Colorado Country Life June 2017 Highline by American MainStreet Publications

Advanced Technology Allows Macular Degeneration Patients To See Again And Allows Many Low Vision Patients To Drive Again

A scene as it might be viewed by a person with age-related macular degeneration

Same scene of Grandchildren as viewed through telescope glasses.

For many patients with macular degeneration and other visionrelated conditions, the loss of central visual detail also signals the end to one of the last bastions of independence driving. Colorado optometrist, Dr. Robert Stamm is using miniaturized telescopes which are mounted in glasses to help people who have lost vision from macular degeneration and other eye conditions. “Some of my patients consider me their last chance or people who have vision loss” said Dr. Stamm, one of only a few doctors in the world who specializes in fitting bioptic

telescopes to help those who have lost vision due to macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and other eye diseases. Imagine a pair of glasses that can improve your vision enough to change your life. Bioptic telescopes may be the breakthrough in optical technology that will give you back your independence. Patients with vision in the 20/200 range can many times be improved to 20/50. Bioptic telescopes treat both dry and wet forms of macular degeneration as well as other vision limiting conditions.

While there is currently no cure, promising research is being done on many fronts. “My job is to figure out everything and anything possible to keep a person functioning” says Dr. Stamm “Even if it’s driving”. “The major benefit of the bioptic telescope is that the lens automatically focuses on whatever you’re looking at,” said Dr. Stamm. “It’s like a self-focusing camera, but much more precise.”

For more information and to schedule an appointment today, call:

Robert Stamm, O.D. Low Vision Optometrist Member IALVS

Toll Free:

(877) 393-0025

www.NebraskaLowVisionDoctor.com

[contents] 4

VIEWPOINT

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

COMMUNITY EVENTS

YOUR CO-OP NEWS

NEWS CLIPS

INDUSTRY

COVER STORY

RECIPES

GARDENING

OUTDOORS

FUNNY STORIES

DISCOVERIES

JUNE 2017 Volume 48, Number 06

“Mountain Light” by John Mumaw, a member of Empire Electric from Cortez.

MORE WAYS TO CONNECT WITH US

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FACEBOOK CHATTER

[cover] Wild Horse’s Johnson sisters hang out with country music’s Loretta Lynn. Illustration by Cassi Gloe. Photos courtesy of Kay Johnson.

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE COLORADO RURAL ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION COMMUNICATIONS STAFF: Mona Neeley, CCC, Publisher/Editor; mneeley@coloradocountrylife.org Cassi Gloe, Designer; cgloe@coloradocountrylife.org Kylee Coleman, Editorial/Admin. Assistant; kcoleman@coloradocountrylife.org ADVERTISING: Kris Wendtland, Ad Rep; advertising@coloradocountrylife.org Colorado Country Life (USPS 469-400/ISSN 1090-2503) is published monthly by Colorado Rural Electric Association, 5400 Washington Street, Denver, CO 80216-1731. Individual subscription rate: $9 per year for Colorado residents or $15 per year for out-of-state residents, taxes and postage included. Periodical postage paid at Denver, Colorado. © Copyright 2016, Colorado Rural Electric Association. Call for reprint rights. Subscribers: Report change of address to your local cooperative. Do not send change of address to Colorado Country Life. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Colorado Country Life, 5400 Washington Street, Denver, CO 80216 Advertising Standards: Publication of an advertisement in Colorado Country Life does not imply endorsement by any Colorado rural electric cooperative or the Colorado Rural Electric Association. Editorial opinions published in Colorado Country Life magazine shall pertain to issues affecting rural electric cooperatives, rural communities and citizens. The opinion of CREA is not necessarily that of any particular cooperative or individual. EDITORIAL: Denver Corporate Office, 5400 Washington Street, Denver, CO 80216; Phone: 303-455-4111 | mneeley@coloradocountrylife.org | coloradocountrylife.coop | facebook.com/COCountryLife | Twitter.com/ COCountryLife | Pinterest.com/COCountryLife | YouTube.com/COCountryLife1 Advertising: advertising@coloradocountrylife.org | 303-902-7276 National Advertising Representative: National Country Market | 611 S. Congress Street, Suite 504 | Austin, TX 78704 | 800-626-1181

Mathew Willams shared this photo of his favorite Colorado camping spot in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Michael Nutting caught this squirrel drinking from a hummingbird feeder at his favorite camping spot at the Buena Vista KOA.

INSTAGRAM PIC OF THE MONTH

Colorado Country Life posted: David Cannone captured this beautiful shot of a butterfly in motion at Quail Lake in Colorado Springs.

Ashley Girodo won our State Parks Pass contest on Facebook last month by sharing this photo of her family’s favorite Colorado camping spot in Vallecito.

PINTEREST SNEAK PEAK

Colorado Country Life pinned: We all scream for ice cream! Check out more ice cream delights on Pinterest, including this Caramel Pecan Ice Cream Crumble Cake.

MONTHLY CONTEST Win This 3-In-1 Electric Lunchbox. Find out how under the Contest tab at coloradocountrylife.coop.

[viewpoint]

MEETING WITH CONGRESS

Electric co-op directors, managers take concerns to Washington BY KENT SINGER CREA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR KSINGER@COLORADOREA.ORG

Every spring, right after the cherry blossoms bloom, electric buildings in Washington and the cooperative representatives from all over the country converge Members’ Room includes the marble on Washington, D.C., for the National Rural Electric Cooperative columns, stunning paintings and Association Legislative Conference. They review what Congress is ornate tapestries seen throughout doing and how it will affect electric co-ops and their members. They the building. It was a treat to visit also meet with senators and representatives and talk about legislation with our representatives in this that is needed. This year, about 60 directors and staff members from setting. We especially appreciated Colorado co-ops were there to share concerns from back home with Congressman Tipton’s story about the Centennial State’s congressional delegation. his grandparents’ home being For the first time in three years, both houses of Congress were energized for the first time by the Kent Singer in session during our stay. We met with Sens. Michael Bennet (D) REA and how grateful they were to and Cory Gardner (R), as well as Reps. Mike Coffman (R) and Scott turn on the light switch for the first time. Tipton (R). And we met with staff members from the rest of the In addition to meeting with our representatives, the Colorado state’s congressional offices. We had productive discussions with co-op directors, managers and staff heard from Rick Perry, the our elected officials and with the staff members of those who were new Secretary of Energy, as well as other experts on a variety of unavailable. We let them know our issues including regulatory position on a few federal actions reform, the Farm Bill and co-op that could help us keep electricity communications. affordable for our co-op memberSecretary Perry encouraged owners. electric co-ops to continue We asked for support for to be involved in the energy continued funding for the electric conversation going forward. And co-op loan program administered he pushed for an all-inclusive by the Rural Utilities discussion. Service (formerly the Rural “We need to stop having an Electrification Administration either/or debate about renewable or REA). We reminded them of energy and fossil fuels,” he said, the importance of this funding adding that President Donald since the electric utility business Trump is committed to an allrequires significant capital of-the-above energy strategy investments to keep the lights for America. U.S. Department Colorado electric co-op directors and managers stand in the Members’ on. The interest paid on the loans Room in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. of Energy research will be to finance those projects is one conducted in areas that are most of the largest expenses for most co-ops. But since co-ops repay promising, Perry said. That could be wind energy, which Perry’s those loans at an interest rate higher than what the government home state of Texas introduced in record amounts during his time as makes on treasury bonds, this program actually makes the U.S. governor, or it could be changes in how we use fossil fuels. government about $300 million a year. “We want energy that is made in America, that is good for We were pleased that this year every member of the Colorado America and good for American jobs,” he said. delegation supports continued funding of the RUS loan program. After additional stops at agency offices and visits to Capitol Hill, Another issue that we raised with our members of Congress was Colorado’s electric co-op representatives came home from the East the co-ops’ need to clear utility rights-of-way that traverse federal Coast knowing they shared their co-ops’ concerns in D.C. And lands. We had trouble obtaining the necessary permits to gain access they were better prepared to continue providing a secure, reliable, to these areas in recent years. In a couple of cases, fires resulted affordable energy foundation for rural Colorado. that destroyed not only co-op facilities but also private property. We asked our delegation to support pending legislation that gives utility personnel more leeway in clearing brush and trees that could interfere with lines and electrical facilities. Kent Singer, Executive Director It was a highlight to discuss these concerns with Congressmen Coffman and Tipton in the Members’ Room of the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress is one of the most beautiful

JUNE 2017

coloradocountrylife.coop

[letters]

Embrace the Future

I read the letter “Co-ops Should Stick to Basics” (May ’17). Is it the advance of technology and progress, or just change in general that we are frightened of? If this kind of thinking were to prevail, we would still be reading by oil lamps and candles. Yes, basic infrastructure and equipment must be properly maintained, but I commend those efforts to explore new sources of clean energy as well as the other technologies and services. R.W. Jones, Hinsdale County member Gunnison County Electric Association

ST P POTENTIAL

Changes in the Utility Business

I have been impressed that our power provider, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, has been following the changes in the basics of the electric utility business. The United States has reliable electric power at good costs. Nonetheless, things are changing and reaping the benefits of lower cost energy from wind (and soon from solar) can’t be ignored. To maintain reliability of the grid while getting the benefits of lower prices, the basic concepts of how we run our business are changing. Don Morris, Fort Collins member of Poudre Valley REA

A Plug for the Right Plug

I believe we have a problem with the ad on the back page of the May ’17 issue. I’m sure the folks at Tri-State Generation and Transmission are trying to tell us to be safe when plugging a device into an electrical source. However, we are in the United States and do not use European-type plugs in this country. Joe Novak, Loveland member Poudre Valley REA

Got something to say? We welcome letters to the editor. Send your letter to Editor Mona Neeley at 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216 or at mneeley@coloradocountrylife.org. Letters may be edited for length. coloradocountrylife.coop

What you need to know: A downed line does NOT have to be arcing or sparking to be energized — and dangerous.

