November 2005
19
Middle Georgia EMC Newsletter
Member Newsletter
Middle Georgia
Middle Georgia
The Official Newsletter of Middle Georgia Electric Membership Corporation
P.O. Box 190, Vienna, GA 31092
November 2005
MANAGER'S
MANAGER'S
Comments
Comments
By Hugh Richardson
Assisting other EMCs
hile there were
many unfortu-
nate people and EMC
customers in Mississippi
and Louisiana in
September, Georgia res-
idents were very fortu-
nate. Hurricane Katrina
was originally expected
to head directly over
us, but headed more
west instead. Then
Ophelia veered toward
the Carolina coast and
Rita went to Texas.
Instead of having to
restore our power, we
assisted an EMC in
Mississippi.
Several hundred
EMC personnel from Georgia headed to these devas-
tated areas in early September, including four of our
own. Our crew stayed for eight days. Although it is
voluntary for us to assist, we were reimbursed for all
of our expenses by that EMC. Some EMCs over there
just had to rebuild their lines, while others found
themselves with less
homes and businesses
to restore power to.
In the history of this EMC, ice storms have been
the most destructive to us. We have had some tropi-
cal storm damage, especially in the past year, but
never anything like what has hit our neighboring
states. We are going to take the Mississippi EMC's
experience and use it to plan our emergency
response procedures. We need to be prepared as
much as possible for such a catastrophic occurrence,
and then, hopefully, it will never happen. But for
now, we'll count our blessings.
W
OUR OFFICES WILL BE CLOSED ON Thursday, Nov. 24, 2005,
in observance of Thanksgiving.
Holiday Notice
Assisting other EMCs
Middle Georgia EMC's crew work-
ing to restore power in Meridian,
Miss.This photo shows J.P. Smith
climbing the pole and Keith Long
in the bucket.
A crew from Middle Georgia EMC helps restore power after
Katrina. This photo is of Joe Tripp, J.P. Smith and Nat Lewis.
W
20
GEORGIA MAGAZINE
Middle Georgia EMC Newsletter
Years of Service for October 2005 employees
include Line Foreman
Henry Bellew
, who is
celebrating 35 years with Middle Georgia EMC
as of Oct. 1, and
Doug Powell
, Purchasing
Agent, who has been with us for 14 years.
Years of Service Recognition
·
Local entertainment
·
Bake sales
·
Arts and crafts, including
woodwork items
·
Lots of food
·
Jewelry
·
Santa Claus
·
Flea market
·
Antique cars, trucks and
tractors parade
·
RAFFLE PRIZES EVERY 30
MINUTES!!
·
Pinehurst Fire Department
chicken-que plates, $6.
Years of Service Recognition
eter readers trudge
through the rain, snow
and summer heat to make
sure you get an accurate
bill from your electric coop-
erative. Return the favor by
making your reader's job
a bit easier.
·
Ask your electric coop-
erative when a meter reader will drop by. If you're not
home when the reader arrives and your meter isn't
accessible, the cooperative may have to estimate your
electricity use for that month's bill.
·
Keep dogs and other pets on a chain or indoors when
your reader is scheduled to visit your home.
·
Clear trees, shrubs and plants from around your
meter, and shovel snow out of the way in winter. The
meter should be easy to reach and clearly visible so a
reader won't have to search for it.
·
Some electric cooperatives are installing digital
meters, which the utility can read remotely. That will
cut down on the number of times a meter reader has
to come to the homes of their consumer-members--
and it will reduce the number of estimated electricity
bills those consumer-members receive.
Different kinds of digital meters work in different
ways. Some contain small transmitters that can send infor-
mation about a home's electricity use to a specially
equipped power company truck driving through the neigh-
borhood. Meters using "turtle" technology transmit figures
on electricity use from the home to the electric cooperative
over power lines. Others use a customer's telephone lines
to send data to the utility's computers.
Save meter readers some hassle;
clear shrubs, keep dogs away
M
JEFFERSON ENERGY
Christmas in
the Park
Saturday, December 3
9 a.m. 3 p.m.
Saturday, December 3
9 a.m. 3 p.m.
M
Downtown Pinehurst
Downtown Pinehurst
November 2005
21
Middle Georgia EMC Newsletter
Middle Georgia EMC helps after Katrina
n late August, Katrina became the 11th
named storm of the turbulent 2005 Atlantic
hurricane season--and its most deadly and
destructive. At 2 a.m. on Aug. 28, 2005,
Katrina escalated to Category 4 strength,
heading for the Gulf Coast. The last time
Mississippi or Louisiana saw landfall from a
Category 4 or stronger storm was in 1969
with Hurricane Camille. At 7 a.m., Katrina
intensified to Category 5, the worst and high-
est category on the Saffir-Simpson scale. By
10 a.m., Katrina hit 175 mph winds. During
the day, President Bush declared a state of
emergency in Mississippi and ordered federal
assistance. The National Hurricane Center said
low-lying areas along the Gulf Coast could
expect storm surges of up to 25 feet as the
storm, with top sustained winds of 160 mph,
hit early the next day.
