MG_NL_0307

March 2007

Middle Georgia EMC Newsletter

Member Newsletter

Middle Georgia

The Official Newsletter of Middle Georgia Electric Membership Corporation

P.O. Box 190, Vienna, GA 31092

March 2007

MANAGER'S

Comments

By Hugh Richardson

1983 ice storm still a training tool

our employees.

We remember trying

to replace fallen poles
during the storm, only to
see them fall again later
from the weight of the ice
and falling trees. Bringing in outside help was some-
what new to us then, so we now have a better plan to
use other workers and prepare for their arrival.

It appeared for decades that there was a 10-year

cycle going on with these storms, starting back in
1963 and ending with the 1993 blizzard. But fortunate-
ly, there was no such storm in 2003.

Back in 1983, we had 100 poles down, and the

cost was about $100,000 for repairs. Today, that cost
could be three times that amount, but thanks to rou-
tine maintenance and better planning, our outage time
is much less, preserving many hours for both our
members and our employees.

wenty-four years after the 1983 ice storm, we

still discuss and review what happened that

January day the ice accumulated overnight result-
ing in the worst storm to ever hit our area. Even in
our 2006 Emergency Restoration Plan, our experi-
ence from that storm and what we learned to do
(and what not to do) was implemented.

The storm taught

us to better maintain
our system, especial-
ly with pole replace-
ments and pole
treatments. We
learned to "sit out
the storm" before
we started restora-
tion and how to best
use our manpower
without wearing out

ooperative businesses are special because they are

owned by the consumers they serve and because

they are guided by a set of principles that reflect the best
interests of those consumers.

More than 100 million people are members of

47,000 U.S. cooperatives, enabling consumers to secure
a wide array of goods and services such as health care,
insurance, housing, food, heating fuel, hardware, credit
unions, child care and utility service.

The cooperative culture:

Why cooperatives are special

Did you

KNOW

Did you

GEORGIA MAGAZINE

Middle Georgia EMC Newsletter

Chicken Brunswick Stew

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

1 (2-1/2 pound) fryer chicken

Water

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes,

sweetened with 1/3 cup sugar

1 (16-ounce) can creamed corn

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1 tablespoon liquid smoke, available in

grocery store

1 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper

Celery salt

Cooked rice, as accompaniment

Directions

In a large pot, place the

chicken and enough water to
cover chicken and bring to a boil.
Cook chicken until meat falls off
of the bone, approximately 45
minutes. Drain the chicken and
reserve 2 cups of stock. Remove
the skin and bones and chop
meat.

In a separate pot, mix the

chicken and remaining ingredi-
ents. Simmer slowly for 30 min-
utes, stirring to prevent sticking.
Add a little bit of the stock if the
stew becomes too thick. Serve
over steamed rice.

Stewpendous stew recipes

Courtesy of Paula Deen and

foodnetwork.com

African Chop

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 beef bouillon cubes

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 tablespoon chili flakes

2 tablespoons curry powder

4 cups water

4 slices bacon

2 pounds collard greens, washed, drained,

and thinly sliced

1 cup chopped onions

1 (28-ounce) can of tomato puree

1/2 cup peanut butter

Directions

In a Dutch oven, place the stew

beef, bouillon cubes, salt, crushed
red pepper, chili powder, chili
flakes, curry powder and water.
Stir and bring to a rapid boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, covered,
for an hour. Cut the bacon into
small pieces and fry in a skillet
until all of the fat is rendered.
Remove the bacon from the skillet
and reserve. Sauté the greens and
the onions in the bacon fat for 4
minutes, stirring constantly. Add
the sautéed greens and onions
along with the tomato puree,
reserved bacon and peanut butter
to the stew. Stir and simmer cov-
ered for an hour. Serve with rice.

Quick Crab Stew

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, chopped

1 (10-3/4-ounce) can condensed cream

of potato soup

1 (10-3/4-ounce) can condensed cream

of celery soup

1 soup can full of milk

1 soup can full of half and half

1 pound claw crabmeat, picked free

of any shells

1/4 cup dry sherry

Salt and freshly ground black pepper,

to taste

Directions

In a large saucepan, melt the

butter and sauté the onion until
translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add
the soups, milk and half and half.
Add the crabmeat and bring just
to a boil. Add the sherry and salt
and pepper to taste. Serve imme-
diately. Or, allow to cool at room
temperature, then refrigerate or
freeze immediately in plastic
microwavable reusable containers
with lids.