Even if you do not touch lines or equipment, you can still be killed or seriously injured. The danger exists beyond the point where the downed line is making direct contact with a vehicle or the ground.

Electricity can flow 3600 around it. What is step potential? If a person connects two different points of this gradually decreasing voltage by walking away, stepping out of a vehicle, or touching the vehicle and ground at the same time — electricity flows through the individual (path to ground). Stay safe. If you’re in a car accident that involves downed lines, stay in the car. If you come upon a scene with a downed line, stay far away and call 911 to have the utility notified. Learn more at

JUNE 2017

[community events] [June] June 9-11 Buena Vista Collegiate Peaks Stampede Rodeo Rodeo Grounds 719-539-8345 buenavistacolorado.org June 9-11 Colorado Springs World War II B-17 Tours and Flights Colorado Springs Jet Center 719-591-2288 jetcentersofcolorado.com June 9 Grand Lake Opening Night Gala Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre 7 pm • 970-627-3421 June 10 Colorado Springs Native American Powwow Mortgage Solutions Financial Expo Center 10 am-6 pm coloradospringspowwow.org June 10 Erie Brewfest Briggs Street 12-4 pm • 303-828-3440 June 10 Westcliffe Wet Mountain Valley Rotary Scholarship Golf Tournament St. Andrews Golf Course 719-269-8608 wetmountainvalleyrotary.org June 14-15 Meeker Meeker Days Downtown Meeker meekerrecdistrict.com June 16-17 Trinidad “[title of show]” Theater Performance Southern Colorado Repertory Theatre 7:30 pm • 719-846-4765 June 17 Berthoud “Sunfest” Outdoor Quilt Show Fickel Park 10 am-4 pm • 970-532-4200

JUNE 2017

June 17 Durango Durango Motor Expo Historic Main Avenue durangomotorexpo.com June 17 Granby Pet Pals “Doggie Dash” Granby Trails 9 am-12 pm • 970-887-2988 June 17 Kremmling Redneck Mud Shuffle Middle Park Fairgrounds 4 pm • kremmlingchamber.com June 20 Cortez Ventriloquist Performance Cortez Public Library 2 pm • 970-564-4073 June 22-25 Salida Salida Art Walk Silver Celebration Downtown Salida salidaartwalk.org June 23-25 Estes Park Scandinavian Midsummer Festival Bond Park 303-449-9596 estesmidsummer.com June 23-24 Hugo Colorado Championship Ranch Rodeo Lincoln County Fairgrounds 719-743-2201 coloradochampionship ranchrodeo.com June 23 La Veta Fourth Friday Art Walk and Art Reception La Veta Gallery on Main 5-7 pm • lavetagalleryonmain.com June 24-25 Black Forest, Colorado Springs and Monument Purely Ponds Parade of Ponds Various Locations 719-896-0038 • purelyponds.com June 24-25 Castle Rock “Capturing the Beauty of Open Land” Plein Air Event White Pavilion 10 am douglaslandconservancy.org

Alpine Artists Holiday Juried Art Show and Call for Entries

June 26 entry deadline Art Show July 27 – August 5 Ouray Community Center, Ouray The 57th annual Artists’ Alpine Holiday Art Show is coming to Ouray July 27 through August 5. This event is one of the oldest art exhibits in Colorado and attracts sundry visitors while generating substantial sales for exhibitors. Artists who enter this juried exhibit get a shot at winning $100-$500 For more information, for their artwork. The deadline to visit ourayarts.org. enter is June 26.

June 24 Colorado City Golf Fundraiser Hollydot Golf Course 9 am wetmountainvalleyrotary.org

July 3-4 Westcliffe “All Aboard Westcliffe” Flea Market Rosita Avenue 9 am-3 pm • 719-783-0945

June 24-25 Durango “Celebration of Quilts” Show and Sale Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall robertajean@frontier.net

July 4 Buena Vista All-You-Can-Eat Breakfast Fundraiser Columbine Park 7-9:30 am • 719-395-2432

June 24 Durango Gardens on Tour Various Durango Locations 970-749-5642 durangobotanicalsociety.com

July 4 Durango 4th of July All American Gourmet Breakfast Rotary Park 7:30-10:30 am • 970-946-4856

June 24 Mancos Mancos Cowboy Half Marathon, 5k and Fun Run Mancos Public Library 970-533-7600 mancoshalfmarathon.com

July 4 Kiowa Pioneer 4th Celebration Elbert County Museum 10 am-3 pm elbertcountymuseum.org

June 24 Pagosa Springs Wolfwood Refuge Visit Wolfe Brewery 11 am-4 pm • wolfwoodrefuge.org

[July] July 2 Estes Park A Day in the Field Photographing Wildlife Rocky Mountain National Park 6:30 am-7:30 pm • 970-586-3262

SEND CALENDAR ITEMS

TWO MONTHS IN ADVANCE TO:

Calendar, Colorado Country Life, 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216; fax to 303455-2807; or email calendar@ coloradocountrylife.org. Please send name of event, date, time, venue, brief description and phone number, email and/or website for more information. coloradocountrylife.coop

HIGHLINE ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION

[The Beacon] CONTACT US MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 57 Holyoke, CO 80734-0057 STREET ADDRESS 1300 S. Interocean Holyoke, CO 80734 970-854-2236. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . phone 800-816-2236. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . toll free 970-854-3652. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fax mark@hea.coop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . email www.hea.coop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . web SOCIAL MEDIA facebook.com/HighlineElectric OUR MISSION Our mission is to provide our members with reliable, high-quality electricity and other needed services, which will improve their economic and social wellbeing and provide significant long-range benefits for our communities, our state and our nation.

HIGHLINE ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PROVIDER AND EMPLOYER

coloradocountrylife.coop

ACROSS THE BOARD BY MARK FARNSWORTH || GENERAL MANAGER

The Merriam-Webster definichanging. Those options are tion of mission is: A mission increasing. I recently received establishment, such as by a a letter from a company that is church, a body of persons sent developing solar and combinto perform a service, a preestabing it with trapped natural gas. lished and often self-imposed They boldly claim that they can objective or purpose and a callprovide an aggregate cost of ing or vocation. power lower than our current Highline Electric Associapurchases. That will remain to Mark Farnsworth tion has a mission statement. be seen, but new options are Our mission is to provide our members coming almost daily. with reliable, high-quality electricity and Highline is a member of a generation and other needed services that will improve transmission cooperative that we formed to their economic and social well-Âbeing and provide reliable and affordable electricity provide significant long-range benefits for to our members. There is value in our partour communities, our state and our nation. nerships, as well as in our transmission and As I contemplate our mission statedistribution grids. We maintained a 99.98 ment, the change in the utility industry is percent average of electricity availability creating disruption in how we traditionally over the last five years. served our members. Reliable electricity Tri-State Generation and Transmisis what made our economy flourish. It has sion, our power supplier, is now 26 percent also been inexpensive and still is when you renewable based, with coal and natural gas look at the options it provides us. In many providing the bulk of the rest of the power cases, technology costs, such as internet, we sell to our members. The percentage cell phones and entertainment options, are of renewables will only grow as marketnow outpacing your power bill. based rates continue to be lower, but will be That trend will continue as technology mixed with baseload power; your reliability continues to develop at a fast rate. What will continue to be excellent. How much will not change is the need for reliable elec- value do you place on your business or tricity to power the future. The question is home having reliable electricity at the flip where and who will provide that reliable of a switch? power. Your choices will increase, but we We have a commitment to community. plan to be that provider. What will that That is you. We asked if you are interested look like? Not sure. But what do we provide in renewable energy, and the answer was our members? what I expected from our members. The Highline is a cooperative. We are owned answer was yes, if it makes sense. If you are by our members and governed by our interested in a solar system behind your members. The 11 people on your board of meter, we now have an option available to directors are elected from our membership meet your needs. You will be getting more and are accountable to you. information mailed to your home in the They make the tough decisions as needed coming months. If you do not want to deal to stay competitive in a world that is rapidly [continued on page 9] 4 JUNE 2017

