NEWS FROM YOUR COOPERATI www.myremc.coop CONTACT US OFFICE
812-865-2229 TOLL FREE 888-337-5900 BILL PAYMENTS 855-865-2229 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
Are your sensative electronics and appliances protected from surges?
Orange County REMC offers a full line of surge protection equipment for the appliances and electronics in your home or office. More info is published on page 28 or . visit the REMC store at www.myremc.coop
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Driving blindfolded on the highway Would you drive on a highway blindfolded? Of course not. However, if you text while driving 55 mph on a highway, you are essentially doing just that. Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off MATTHEW C. the road while texting. When DEATON traveling at 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of a football field while blindfolded. Talking on a cell phone also carries significant risks. According to the National Safety Council, drivers can miss seeing up to half of what’s around them — traffic lights, stop signs, pedestrians — when talking on a cell phone. In our digital world, people feel pressure to remain in constant contact, even when behind the wheel. As mobile technology use increases, distracted driving — talking, texting, sending emails — is a growing threat to community safety. We have all seen distracted drivers, and most likely, we ourselves have used a phone while driving. Drivers don’t realize the dangers posed when they take their eyes off the road and their hands off the wheel and focus on activities other than driving. According to the Centers for Disease Control, each day in the United States, more than nine people are killed, and more than 1,153 people are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver. The National Highway Administration notes that 3,154 people were killed, and an estimated 424,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in 2013. Texting and cell phone use behind the wheel takes your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel and your focus off driving — putting the driver and others in danger, including passengers, pedestrians, other drivers and bystanders. On the
ELECTRIC CONSUMER • JUNE 2016 • ElectricConsumer.org
tragic end of the spectrum, victims’ families, friends, co-workers and community are impacted. At Orange County REMC, safety is a core value. At this time of year in particular, when more people are on the roads, more construction is occurring on our roads, and children will be getting out of school, our goal is to raise awareness and spur conversation about the dangers of distracted driving. Talking on a cell phone quadruples your risk of an accident, about the same as if you were driving drunk. Risk doubles again if you are texting while driving. We are committed to eliminating this unnecessary risk and believe that no conversation or text is worth the potential danger. Orange County REMC will have crews working throughout the system this year. Both REMC linemen and contracted construction crews will be rebuilding and replacing portions of the system on state highways 37 and 150. The state highway 37 work will be executed just north of White River Co-op, while the state highway 150 work will be executed between Tater Road and Rego. Keep an eye out, and be mindful of our crews and the construction that will be taking place around the service territory. Our crews are throughout the service territory daily, so it cannot be anticipated when you may meet them. Help promote a culture of safety. We encourage everyone within Orange County REMC’s service territory to join us and help keep our families, friends and neighbors safer by putting their phones down and focusing on the road when they drive. Together, we can put the brakes on distracted driving. … MATTHEW C. DEATON is the general manager/ CEO of Orange County REMC.