691 $0.0028465

Example for Time of Use, 300 kWh On-Peak and 900 kWh Off-Peak Time of Use Consumer Charge $30.90 Energy Charge On-Peak 300 kWh @ $0.1671 $50.13 Energy Charge Off-Peak 900 kWh @ $0.0691 $62.19 Wholesale Power Cost Tracker @ $0.0028465 $3.42 Total $146.64 Indiana sales tax $10.26 Total bill $156.90

Rate Schedule for Security Lighting Security Lighting: 100 W HPS $9.82 Security Lighting: 40 W LED $9.82

Visa, MasterCard and Discover cards accepted

2009 Chevy Kodiak 5500 Service Bucket • 258,300 miles • 6.6 Duramax diesel engine 40 ft. reach from bottom of bucket • Minimum bid $10,000, received by July 21, 2016.

Bid forms are available in the REMC office. Sealed bids should be mailed to Orange County REMC, P.O. Box 208, Orleans, IN 47452 or sent by email to orangecoremc@myremc.coop.

If you have questions, please call the office at 812-865-2229 or toll free at 888-337-5900.

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Orange County REMC News

Air Evac Lifeteam is the largest independently owned and operated membershipsupported air medical service in the United States with aircraft, pilots and medical crews in rural American communities, standing by 24 hours a day to respond to emergency calls.

Through an agreement with Orange County REMC, membership for this service is available at only $5 per month for a family. Billing is provided on your REMC electric bill, and there is no annual fee or contract.

Bundle with emergency medical monitoring service and save!

Michael Duke Orange County REMC’s Michael Duke has been at the co-op for 15 years. He and his wife, Scarlet, have two children, Josh and Autumn, and five grandchildren — Austin, Baylin, Berkley, Cameran and Chase. He is a member of Syria Christian Church and is captain of Paoli Fire Department.

REMC also offers home medical monitoring service at a very reasonable rate and members who subscribe to both services can save on a bundled rate.

For more information about these two services, contact Orange County REMC at 865-2229 or visit our website, www.myremc.coop, and click on “REMC Store.”

Tara B. Cooper of “The Sweet Life” created this beautiful and edible cupcake display at the Orange County REMC annual meeting.

Misty Tincher Accountant Misty Tincher has been at Orange County REMC for 13 years. She and her husband, Josh, are members of Dogwood Community Church. Their children include son Austin and daughters Adyson, Avery and Alyvia. Although daughter Alyvia was with the Tincher family for just a brief time, she will always be remembered and loved.

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Cooper is located in Orleans and does custom orders for parties and special occasions with cakes, cupcakes, cake pops and cookies.

Contact her for more information or to place an order: easterday_tara@yahoo. com or 812-865-0363.

Do you have an idea for an individual, group or business to be featured in our Community Corner? Send an email to Stacy Slaten at sslaten@myremc.coop.

Stay away from power lines

O

range County REMC’s linemen work with high-voltage power lines every day as they restore power and maintain lines to prevent outages.

But they use personal protection equipment to stay safe. Everyone else should avoid contact with power lines.

Large overhead power lines can carry more than 700,000 volts of electricity.

Fatalities can occur when someone comes in contact with a live wire of only a couple hundred volts.

When a worker — or his or her crane, ladder or other equipment — bumps against a cable while touching the ground, he or she will be shocked. Electric current flows out of the power line and through the victim. Electricity strays from power lines only when it has a direct path to the ground. It moves from high-voltage zones to low-voltage zones, and it easily could do that through your body.

Protect yourself by following these power line safety tips. k Never touch a downed power line or go close to one. k When spending time outdoors this summer, enjoy kites, balloons and remote-controlled toys away from overhead electrical lines. But if something does become caught in a power line, call Orange County REMC at 812-865-2229 to report the problem. Never try to retrieve anything on your own near a live power line. k Never climb or trim trees near power lines. Contact Orange County REMC. Its professional tree-trimming service will work around the live wires. k As you are working around your house, make sure to look up before carrying tall ladders and tools to prevent contact with power lines.

According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, tens of thousands of accidents each year occur when power poles are struck by cars or large equipment. Each one of these accidents has the potential to bring down power lines. Surviving the accident itself might not be enough to stay alive without awareness of the right moves to make.

Exit your vehicle after the accident only if the car is on fire. Otherwise, the car is the safest place to be. Exiting the car can create a path for current to flow.

If someone stops to help, roll down the window and warn him or her not to touch the car or the power line and to stay in the car. Even if the fallen power lines are not sparking, they can kill you if you touch them or the nearby ground.

Always assume the lines could be energized. Wait in your car until Orange County REMC’s qualified electrical workers turn off the power and tell you it’s safe to leave the car.

If you need to leave the car because of fire or other danger, open the door and jump away from the vehicle so no part of your body touches the vehicle and the ground at the same time. Make sure to jump with both feet together so that your feet land on the ground at the same time. After you land with both feet together, shuffle away, keeping both feet constantly in contact with the ground.

This will minimize the potential for strong electric shock.

If you witness an accident involving toppled power poles and lines, do not try to help someone from the vehicle. If you do, you may become a path for electricity and could be injured or killed. …

SOURCES:

Slate, Electrical Safety Foundation International, Straight Talk

The popular Orleans Summer “Concert in the Park” series is held in June, July and August in the Historic Congress Square (town park).

All concerts are FREE and begin at 7 p.m., EST. Lawn chairs, blankets and picnics are welcome!

2016 Summer Concert in the Park dates: July 9 July 23 Aug. 6 Aug. 13

Ladies for Liberty River Cities Concert Band Sweetwater Band Darla McFadden (gospel night)

For more info, please contact the Orleans Chamber of Commerce by calling 812-865-9930 or by sending an email to historicorleans@netsurfusa.net.

Note: In the event of inclement weather, concerts may be slightly delayed or moved to nearby Unity Hall, located behind the Orleans Christian Church.

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