[The Beacon] INFORMATION FROM YOUR COOPERATIVE HIGHLINE ELECTRIC BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTED THE FOLLOWING OFFICERS FOR 2017: President: Michael Bennett Vice President: Jim Lueck Secretary: Merlin Prior Treasurer: Merl Miller EMPLOYEE ANNIVERSARIES Congratulations to the following employees who observed an employment anniversary in May. Trent Loutensock, 25 years James Ziebarth, 15 years Jason Doleshall, 7 years Tammy Kroeger, 5 years Landon Shaffer, 4 years Jace Rhodes, 1 year GIVE US A CALL FOR URGENT MATTERS While Highline Electric encourages members to communicate with us by email, Facebook, Twitter, etc., be advised that if you have an urgent matter, please call during business hours and talk to one of our employees. If your message reaches an employee’s desk (voice mail, email, etc.), and that employee is out of the office for a few days, there is a chance that no one will respond to your call until the employee returns. TWO DEGREES SAVES Two degrees can make a big difference on your electric bill. Setting your thermostat 2 degrees lower in winter results in major energy savings. CHECK YOUR BREAKERS If you have a power outage, but your neighbors have electricity, please check your breakers at the meter pole and the breakers inside your house. If these breakers are not tripped, call Highline Electric and linemen will be dispatched to take care of the problem. COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLES Highline Electric adheres to these seven cooperative principles: 1. Voluntary and open membership; 2. Democratic member control; 3. Members’ economic participation; 4. Autonomy and independence; 5. Education training and information; 6. Cooperation among cooperatives; 7. Concern for community. ATTENTION IRRIGATORS Irrigators are reminded that if you are late paying an irrigation account two times during the irrigation season, a deposit will be required before the well will be energized the next season. And if a deposit is required and you are late 8

JUNE 2017

paying one time in the current year, a deposit will be required the following year. AVOID A LATE PAYMENT To avoid a late penalty charge, your payment must be received — NOT postmarked — by the 15th of the month. Members are encouraged to pay their electric bills in a timely manner. When a Highline employee travels to a member’s premises for the purpose of disconnecting service for nonpayment and the member pays the bill in full, a $30 collection fee will be assessed and service will not be disconnected. When Highline disconnects service for nonpayment, the member shall pay the bill in full plus a $60 disconnect and reconnect fee if Highline receives notice to reconnect by 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. If notice to reconnect occurs after 3:30 p.m., the charges will be $90. WEAR PROTECTIVE GEAR Remember to wear protective gear when working with chemicals, electricity or hot items. LET US KNOW ABOUT LIFE SUPPORT If you have anyone on life-support systems at your residence, please notify Highline. The co-op will try to notify all customers on life-support systems of any planned outages. Highline will not terminate a service if a licensed physician makes a certification in writing of a medical emergency. This continuance of service will be effective for 60 days from the date of said medical certification. One 30-day extension may be granted if a second medical certification is received prior to the expiration of the initial continuance period. These provisions may be used only once during any period of 12 consecutive months. INSTALL SMOKE ALARMS Install smoke alarms on each level of your home, outside each sleeping area and inside each bedroom. Smoke alarms save lives. Nearly two-thirds of home fire deaths occur in homes without working smoke alarms. Don’t become a statistic. Make sure your smoke alarms are in good working condition. REMEMBER ELECTRIC SAFETY RULES Despite precautions, equipment can and occasionally does come in contact with an electric line. If equipment or a vehicle comes in contact with an overhead power line, remain in the vehicle unless there is an imminent risk of fire. Stay calm and call for help. If it becomes necessary

for you to leave the vehicle or the equipment, do not step away. Jump as far away from the vehicle as possible with both feet hitting the ground at the same time, then hop or shuffle your feet to safety. The voltage will diminish the farther you are from the source. Once you are away from the equipment, do not touch the equipment and the ground at the same time. CALL BEFORE YOU DIG For any type of excavation, you must call before you dig. Please note that facility owners have three business days to perform locates. As more and more facilities are being placed underground, it is imperative that you call before you dig. The number to call is 811. When you call, the notification agent will ask where, when and the type of excavation you will be doing. To process normal locate requests, calls must be made to the center Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. When you call 811, Highline will be notified that you need to have underground wires located. Highline Electric will locate up to the meter for no charge. However, anything past the meter can still be located, but you will be billed for this service. SAFETY FIRST Keep yourself and equipment 10 feet away from overhead power lines in all directions, at all times. DOWNED POWER LINES You may have heard that a downed power line will arc and smoke if it still has power. But the truth is, power lines do not automatically shut off when they fall and do not necessarily arc, flash, pop or smoke when they hit the ground. There is no way to know for sure if a line has potentially deadly current running through it unless it has been properly discharged by a utility crew. So stay away from all downed power line and keep others and pets away also. CALL ABOUT YOUR POWER OUTAGE Members are encouraged to call in when they are out of power. Sometimes the outage is only at your place and other times it may be over a larger area. When you call in, it often helps our employees to locate where the problem is, and reduces the time that you are out of power. Please call when your power is off, even if you think your neighbor called. We want to restore power as soon as possible.

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[The Beacon] ACROSS THE BOARD [continued from page 7]

with equipment and maintenance, we are in the process of vetting a community solar project where you will be able to offset your kilowatt-hour purchases from Highline. We expect that we will have viable battery options available within the next five years. I believe that the way we sell electricity to our members will change in the future. We will keep the rates fair and affordable to all of our members even if you do not want renewable energy. I expect many of our members will want to generate a portion of their electricity from renewables but will also want to have electricity available at the flip of the switch. That is our mission, and we will do our best to meet the needs of our members.

HIGHLINE ELECTRIC OFFERS SEVERAL OPTIONS FOR PAYING YOUR ELECTRIC BILL

The traditional way to pay your electric bill has always been by check or cash. These are still acceptable methods. However, Highline Electric now offers other alternatives to paying your electric bills. 1. Pay by Bank Draft — ACH. Call a Highline office to request a bank draft form to be mailed to you and your electric bill will be paid by your bank on approximately the 10th of each month (excluding weekends and holidays). Available for all rate classes. 2. Pay by E-Check— This service is available either online or by calling a Highline office (deducted directly from your bank account). Available for all rate classes. 3. Pay by Recurring Credit Card — Call a Highline office to activate this service. Your credit card will be accessed to pay your electric bill on the 10th of the month (excluding weekends and holidays). Available for residential or small commercial accounts. 4. Pay by Credit Card — Go online at www.hea.coop or call any Highline office with your credit card information (Visa, MasterCard or Discover) and your bill will be paid by your credit card company on the day you call. Available for residential or small commercial accounts.

MEET HIGHLINE ELECTRIC’S NEW EMPLOYEE

911 KNOWLEDGE

Knowing when to call 911 and what to expect can help reduce fear and feelings of helplessness in an emergency. Critical elements to keep in mind are: • Teach children their address and phone number. • Know where you are. Could you tell 911 exactly where to find you? Provide the call taker with landmarks, such as cross streets and mileposts, so responders can locate you more easily. • Don’t hang up if you accidentally call 911. Stay on the line and tell the operator or dispatcher that you do not have an emergency. If you hang up, dispatchers are required to call you back. • Stay calm, stay on the line and be ready to listen. 911 is there to help you until additional assistance arrives. Visit readycolorado.com for more public safety tips.

coloradocountrylife.coop

Josh Martin was hired as Highline Electric’s warehouseman at the Holyoke office. His first day on the job was April 17, 2017. Prior to coming to Highline, he was employed by Foundation Energy in Wray in the oil and gas fields, and before that, Highline members may remember him as he was an employee for nine years at Bradley’s Body Shop in Holyoke. Josh was born and raised in the Holyoke area. He graduated from Holyoke High School and attended Mid Plains Community College in Josh Martin is hired as Highline Electric’s wareNorth Platte, where he earned an auto houseman at the Holyoke office. body technology degree. Josh and Candace Martin are the parents of two daughters. Makenzie is 15 and Karlie is 12. Both are students in the Holyoke school system. In his spare time, Josh enjoys trap shooting, pistol shooting, fishing and any family activity. “I am excited to be working for Highline Electric,” Josh said. “Highline has a well-known reputation of being a good company to work for, noted by the fact that the company has many long-time employees. I look forward to many years of employment at Highline.” Welcome aboard, Josh! JUNE 2017

[The Beacon] WAYNE SALYARDS, HIGHLINE ELECTRIC’S PURCHASING AGENT, ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT BY NANCY BERGES || MEMBER SERVICES DIRECTOR

Wayne Salyards, Highline Electric’s purchasing agent, retired May 1, 2017. Carroll Bussell hired Wayne as the warehouseman at the Holyoke office on March 11, 1996. Early in 2004, he was promoted to purchasing agent. Salyards was responsible for purchasing all overhead and underground wire, line hardware, tools, safety equipment and all assorted line material for all three Highline Electric offices. He conducted an annual inventory of all items and was also responsible for reconciling this inventory at all three offices. In an average year, Highline carries approximately $750,000 in hardware inventory. When quizzed about some memorable events, Wayne said: • The big blizzard of 2001, when all the extra crews came to help, was quite an experience. • Moving to the new facility in 1997 was exciting and rewarding. All the extra space and places to store our material was great. • There is a lot more computer work now these days. Now about 80 to 90 percent of the time is spent on the computer. Wayne’s supervisors were Carroll Bussell, David Churchwell and Rance Ferguson. He worked under two general managers: Don Johnson and Mark Farnsworth. Wayne and Dola Salyards have been married 47 years. They have two daughters: Sheri Bussell lives in Kearney, Nebraska, and Mendi and husband, Mark Lutze, live near Holyoke. Mendi works in Highline Electric’s Ovid office. The Salyards enjoy following their four granddaughters’ many activities Wayne was raised in Haxtun and is a graduate of Haxtun High School. He keeps busy during the summer months at the family’s dryland farming operation.