At 4 a.m. on Aug. 29, 2005, Katrina was
downgraded to a strong Category 4 storm. By
7 a.m., Katrina made landfall on the Louisiana
coast between Grand Isle and the mouth of the
Mississippi River. At 11 a.m., Katrina made another
landfall near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line with
125 mph winds. The storm's daylong rampage
claimed lives and ravaged property in Louisiana,
Mississippi and Alabama, where coastal areas
remained under several feet of water.
In Mississippi, dozens of people were killed
and Gov. Haley Barbour described "catastrophic
damage" along the coast. More than 1.3 million
homes and businesses in Louisiana, Mississippi and
Alabama were without electricity, according to the
utility companies. Barbour said that Katrina inflicted
more damage to the state's beach towns than did
Hurricane Camille in 1969, and its death toll was
likely to be higher as well.
Middle Georgia EMC sent a four-man crew to Meridian, Miss., to help
in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina from Sept. 1 to Sept. 8, 2005.
The four men who went include (from left to right) Keith Long
(metering technician), Nat Lewis (first class lineman), Joe Tripp (line
foreman) and J.P. Smith (lineman-trainee).
I
he filter in your furnace or heat pump protects the
blower, heating coils and cooling coils from dirt. If
these heating components get dirty, they are difficult
and expensive to clean. Changing the filters in your
furnace or heat pump is one of the most important
home-maintenance jobs one can perform. When filters
get plugged with dirt, airflow through the ducts is
reduced and your air conditioner's performance and
efficiency suffer.
You should change or clean your filter every two
to four months when air conditioning or heating your
home. The fiberglass filters in the cardboard frames
are disposable. The filters made of plastic fibers, usu-
ally blue in color, are washable in soap and water.
Before you can change a filter, you have to
know where it is. Your filter is located in the return
grill, in the main return near the
furnace or inside the furnace
near the blower. If you can't
find your filter, contact your
air-conditioning contractor.
Many homes have elec-
tronic air cleaners or other filters that are
designed to collect dust for health reasons. These fil-
ters need even more attention than the standard fil-
ters because they get dirty quicker. Electronic air
cleaners are usually cleaned by removing their core
and metal pre-filter and washing them in an automat-
ic dishwasher or with a hose outside. Clean or
replace other specialty filters according to the manu-
facturer's instructions packaged with the filter.
--Source: Saturn Resource Management
T
Changing or cleaning furnace filters
22
Middle Georgia EMC Newsletter
Board of Directors
Don Wood
President
Johnny Noble
Vice President
Kay West
Secretary
Ronnie Youngblood
Treasurer
John David McCall
Director
Jerry F. Rhodes
Director
Royce Conner
Director
Ronnie Fleeman
Director
David Dunaway
Director
Davis and Forehand
Attorneys
Staff
Hugh Richardson
General Manager
Lisa Laney
Executive Secretary,
Newsletter Editor
Randy Kent
Office Manager
Mike McGee
Manager of Operations
and Engineering
Vienna Area (229) 268-2671
Rochelle
(Day) (229) 365-2263
(Night) 1-800-342-0144
Hawkinsville
(Day) (478) 892-3436
(Night) 1-800-342-0144
Office Hours
Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
(Branch offices closed from
12-1 p.m. daily)
Closed Saturday, Sunday and holidays.
There is a dispatcher on call 24 hours
a day for your convenience.
GEORGIA MAGAZINE
A tasty Thanksgiving treat!
Tennessee Banana
Black Walnut Cake
With Caramel Frosting
Prep.Time: 30 Minutes.Total: 40
Minutes.Yield: 12 Servings
Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped black walnuts*
Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream, plus more as
necessary
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar
2 cups finely chopped black walnuts, for
garnish (optional)*
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) cake
pans. For the cake: In a medium
bowl, stir together flour and bak-
ing soda; set aside. Using an elec-
tric mixer, cream together shorten-
ing and sugar in a bowl until light
and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing
well after each addition. Mix in
mashed bananas, buttermilk and
vanilla. Add flour mixture, mix
until just combined. Stir in walnuts.
Pour into prepared pans. Bake
until a toothpick inserted in the
center of the cake comes out
clean, about 35 minutes. Cool in
pans on a cooling rack for 10 min-
utes. Remove from pans and cool
completely.
Meanwhile, prepare frosting.
Melt butter in small saucepan. Add
brown sugar and 1/3 cup cream.
Cook over medium-low heat until
the sugar dissolves, about 2 min-
utes. Remove from heat and add
vanilla. Transfer to a large bowl.
Using a hand-held electric
mixer, beat in confectioners' sugar
a little at a time until smooth. If
frosting is too thick, add 1 table-
spoon heavy cream at a time until
consistency is right. Sandwich 2
layers of cake with frosting. Frost
the outside of the cake. Press
chopped black walnuts on the
sides of the cake, if desired.
*Cook's Note: DO NOT substitute
English walnuts for black walnuts.
This recipe is courtesy of Paula Deen of
foodnetwork.com.