Stewpendous stew recipes

Courtesy of Paula Deen and

foodnetwork.com

March 2007

Middle Georgia EMC Newsletter

Old Time Beef Stew

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds stew beef

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups water

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, peeled

1-2 bay leaves

1 medium onion, sliced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Dash of ground allspice or ground cloves

3 large carrots, sliced

3 ribs of celery, chopped

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

Brown meat in hot oil. Add

water, Worcestershire sauce,
garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt,
sugar, pepper, paprika and all-
spice. Cover and simmer 1-1/2
hours. Remove bay leaves and
garlic clove. Add carrots and
celery. Cover and cook 30 to
40 minutes longer. To thicken
gravy, remove 2 cups hot liq-
uid. Using a separate bowl,
combine 1/4 cup water and
cornstarch until smooth. Mix
with a little hot liquid and
return mixture to pot. Stir and
cook until bubbly.

fter the widespread power outages from storms in the

Midwest, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Com-

mission (CPSC) is warning consumers about deaths from
carbon monoxide (CO) when using portable generators.

Last year, 64 people died of CO poisoning from

generators. Most of these deaths occurred during the
winter months.

Portable generators are designed to be temporarily

connected to selected appliances or lights. These genera-
tors should never be connected directly to your building's
wiring system. When using portable generators, remem-
ber these rules:

NEVER use portable generators indoors or in
garages, basements or sheds. They should always be
used outside--well away from windows, doors,
vents or any other opening to the home.

CO from a generator is deadly and can kill you in
minutes. One generator produces as much CO as
100 idling cars.

Use a CO alarm in your home.

CO is an invisible, odorless killer. Initial signs of CO
poisoning are dizziness, feeling weak and flu-like
symptoms.

Power outages

CPSC warns of deadly CO dangers
from portable generators

Portable generators are
useful when temporary
or remote electric
power is needed, but
they also can be haz-
ardous due to carbon
monoxide (CO) poi-
soning from the toxic
engine exhaust, electric
shock or electrocution,
and fire.

Below are some links to additional infor-

mation on the following topics:

Portable generator safety alert,
www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/portgen.pdf

Home Heating--CO and fire dangers,
including portable generators,
www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/ prhtml07/
07019.html
Also, exercise caution when using candles.

Use flashlights instead. If you must use candles,
do not burn them on or near anything that can
catch fire. Keep burning candles away from
drafts. Never leave burning candles unattended;
extinguish candles when you leave the room.

For more information, contact CPSC at

(301) 504-7908 or www.cpsc.gov.

Power outages

Middle Georgia EMC Newsletter

GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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.

Years of Service Recognition

sing the sun to supple-

ment the electricity you

buy from your electric
cooperative can cut your
energy bill, but a full-
blown, solar energy system
isn't practical for most
homeowners.

Try passive solar

design, which combines the
natural sunlight that shines
into your home with heat-
absorbent materials to
lower heating costs.

Heat naturally distributes throughout a room,

moving from warmer objects to cooler ones and
erasing the difference in temperature. Passive solar
home design uses this property of heat to make a room
warmer without using the furnace so much.

Designing your home to use passive solar energy will take some ren-

ovations. The home will need a large, south-facing window area, with
heat-absorbing glass panes to collect the warmth from the winter sun.
And the sun should shine on a material with a high thermal mass--the
ability to store heat--like a dark masonry wall, which will absorb the
warmth and radiate it throughout the inside of the home. Once this heat
collects, fans or blowers can help redistribute it through the house.

Roof overhangs can deflect summer sun, which shines on the house

at a different angle, to keep the house cool when it's warm outdoors.

Passive solar home design can lower home heating costs and help

you do your part to protect the environment.

For more information about how to use passive solar energy in your

home, visit www.eere.energy.gov.

Let the sun shine in

Years of Service Recognition for Middle Georgia EMC's employees who celebrated an

anniversary in February 2007 include the following:

Gloy Hobbs

, equipment operator,

has been an employee for eight years at Middle Georgia EMC.

Daniel Bloodworth

serviceman, has been with us for four years.

J.P. Smith

, lineman, is

celebrating his second year at Middle Georgia EMC.

Our newest employee is

Anthony Chalk

of Vienna. Anthony began his career at

Middle Georgia EMC on Jan. 2, 2007, as a groundman. Anthony lives in Dooly County
with his wife, Jennifer, and their two sons, Anthony Jr. and Ethan. Welcome to our EMC
family, Anthony.