JUNE 2017

In his retirement, he plans to do some fishing, traveling and yard work. “Highline has been extremely good to me,” he said. “It has been a pleasure to work at Highline with all the employees. I now look forward to spending more time with my family.” “It has been a pleasure working with Wayne,” Rance Ferguson said. “I appreciated his attention to details as it was important in his job. I wish him all the luck in the world and hope he can do all those things he enjoys.” “I have been fortunate to work with Wayne for 15 of his 21 years at Highline,” Mark Farnsworth said. “I have always been impressed with Wayne’s work ethic, as well as his dedication to Highline and its members. As purchasing agent, he was responsible for ordering and tracking materials and equipment for the three Highline offices. It was amazing how well the annual physical inventory properly accounted for the use of the materials by the employees of Highline. He will be missed.”

Above: Wayne Salyards retires after 21 years at Highline Electric. Below: Mark Farnsworth, Highline Electric’s general manager, wishes Wayne Salyards good luck at his retirement party.

coloradocountrylife.coop

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[news clips]

Theft From the Co-op Hurts All Members

Tampering with an electric meter, illegally hooking into a power supply and stealing copper from a substation may initially seem like victimless crimes. However, power and copper thieves are committing crimes that not only endanger their lives, but also create hazards for utility personnel, first responders and innocent co-op members. When people try to steal power, they create electrocution hazards that may not be apparent until emergency personnel show up. Then, in an emergency situation when power must be shut off to protect firefighters or others entering a building, there are problems. Lines that are interfered with illegally could still be energized, endangering the lives of these first responders. Your local co-op and ultimately its members also pay for the financial cost of such theft. Apply for a legal connection if you do not already have one. If you know of or suspect that someone may be stealing electricity or illegally tampering with electrical equipment, notify your local authorities and your electric co-op. Copper theft can also endanger lives. Electric co-op properties, including substations and power poles, are common targets for copper thieves. Copper theft also costs utility consumers and can even cause fires and explosions. You can help prevent copper theft: • If you notice anything unusual with electric facilities, such as an open substation gate, hanging wires or open equipment, contact your electric co-op immediately. • If you see suspicious activities near electric facilities, call emergency services or your local co-op. Do not intervene. Allow officials to handle the situation. • If you work in construction, store copper securely, especially overnight or anytime the site is vacant. • Install motion-sensor lights and/or a security system to deter possible thieves. Taking preventive measures and reporting suspicious activity are the best methods to help reduce power and copper theft.

JUNE 2017

Test Your Knowledge of Power Plants Take a minute and learn about facilities generating electricity in the United States with a fun, easy, short quiz at https://energy.gov/articles/quiz-know-your-power-plants. The data used doesn’t include every power plant in the United States, but it does show all facilities with a combined capacity of more than 1 megawatt. Click through the quiz, see what you know and learn as you go.

Colorado Country Life: Connecting You to Your Co-op For more than 60 years, Colorado’s electric co-ops have connected with you, their member-owners, through this statewide publication, now called Colorado Country Life. Why? It is the most effective and economical way to share information to all members each month. Your power provider is an electric co-op, which means you are a member, not simply a ratepayer. You have a say in who sits on your co-op’s board of directors when you vote at annual meeting time; you have the opportunity to vote for board members who represent you. That makes it important for you to know and understand what is happening at the co-op. And that makes Colorado

Country Life an important magazine to read. Besides the general consumer information and recipes, the magazine also contains meeting announcements, safety tips, energy efficiency information, board candidate N MISSIO CY OF MER biographies, sign-up forms for co-op programs and more. Read it each month and get the latest news from your electric co-op.

Fish Fry Leads to Outage in NW

This fish story comes from the Northwest but sounds a little familiar to co-op linemen in Colorado who have seen all kinds of animals, snakes and fish cause similar problems. There was an outage and a crew was dispatched. What they found, high atop an electric structure in southern Oregon, was a fish that fell into the circuit and caused a transformer to blow out. It happens. Birds of prey dropped their dinner into power lines or other structures before. What surprised the linemen was that this fish was a sculpin, a fish from the bottom of the ocean. It lives deep below the surface of the water so it’s unclear how an osprey or some other bird got it in the first place. It’s not surprising that the bird dropped it, since it was a sizable catch, measuring 10-12 inches in length and 5.5 inches wide at its head. coloradocountrylife.coop

[ news clips] More Electric Vehicles Needed to Spur Electric Vehicle Development It’s a conundrum. Getting more electric vehicles into consumers’ hands is the key to increasing demand for the technology. “Clearly, an essential step is pushing utilities and private companies to build charging infrastructure so EV drivers are assured they will have a spot to plug in,” said Timotej Gavrilovic, a The Tesla charging station in Limon. consultant with GTM Research. “Putting more EVs on the road will Plata Electric Association are among the be necessary for innovation and markets other co-ops that also either recently into evolve, and to allow the transportation stalled charging stations in their territory sector’s power potential to be harnessed as or are planning to in the near future. a revenue-generation resource.” But even with this local support, EV In Colorado, several electric co-ops are sales are not taking off quickly. They working with their local communities to peaked in 2014 at 0.72 percent of total new install charging stations to encourage EV automobile and light-duty truck purchasuse. Gunnison County Electric Associaes. Last summer almost 500,000 EVs were tion installed a charging station outside on the road — just a drop compared with its office and worked with Crested Butte, the more than 250 million vehicles in the Lake City and Gunnison on charging United States. stations in those communities. Mountain “All of this creates significant financial Parks Electric, Holy Cross Energy and La hurdles to EV infrastructure expansion,”

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Gavrilovic said. “Entrepreneurship is very difficult in the energy industry because it requires significant capital investment. [Right now] consumers are skeptical of EV battery life, and that will limit scale.” Longer-range and more affordable EVs may help encourage use, primarily in urban areas. Some Colorado co-ops are also working with local car dealers to promote the purchase of electric cars. As more residences become charging stations, the co-ops are working with homeowners to make sure their household transformers are sufficient for the new electric load. Some also offer time-of-use rates to encourage members to charge their cars at night when electricity is available and less expensive. All of this is expected to become easier to manage as energy storage options become available — and as more electric vehicles take to the roads. — CFC Solutions

JUNE 2017

[industry]

THE SUBSTATION OF THE FUTURE

New patterns of power mean a new job for a utility workhorse BY PAUL WESSLUND

Solar panels, electric cars, computer hackers, vandals and thieves might not seem to have much in common, but they’re all making big changes in your electric service. Those changes have electric utilities talking about “the substation of the future.” If everything goes according to plan, you may never even know about those changes, says Tom Lovas, a technical liaison and consultant with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. “The traditional model of generation, transmission and distribution is kind of being turned on its head,” Lovas says. “In the past, power flowed to a substation and then flowed out to the consumer. …[T]he substation has now become a point of information and interconnection, and it’s coordinated in a different way.” Before making sense of what Lovas means by a substation becoming a point of information, it helps to understand what a substation does. HOW SUBSTATIONS WORK That mass of wires and equipment you see behind chain-link fences as you drive along freeways or side roads basically turns high-voltage electricity into lower voltage electricity that can be used in your home. Electricity generated at a power plant gets “stepped up” to a high voltage at a substation because that’s a more efficient way for power to make the long-distance journey through transmission lines. When the current gets close to where it will be used, another substation steps the voltage down, for distribution to you and your neighbors. 14

JUNE 2017

But that straight-line path for electricity is changing, says an international industry group planning for how the substation of the future will fit in with the power lines and power plants that make up the electric grid. “Rather than continually getting bigger, the grid is now increasing in intelligence,” according to a 2016 strategic plan of the Centre for Energy Advancement through Technological Innovation (CEATI International). “Customers are increasingly looking for ways to manage their own energy, customizing how they use it and serving as suppliers of energy.” One example of customers serving as suppliers of energy is the fast-growing number of homeowners installing rooftop solar panels. Now, electricity doesn’t just flow from a power plant through a substation to a house. Instead, electricity also flows in the opposite direction, from the house, then back onto the grid as homeowners sell excess solar power back to their utility. When power flows in both directions, running a utility gets a lot more complicated. First, there’s safety. Lineworkers need to be sure they know which wires are energized and which are not. Electricity traveling in a different direction could put new stresses on old equipment, and utilities need new ways to monitor electric current so they can keep track of new patterns of electricity use and generation. Lovas cites an increase in electric cars as another new addition that could change electricity use as people charge their vehicles at a variety of times and places. coloradocountrylife.coop

[ industry]

PREDICTING POWER OUTAGES Electric utilities are analyzing information about where the electricity is coming from and where it’s going. This information can be used to improve operations in the utility network and can make the substation of the future an important part of “the smart grid” Information collected at a substation could keep track of how transformers are performing so they could be replaced before they fail or even recognize power use patterns that could predict an outage. “We collect zillions of data points of information. What we’re trying to do is make sense of what that information is telling us,” Lovas says. Figuring out how to analyze and use all that data, he says, could improve safety, reduce outages, reduce outage duration and reduce maintenance Could this be a substation of the future? costs. These days, we know that information can also be Underground substations could offer better security, as well as stolen or misused by cyber criminals, so the substation of the avoid complaints about the appearance of the collection of wires future needs stronger security. And not just cyber security. Lovas and equipment. says that substation planning needs protection against more When will we see the substation of the future? Maybe never, if old-fashioned attackers like vandals and copper wire thieves. it’s hidden behind a grove of trees. Or, since improvements and CEATI International wrote in its strategic plan on the substation advancements are already being installed, maybe it’s already here. of the future, “In the new environment, station facilities have to “I don’t think there’s any defined date when the substation of be protected from physical tampering, sabotage or theft and also the future takes over,” Lovas says. “It’s just a natural progression from malicious threats to data and/or control systems connected of things.” to cyber networks.” Lovas also expects the substation of the future will respond to Paul Wesslund writes on cooperative issues for the National Rural concerns about what substations look like, with utilities lookElectric Cooperative Association. ing for more remote locations or planting trees around them.

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Who would guess that Wild Horse, Colorado, is the birthplace to country music fan clubs as we know them today?

Country music fan clubs all trace their roots back to the 1960s and three sisters: Loudilla, Loretta and Kay Johnson. Those three changed the course for country music artists and their fan clubs from their daddy’s wheat farm on the eastern plains of Colorado. Wild Horse sits along Highway 287 between Limon and Lamar in K.C. Electric Association’s territory. There are a few houses along the blacktop — some lived in, some not — and the only active business today is the U.S. post office, open until 2 o’clock in the afternoon. But that sleepy prairie town played a huge role in country music. It was once the headquarters of the International Loretta Lynn Fan

Club and the International Fan Club Organization, which started the IFCO dinner and show in Nashville, Tennessee. That show was the forerunner of Fan Fair, which is now known as the CMA Music Festival and is coming up June 8-11. The Johnson sisters loved country music and its stars, but Kay Johnson, the youngest and only surviving Johnson sister, bristles a bit if someone calls her a “groupie.” “A groupie follows an artist everywhere, follows their bus and goes to every concert,” she says. “But a fan club president doesn’t have time for that. The fan club president is busy getting out the news to the fans on concerts and record releases, encouraging fans to buy records and calling the radio stations to request songs or writing to television shows to have country music stars on their shows.”

Photo by Gayle Gresham

BY GAYLE GRESHAM

Right: Kay Johnson looks back over old country music newsletters and photos at her home in Fort Morgan.

Left: Loudilla, Kay and Loretta Johnson pose with Loretta Lynn (second from left) after they started and ran her fan club. Right: The International Fan Club Organization was run from this farm outside Wild Horse, Colorado.

JUNE 2017

Each of the Johnson sisters, who never married, brought their own distinct personality and abilities to their fan club work. Loudilla, the oldest, had business savvy. “The three of us were co-presidents,” Kay says. “But I called Loudilla ‘the head co-president.’ She knew how to lead and how to run things.” Loretta, almost three years younger than Loudilla, loved people and having fun. “Loretta never met a stranger,” Kay says. And Kay, the tallest sister with brown hair, was known as the “quiet one.” With two dynamic sisters who talked a mile a minute, Kay was happy to let them talk and lead. She was the listener of the trio and the one to step up and do what needed to be done. “I am a helper,” she says, “not a leader.” The Loretta Lynn Fan Club In 1960, high school senior Loretta Johnson wrote a fan letter to a new girl singer named Loretta Lynn. “Loretta thought it would be fun to write to a singer who had the same name as her,” Kay says. “She wanted it to look nice, so she used her script typewriter. Well, it was the first fan letter Loretta Lynn ever received. Her husband, Mooney, told her she needed to write back, but Loretta said she couldn’t write to someone with such beautiful handwriting. She didn’t realize it was done on a typewriter.” Loretta Johnson sent another letter written in longhand when she didn’t get

a response. This time Lynn wrote back to her and they started corresponding. According to Kay, the first time they met was at a concert at the Municipal Auditorium in Colorado Springs. “After the concert, the DJ from the KPIK radio station came down and got us and he took us backstage to meet her and the Wilburn Brothers. She wanted to come out to the farm, but she had a show the next day and couldn’t.” In her book, Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner’s Daughter, Lynn wrote, “You could have sworn we knew each other all our lives. … They adopted me as a sister in that first meeting.” Loretta Lynn and Mooney did get to visit the farm in Wild Horse. Lynn stayed a few days while Mooney went on. Kay tells of her sister Loretta teaching Lynn how to bake bread and make cinnamon rolls. They also drove around the farm in the truck, riding in the back. They saw some pronghorn antelope, and the girls told Lynn they’d go through the fence and not over it. She didn’t believe them and then had the last laugh when those antelope jumped the fence like deer. Lynn asked the Johnson girls to start an official fan club for her in 1963. According to Kay, dues were $1.50, which didn’t bring in enough income to cover the expenses at the beginning. Their daddy, Mack Johnson, bought a typewriter and $450 mimeograph machine for them to

[ feature]

“ You could have sworn we knew each other all our lives. … They adopted me as a sister in that first meeting.” COMING UP

CMA Music Festival, June 8-11 Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN

Below: Kay, Loretta and Loudilla Johnson appear on the “Hee Haw” television show with Loretta Lynn.

JUNE 2017

[feature] produce a monthly newsletter. They created journals that were mailed four times a year in addition to the newsletter. Over time, the Loretta Lynn Fan Club grew to have a membership of 4,000 fans, including members from Canada, England, Japan, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia. Tri-Son News and the International Fan Club Organization Always looking for ways to promote Lynn, the Johnsons started Tri-Son News under their new corporation, Tri-Son (standing for three Johnsons). They requested press releases from other country artists and put them together with Lynn’s as a news service to radio stations and magazines. By 1967, the success of the Loretta Lynn Fan Club had other country artists asking the Johnsons advice for their fan clubs. The sisters held a meeting with Dorothy Owens (Buck Owens’ sister), Lynn, and music promoter Little Richie Johnson and then created the International Fan Club Organization. Through IFCO, the Johnsons offered helpful advice in newsletters on fan club details like writing newsletters, handling merchandise and running the finances. But, more importantly, IFCO promoted the idea that fan clubs were like a grassroots political organization with the purpose of promoting and supporting a country artist. With a membership of 75 fan clubs, the Johnsons held the first IFCO dinner and concert, in conjunction with the Disc Jockey Convention, in 1968. It featured Lynn, Charley Pride, Skeeter Davis and an unknown talent at that time, Barbara Mandrell. The dinner and concert became an annual event with the country artists donating their performances (two songs each), and the money raised was donated to various charities. Loudilla produced the shows and Joe Bob Barnhill was the music producer. When the Country Music Association started Fan Fair in June 1974, the Johnsons moved the IFCO dinner and show to the Fri-

JUNE 2017

day night before Fan Fair to help support it. Starting in 1994, the show was held in the Ryman Auditorium where memories were invoked of past performances and young artists were thrilled to stand on the hallowed stage. IFCO grew to a membership of more than 350 fan clubs, and the Johnsons helped organize and participated in other fan-related expos and shows over the years, including the Wembley Festival in London, Fan Jam in Dallas, the Las Vegas Country Music Fan Festival and a fan festival in Los Angeles. As with their IFCO shows, many of the festivals benefitted charities. Wild Horse to Nashville Loudilla, Loretta and Kay Johnson based their country music businesses in Wild Horse for 28 years — an amazing feat, considering they didn’t even have a telephone at the house until 1972. “We went to the neighbor’s house half a mile down the road when we needed to make a telephone call,” Kay says with a smile. Their businesses also had a big impact on the Wild Horse post office. When the Johnsons started the Loretta Lynn Fan Club, the post office was in the postmaster’s house. The U.S. Postal Service decided to close the Wild Horse post office when the postmaster retired. Of course, this did not set well with the Johnson sisters. They started a letter-writing campaign to save the post office, asking Lynn’s fans and others to write to their congressmen. Not only did they save the post office, but the U.S. Postal Service also moved in a new modular trailer for it. By the 1980s, the Johnson sisters were as well-known as the country stars they promoted. Lynn wrote a chapter about her fan club and the Johnson sisters in her 1976 book, Coal Miner’s Daughter. The Johnsons even appeared in a “Hee Haw” segment in the cornfield with Lynn in 1987. But their lives took a sad turn in November 1987 when their daddy died in a head-on collision near Kit Carson at the age of 74. Sixty-five days later, the family

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Photo by Gayle Gresham

[ feature]

The U.S. Post Office is still open in Wild Horse thanks to the Johnson sisters.

grieved once again with the death of their oldest brother, Olin, who ran the family wheat farm with his father. Olin and their other brother, Everett (who owned a nearby farm), took care of the farming when Mack traveled with the girls to IFCO shows and Fan Fair. Loudilla, Loretta and Kay came to a crossroads after their father’s death. Kay explains: “Daddy had said if anything ever happened to him, to move to Nashville because it is where our work was. So we put the farm ground into CRP [Conservation Reserve Program] and moved to Brentwood in 1991.” Living in Nashville gave the Johnsons opportunities they didn’t have in Wild Horse. “We met with fan club presidents over lunch and guided them in running their fan clubs.” They also became more involved in organizing fan shows across the country. In 1995, Lynn disbanded her fan club when her husband was ill and near death. The Johnson sisters and Lynn lost contact with each other, but the Johnsons continued their work with IFCO and Tri-Son.

Accolades and Heartache Three awards the Johnsons received after the year 2000 sum up their contributions to country music and its fans. In 2002, R.O.P.E. (Reunion of Professional Entertainers) gave the Johnsons the Ernest Tubb Humanitarian Award for their years of raising money for charities through the IFCO shows. The Country Music Association honored them in 2003 with plaques for their contributions to making Fan Fair a success over the years. And, finally, the professionalism and success the Johnsons demonstrated through their work as women in the country music industry was honored in 2004 when they received the SOURCE Award. Loretta Johnson fought a long battle with multiple myeloma (the same cancer their mother, Audrey Johnson, died from in 1999) and passed away April 13, 2009, at the age of 67. IFCO didn’t hold a show at Fan Fair that year, but country music artists came together for a benefit memorial concert for Loretta Johnson to help with medical bills. Loudilla and Kay continued their work with IFCO and Tri-Son until Loudilla was stricken with pancreatic cancer and died on May 7, 2014. After Loudilla passed away, Kay met with lawyers and disbanded IFCO and Tri-Son and moved to Fort Morgan, Colorado, to be near her brother, Everett, and his family. Looking back on their adventures and accomplishments, Kay (who fought her own battle with cancer and survived) says, “We all enjoyed what we did. We got to go places we’d never been and met so many different people — country music stars, movie stars and just regular people who were fans. Reminiscing is still a pleasure.” Writer Gayle Gresham lives in Elbert where she loves to play guitar and sing her own country music songs. For more information on the legendary Johnson sisters, visit coloradocountrylife.coop.

Far left: The Johnson sisters received the Ernest Tubb Humanitarian Award for their work raising money for charities. Left: Kay Johnson displays the CMA Fan Fair Award that was presented to the Johnson sisters. Right: The girls’ dad, Mack Johnson, carries some of their Fan Fair awards.

Historic photos courtesy of Kay Johnson JUNE 2017

[recipes]

BAKING BRILLIANCE WITH ICE CREAM

COOL CONCOCTIONS DERIVED FROM A HOT SOCIAL PLATFORM BY AMY HIGGINS RECIPES@COLORADOCOUNTRYLIFE.ORG

TIPS Ice Cream Cutting Idea Ice cream desserts can be difficult to cut through. Heat a sharp knife under hot water then dry it off before you slice. It cuts cleanly through the dessert and, with no water on the blade, limits the smearing of the ice cream. It’s National Dairy Month Find a whole bunch of yummy dairy recipes on Pinterest to celebrate National Dairy Month. Then keep the party going in July for National Ice Cream Month.

In June 2012, Colorado Country Life wrote about “one of the latest content-sharing services to explode across the internet.” Who would have known Pinterest would grow from 3,000 registered accounts in 2010 to more than 150 million users in 2017? From fashion to home projects, good reads and cute puppy pics, we continue to find “Pinteresting” inspiration on this social site. But it’s these fun ice cream recipes that caught our attention this month. Some needed a little tweaking while others were delicious as is. While these recipes are simple, they are time consuming, but entirely worth it.

Ice Cream Cookie Cups 1 package precut sugar cookies 1 (1.5-quart) carton favorite ice cream (we used Creamsicle and cookies ’n’ cream) rainbow sprinkles Place an airtight container (or two) that can accommodate two dozen cookie cups in the freezer. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Flip a mini cupcake pan upside-down. Gently press one cookie on top of every other muffin hump. (Note: Do not simply place cookie dough on top of hump or the dough will run off in the oven. However, do not press the cookies too firmly or the dough will break apart at the top. Also, do not place two cookies next to each other or they will run together in the oven.) Bake according to the directions on the package. Once cookies are baked, remove from heat and let cool 2 to 3 minutes before removing from pan. (Note: Do not cool completely or the cookies will adhere to the pan.) Remove frozen container(s) from freezer. Once cookies are removed from pan and completely cooled, scoop a helping of ice cream with a cookie dough scooper, place inside cookie cup, roll ice cream in sprinkles, and then set ice cream cookie cup in frozen container. Repeat until all cups are filled. Seal the container and freeze until ready to serve. lemonlimeadventures.com

Mint Chip Ice Cream Brownie Squares 1 box brownie mix designed for 9- by 9-inch pan 1.5-quart of mint chip ice cream 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream 2-3 cups semisweet mini chocolate chips, divided 8-ounce tub whipped topping Line a 9- by 13-inch pan with parchment paper. (Note: Even though the recipe calls for a brownie mix designed for a 9- by 9-inch pan, use a 9- by 13-inch pan to bake with.) Mix brownies according to the directions on the box. Spread brownie mixture evenly over the parchment paper and bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, but no wet batter. Remove ice cream from freezer and let stand at room temperature until soft. Once brownies are cool, spread ice cream evenly over the brownies and then place the pan in the freezer to allow the ice cream to refreeze. Heat heavy whipping cream in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until hot, but not boiling. Pour 1 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips in cream and set aside. Wait 3 minutes and then stir until completely blended. Set aside and let cool until it reaches room temperature. Remove pan from freezer and spread the chocolate cream evenly over the ice cream. Return pan to freezer for 30 minutes. Thaw whipped topping until it becomes spreadable. Remove pan from freezer and spread whipped topping over the chocolate layer. Sprinkle 1-2 cups semisweet mini chocolate chips over the whipped topping layer. Return pan to freezer for 3 hours before serving. glorioustreats.com

For more tasty ice cream recipes, visit coloradocountrylife.coop. 20

JUNE 2017

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As we age, the occasional aches and pains of everyday life become less and less occasional. Most of us are bothered by sore muscles, creaky joints and general fatigue as we go through the day– and it’s made worse by everything from exertion and stress to arthritis and a number of other ailments. Sure, there are pills and creams that claim to provide comfort, but there is only one 100% natural way to feel better… hydrotherapy. Now, there’s a better way. It’s called the Designed For Seniors® Shower, and it can truly change your life. coloradocountrylife.coop

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[gardening]

Discouraging Deer From Your Gardens Tips to help keep your garden sheltered from beastly ruin BY VICKI SPENCER MASTER GARDENER GARDENING@COLORADOCOUNTRYLIFE.ORG

Several years ago when I ran an Audubon nature education center in Wyoming, I often received phone calls from gardeners desperately seeking solutions to their “deer problem.” If deer discover your garden, you know how discouraging it is to have them plow through your beautifully blooming flower beds or decimate your vegetable crops just before they are ready to harvest. Unfortunately, I did not have any foolproof solutions for these gardeners, but experience taught me a few lessons that I can pass on to you. The first lesson in discouraging deer and other critters from invading your garden is to remember that wildlife know no boundaries when hunger strikes. Deer typically consume 6 to 10 pounds of food a day and when open spaces don’t provide enough sustenance, your garden becomes an enticing smorgasbord. Sadly, once deer discover your garden, they won’t forget boxwood it. This is why it is better to design your garden to deter deer from the beginning. This strategy worked well for me in Gunnison where I watched deer wander through my neighbors’ gardens, filling their bellies, but never venturing into my yard. Deer must know when hunting season begins because that is just about the time they start walking the city streets. In the fall when I went for an early morning jog, I often startled deer sleeping in my neighbor’s yard. How did I know they didn’t sleep in my yard or eat my plants when I wasn’t looking? Well, I didn’t find any signs. First, I didn’t see any hoofprints (shaped like upside down hearts) or droppings (small, pebble-like bits) in my yard. Second, I could not see any damage to my plants. Deer do not have front incisors, so they bite plants and then jerk their heads around to pull them out. The damage is

pretty evident. But I didn’t see any trampled or torn plants. Maybe I was just lucky. Or maybe I found the deer-proof solution. Deer typically inhabit edges of forests bordered by grass and shrubs. They prefer open spaces to small, confined areas. Consequently, some experts suggest building barriers, such as 6- or 7-foot fences (preferably ones you can’t see through) around your garden. Others suggest double fencing, spaced about

spirea

2 to 5 feet apart, because deer have difficulty jumping high and wide at the same time. My front yard was bordered on the south by a 6-foot fence as well as on the east and north by the house and garage. Even though not completely enclosed, the only escape if something frightened the deer was the street to the west, and that’s where the perceived danger (people or cars) was likely to be. Although it is recommended that you completely enclose your garden, the barriers in my yard may have been enough to make the deer feel more insecure than they felt in my neighbors’ yards where they could freely

roam around the front, side and back. My backyard was also protected by a tall, cinder block wall and dense trees. Even though the yard was filled with flowers and vegetables, the deer must have been hesitant to jump over the wall when they could not see what was on the other side. Another suggestion for discouraging deer is to repel them with strong odors and tastes. Personally, I could not have enjoyed my garden if it smelled like sulfur (rotten eggs) or urine, which some recommend, so I resorted to less offensive solutions. For example, I planted vegetables with strong odors, like garlic and onion, in between the flowers. I also looked for plants with thorny, leathery or fuzzy leaves. Finally, I tossed a few mothballs along the garden bordering the driveway where the odor was less noticeable. When designing your deerproof garden, there are a number of trees, shrubs and perennials that experts recommend. Some trees that grow well in our area are spruce, locust and false cyprus. Some shrubs that I recommended previously are boxwood, butterfly bush, lilac, holly and spirea. Flowers with unsavory leaves include allium, coneflower, globe thistle, hens and chickens, penstemon, phlox, roses, Shasta daisy, verbena, wormwood and yarrow. I also included several varieties of sage in my garden. Vegetables that some believe are less attractive to deer include rhubarb and asparagus. Finally, herbs are always a nice addition to any garden, so you might consider growing rosemary and oregano. While these plants may not be your primary choice, you might consider including them as filler to discourage the deer from damaging your prized flowers and vegetables.

More Online Read previous gardening columns at coloradocountrylife.coop. Click on Gardening. 22

JUNE 2017

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[outdoors]

GIVE YOUR MARKET A

BOOST Together let’s grow your business to new heights.

Kris Wendtland 303-902-7276 advertising@coloradocountrylife.org

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The boys and I have fly fished a chain of sagebrush lakes in the North Park region of Colorado for well over 30 years; long enough that, by now, you’d think we would have figured them out. But we haven’t. I suppose that’s what keeps us coming back: We want to crack the code. Of the three lakes in the cluster, one of them (the northern most) was long ago designated a Gold Medal brown trout fishery by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, so it’s popular — if not downright famous — as trophy brown trout water. It’s also notorious for being an annoyingly moody lake. One day, trout will rise all around you; the next day, you’d swear there wasn’t a fish in the whole stinkin’ lake. The lake is extremely fertile, probably a result of all the nutrient runoff from the surrounding cattle ranches, but I’m not a biologist so I can’t say for sure. What I do know is that it’s extremely productive. Due to the incredible amount of forage in the lake, the trout can grow as much as 5 to 7 inches a year feeding on a vast and varied diet of crayfish, minnows, scuds (freshwater shrimp), damselflies, mayflies and chironomids. Four- and 5-pound fish are not uncommon here, and it’s entirely possible to hook a 7 or 8 pounder. Naturally, everyone seems to have their own ideas about how to fish the thing — we’re fishermen after all, each with our own unique bag of tricks. Some like to belly boat the lake, drifting with the wind while trailing woolly buggers and such. Others use troll spinners or spoons behind a slowmoving boat. Fly fishermen like to cast

dry flies to the lake’s callibaetis hatches, or try to replicate the deep-water emergence of chironomids by drifting midge pupae on long leaders beneath a strike indicator. Some prefer to stalk the shorelines casting scuds or damselfly nymphs to cruising fish. All of these methods work, but none of them work all the time. One thing everybody seems to agree on is that the lake fishes best early and late in the year, and early and late in the day. Iceout is reputed to offer the best chance to “stick a real pig,” as they say, but we never did well the few times we made the trip in late April. We prefer to fish the lake in late summer during those quickly fleeting hours after sunset when the outline of Sheep Mountain carves a jagged, black silhouette against the fading pastel of purple-gray and salmonpainted clouds. In the spooky stillness, you become acutely aware of the waves lapping softly against your waders, the barely perceptible flutter of bats overhead and the distant muttering of a mallard hen. Suddenly a coyote yip-howls, freaking you out just as your line draws tight and your rod bows deeply. Somewhere out there in the night, a big fish rolls on the silver-black surface of North Delaney Buttes Lake and, for just a minute, you think you finally broke the code.

Miss an issue? Catch up

at coloradocountrylife.coop. Click on Outdoors. coloradocountrylife.coop

[ energy tips]

MAKE OLDER WINDOWS EFFICIENT

BY PAT KEEGAN AND BRAD THIESSEN

Do you have a story to tell? WE WANT TO HEAR IT! Colorado Country Life is looking for short stories (and a photo if you’ve got one) of your brushes with celebrities. We will pay $50 for any submitted story that we publish on our website and in the October issue. We will pay $25 for entries published on the website only. Deadline to share your story (and maybe a photo) is July 17 at 3 p.m. Send entries to info@coloradocountrylife.org or 5400 Washington Street, Denver, CO 80216

Photo Credit: Pragmaticenvironmentalism.com

Have you had a close encounter with a celebrity?

Windows are an important contributor to the efficiency and comfort of your home. In last month’s column, we talked about replacing windows, but doing so is costly and could take 20 years of energy savings to recover the investment. Luckily, you can make significant improvements to your existing windows without investing a large amount of money or time. Weather stripping can be used for areas where a window’s movable parts meet the window frame. Retailers offer a variety of weather stripping for different types of windows. These materials are low cost, easy to apply and can pay for themselves in energy savings in as little as one year. The seam between the window frame and the wall is another common source of air leakage. For anything less than 1/4inch wide, fill it with caulk; for anything larger, use expanding foam and paint over it. If the window pane is loose or the glass is cracked or missing, it’s probably costing you There are many different kinds weather stripping designed additional of for different types of windows money. and applications. If you’re handy, it is possible to reglaze a window yourself, or there may be a local shop in your area that will do it. Another strategy to consider is window coverings. There are many types, including interior roller shades, cellular shades or draperies. Recent laboratory tests showed that cellular shades could cut heating or cooling expenses by 10 to 16 percent. Cellular shades can be purchased with a lighter reflective side and a darker, heatabsorbing side. Some can even be reversed with the change of seasons. Pat Keegan and Brad Thiessen are with Collaborative Efficiency, which partners with electric co-ops on efficiency projects.

For official rules and an entry form visit our website, coloradocountrylife.coop coloradocountrylife.coop

Visit coloradocountrylife.coop to learn more about improving efficiency of older windows. Look under the Energy tab. JUNE 2017

COME RIDE WITH US! 3-DAY RACE SEPTEMBER 15-17 KERSEY, CO KEENESBURG, CO BRUSH, CO

JUNE 2017

For the sixth year in a row, Colorado’s Electric Cooperatives will ride in the Pedal the Plains bike tour to raise money for Energy Outreach Colorado and to share information about your local electric cooperative. Pedal the Plains is a three-day ride on the plains of eastern Colorado. The 2017 tour will highlight the Animal Sanctuary, family-owned farms and education stops. Visit pedaltheplains.com for more information. REGISTRATION FOR THE CO-OPS’ POWERING THE PLAINS BIKE TEAM IS NOW OPEN When registering for the electric co-op team: 1. Go to pedaltheplains.com. 2. Select Registration. 3. Click on the Register Now Button. 4. Click Join an Existing Team. 5. Select Colorado’s Electric Cooperatives from the drop-down menu and follow the prompts.

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JUNE 2017

[classifieds] TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD

Please type or print your ad on a separate paper. Indicate how many months you would like your ad to run and which month to start. There is a minimum of 12 words at $1.63 per word/month. Be sure to include your full name and address for our records. Check MUST accompany this order or call to pay by credit card. Send your ad to: mail: Colorado Country Life 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216 phone: 303-902-7276 fax: 303-455-2807 email: classifieds@coloradocountrylife.org

ANTIQUE RESTORATION CHAIR CANING -- Hand caning, machine caning, fiber rush caning. Pueblo West, 719-547-0723. chaanita@q.com (858-10-17)

ANTLERS

ANTLER CHANDELIERS made only from REAL antlers. We are the manufacturer and we sell all of our products at wholesale prices; save as much as 60% from store prices. Many other antler products and mounts, including 56” elk mount, giant moose paddles, and elk antlers. Showroom now open year ’round in Granby, CO. 18 years at this location, over 900 satisfied customers! Designers: We can provide you a single item or a whole houseful. Call ! (970) 627-3053. (085-09-17)

CLOCK REPAIR & RESTORATION

www.clockrepairandrestoration. com DURANGO AREA. CLOCKS of all kinds repaired. Antique and modern. Clocks bought and sold. bob.scott@usa.net Call Robert 970-247-7729. (109-06-17)

ENERGY

SOLAR WATER SYSTEMS -- livestock or any remote location. 3-10 gpm. Variable speed. Call Peterson High Reach for free quote, 719-688-0081. Windmills available. (316-09-17)

EVENTS

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

DYNAMIC GUIDED TOURS, interactive exhibits, educational events at the Western Museum of Mining and Industry. Check us out www.wmmi.org, 225 N. Gate Blvd., Colorado Springs, 80921, 719-488-0880 (346-09-17)

HEALTH FOOD STORE & DELI: 2 turnkey businesses in one.Strong income/customer base. Colorado mountains (970-641-5175), leave name & number. (252-08-17)

POLKA LOVERS Klub of America -- Dance to a live band Sundays, 3-7pm. Denver Kickers Sport Club, 16776 W. 50th Ave., Golden, CO. $5.00/members, $10.00/ non-members. polkadenver.com for information / band schedule. Leo, 720-232-0953 (345-09-17)

(These opportunities have not been investigated by Colorado Country Life.)

Find hidden treasure in the CLASSIFIEDS Read through the ads and FIND the CCL classified explaining how to WIN a $25 gift card. It’s easy. You could WIN.

The classified ads May contest winner is Rebecca Blanchard of Colorado Springs. She correctly counted 28 classified ads.

FOR SALE

OXYGEN CONCENTRATORS -- $400 with warranty. Also sell portable concentrators and oxygen supplies. Repair and service of equipment. Aspen Concentrator Repair Service 719-471-9895 (040-08-17) WALDEN ALPACA YARN -- 200 yd skeins in many different weights. Lovely shades of brown, black, tan,and white. All skeins at least 80% alpaca. Hypoallergenic and very warm. Becky 970-222-3219 jrizor@centurytel.net (341-07-17)

FREE

SOON CHURCH AND GOVERNMENT UNITING will suppress “Religious Liberty,” enforcing a “National Sunday Law,”leading to the “Mark of the Beast.” Be informed / Be forewarned! Need mailing address for FREE materials. TBSM,Box 99, Lenoir City, TN 37771. thebiblesaystruth@yahoo. com 1-888-211-1715. (814-08-17)

GRASS

STOP FEEDING PRAIRIE DOGS. We’ll rent hunting rights from you. Looking for antelope, goose, duck, coyote, & prairie dog habitat. Encourage young sportsmen by providing safe, private access. You make the rules. 303-460-0273 (069-08-17)

HELP WANTED

LEGITIMATE WORK AT HOME opportunity. No sales, investment, risk. Training/website provided. Monthly income plus bonuses, benefits. Call Carrie 303-5794207, www.livetotalwellness. com/livehealthy (932-02-18)

POULTRY & GAMEBIRDS

FREE COLOR CATALOG. 193 varieties, Cornish Cross, standard breeds, fancy chicks, ducks, geese, turkeys, bantams, guineas, pheasants, quail, supplies, video. 417-532-4581. PO Box 529, Lebanon, MO 65536. www. CackleHatchery.com. (876-08-17)

REAL ESTATE

READY TO RETIRE? +-13 acres near Mancos, CO. Trout-stocked canyon lake, commercial greenhouse, gardens, lots of water, passive solar timber frame home. $525,000. Jim, 970-769-1391, for pictures. (282-06-17) SOUTHEAST COLORADO FARM, 80 acres irrigated, 80 acres riverbottom. Nice large home. $190,000. muffinindustries@gmail. com 757-356-9300 (339-06-17) TIN CUP, COLORADO -- 1600sf log home, attached 30x90 workshed, 3 car building for storage. Willow Creek runs through adjacent BLM land. Seasonal access or snowmobile. Matt, Monarch Realty, 970-641-1900 (340-06-17) WE BUY LAND and/or mineral rights. CO TX NM KS. 1-800316-5337 (099-04-18)

TICKETS

NFR & PBR RODEO TICKETS -- Las Vegas. Call 1-888-NFR-Rodeo (1-888637-7633). www.NFR-rodeo.com A+ rated BBB Member. (912-04-18)

WANTED TO BUY

OLD COLORADO LIVESTOCK brand books prior to 1975. Call Wes 303-757-8553. (889-08-17) OLD GAS AND OIL items: Gas pumps, advertising signs, globes, etc. Pieces, parts, etc. considered. Also 1932-34 Ford cars and trucks, parts and pieces, too. Any condition. Brandon, 719-250-5721. (519-11-17) OLD POCKET WATCHES -- working or non-working and old repair material. Bob 719-859-4209. (870-06-18) WANT TO PURCHASE mineral and other oil/gas interests. Send details to: PO Box 13557, Denver, CO 80201. (402-03-18) WANT TO WIN $25? Mail the number of classified ads to classifieds@coloradocountrylife. org for your chance to win. Put WIN $25 in the subject line. Include name/address/phone number. Deadline NOON June 16. WANTED: JEEP CJ OR WRANGLER. Reasonably priced. No rust buckets. 888-735-5337 (099-04-18) WE PAY CASH for mineral and oil/gas interests, producing and nonproducing. 800733-8122 (099-02-18)

VACATION RENTALS

3BDR, 2BA, HOT TUB, open year around, pet friendly, redfeatherlakescabin.com 970286-9028, $195/nt (344-09-17)

WANTED TO BUY

CAST-IRON COOKWARE (Wagner & Griswold). Pyrex. Old toys in good condition. Vintage signs. Anything cowboy and Indian – hats, boots, spurs, rugs, etc. After family gets what they want, we’ll buy the rest. Antiques, collectibles, furniture, glassware, etc. We come to you! 970759-3455 or 970-565-1256. (871-08-17)

June 14 National Flag Day

NAVAJO RUGS, old and recent, native baskets, pottery. Tribal Rugs, Salida. 719-539-5363, b_inaz@hotmail.com (817-06-17)

MAY GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Lodge Manufacturing Cookware Sweepstakes Winner Teresa Bradfield of Cortez, a San Isabel Electric Association member from Pueblo West

The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide Winner Rob Kramer of Fairplay

Congratualations to our May contest winners. 28

JUNE 2017

coloradocountrylife.coop

[ funny stories]

READERS PHOTOS

Lisa and Dave Knox visit Turks and Caicos. Lisa is a Mountain View Electric Association employee.

My son and his two children were working in their front yard. He asked my 10-year-old granddaughter Lexi to go in the back and pick up dog poop (they have two miniature dachshunds). About 15 minutes later she came to the front yard complaining and frustrated, saying she couldn’t pick up all that dog poop by herself. It then dawned on my son he had the yard aerated the day before, and she thought all those plugs were from the dogs. William Ritter, Berthoud

Grace Konzier, a Grand Valley Electric member, takes her copy of Colorado Country Life to the Gamboa Rainforest Resort in Panama.

Jessie and Bob Formwalt of La Plata Electic Catie and Juli Eichler take Colorado Country Life send a photo from Komodo Island, Indonesia. to Prague. WINNER: Carlene Peters takes her copy of CCL to the Greek island of Santorini.

I was talking with a buddy of mine about my approaching 36-year wedding anniversary. He asked me, “What’s your secret to a long, happy marriage?” “It’s simple. Twice a week we go out to a candlelit dinner with soft music and dancing,” I said. “She goes on Mondays and I go on Thursdays.” Cliff Wetherill, Arvada Making buns for dinner, I set them on the counter to rise. I turned my attention to my granddaughters and we got busy playing, forgetting about the rolls. Later that afternoon, I noticed my husband standing in the kitchen peering at something. I excused myself from our granddaughters and went to the kitchen to see what he was so interested in. To my dismay, I saw the rolls were overflowing the pan. I looked at my husband accusingly and said, “Why didn’t you tell me my buns were getting too big?” He looked at me, smiled sweetly and replied, “Am I really supposed to answer that?” To this day our granddaughters call dinner rolls “Nana’s Big Buns!” Debbie Moore, Pagosa Springs My 4-year-old grandson was standing and watching his dad unplug the toilet. He said to his dad, “Wouldn’t it be easier if you just bought me another ball?” Bella Lovato, Grand Junction

Gary and Karen LaBonte of White River Electric pose with CCL in Zambia.

TAKE YOUR PHOTO WITH YOUR MAGAZINE AND WIN! It’s easy to win with Colorado Country Life. Simply take a photo of someone (or a selfie!) with the magazine and email the photo and your name and address to info@coloradocountrylife.org. We’ll draw one photo to win a $25 gift card each month. The next deadline is Friday, June 16. This month’s winner is Carlene Peters of Colorado Springs. She visited the Greek island of Santorini. coloradocountrylife.coop

We pay $15 to each person who submits a funny story that’s printed in the magazine. At the end of the year we will draw one name from those submitting funny stories and that person will receive $200. Send your 2017 stories to Colorado Country Life, 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216 or email funnystories@coloradocountrylife.org. Don’t forget to include your mailing address, so we can send you a check.

$15 JUNE 2017

[discoveries]

Buckle Up

Dad can accent his favorite outfit with a Johnson & Held belt buckle. For more than 30 years, the Englewood-based company has hand made eye-catching belt buckles that any dad would dig. Choose from a variety of designs like guitars, fish, wolves, patriotic or Colorado-inspired, or customize you own creations. Prices start at $200. For more information, call 800-525-3470 or visit jandhbuckles.com.

Hot to Handle

Pick a gift that will please Pop when packing his work lunch. Just plug it in and the Hot Logic Mini will keep his food hot for hours. It can even cook meals from scratch. As long as there is an outlet nearby, Dad’s meal will be toasty and ready to eat. Cost is $39.95. It also comes in a 9- by 13-inch option for $89.95.

SATISFY THE NEED FOR SPEED Think Dad might like a Lamborghini, Ferrari or McLaren this Father’s Day? While Dad is the most important man on the planet, splurging on an exotic car — or any car for that matter — is probably out of the question. Right? Wrong. Dream Drive Exotics offers autocross driving experiences starting at $199 and allows the driver to man any of the aforementioned vehicles. If that’s still too rich for your wallet, try booking a ride along for $119. Dream Drive Exotics is taking reservations now for a September 9 drive at FlatIron Crossing in Broomfield or a September 10 drive at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain. For more information and to book, call 855-227-8789 or visit dreamdriveexotics.com.

For more information, visit hotlogicmini.com.

BAG IT UP This Father’s Day give dad a gift that’s “Repurposed for a Purpose.” Denver-based Sword & Plough sells upcycled bags, backpacks, jewelry and accessories using military surplus. This Camo Duffle Bag is one of several travel bags Dad can get plenty of use from. Featuring approximately 35 liters of interior space with a zip closure, this bag can hold an overabundance of gear for any outing. Cost is $199, plus $34 for the optional shoulder strap. For more information, visit swordandplough.com.

JUNE 2017

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JUNE 2017

65 YEARS STRONG

Thank you for 65 years. We at Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association are proud to be a wholesale power supplier to rural cooperatives across the western U.S.