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Area Students Represent WCEC at
East Texas Electric Youth Seminar
Ten area high school students have been selected to represent WCEC at the East Texas Rural Electric Youth Seminar (ETREYS). These students will join approximately 130 East Texas High Schoolers, each sponsored by one of the 9 East Texas electric cooperatives for a week-long camp held on the campus of East Texas Baptist University.
ETREYS is a leadership camp designed to foster positive ideals, enhance leadership skills, and teach the cooperative philosophy. The ten students were selected based on their leadership positions in school activities, civic activities and letters of reference from their respective high schools. Beyond the inherent benefits of attending camp, these students will also have the opportunity to compete for scholarships.
The 2018 WCEC Delegates are Braylee Burch, Winnsboro; Tommie Burnett, Alba-Golden; River Chaney, Quitman; Kristen McMillan, Winnsboro; Kayla Munger, Winnsboro; Brandon Noll, Winnsboro; Leah Ward, Winnsboro; Amber Westing, Quitman; Montrell Williams, Mineola.
Each year a student, based on their demonstrated citizenship and leadership is selected by peer camp attendees to return the following year in a leadership role. Ty'Lik Simon from Winnsboro was selected as the Youth Director and will lead the 2018 ETREYS camp.
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Move Over for Emergency and Utility Crews
When the power goes out, so do WCEC's line crews. Lineworkers are the first to respond after an outage occurs, and they work tirelessly to restore power to the communities we serve.
If you're traveling and see one of our crews on the side of the road, we kindly ask that you slow down and move over if possible and give them a little extra space to work. We deeply care about the safety of all, and this extra precaution ensures just that.
There's plenty of room for all. Let's work together to keep everyone safe on our local roadways.
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Help Kids Be Smart Energy Users
"Did you turn off the lights in your room?" "We're not paying to cool the whole neighborhood!" With school out for the summer, parents will be uttering these phrases to their children countless times each day. Despite best efforts, it can be tough to help kids understand the importance of saving energy-and to put that knowledge into action. So how can you persuade kids to take energy saving actions?
Deputize an "Energy Enforcer"
Assign children to investigate wasteful energy practices. Each week, give the appointed child a badge and empower him or her to seek out energy waste and hold the offending parties-including adults-accountable. Consider offering your little energy deputies a bounty for finding leaks, drafts and other wasteful energy practices around the house. Their progress can be tracked with stickers on a calendar, and when the kids reach their goal, they can be rewarded.
Gentle Reminders
Colorful stickers or sticky notes on light switches help kids remember to turn off the lights when they leave a room. Sticky notes don't just apply to light switches. Place notes labeled "Turn Me Off" and "Unplug Me" near game consoles, TVs and other electronics as a visual reminder.
Pay the Piper
For older children, perhaps a financial plan will work. Consider "fining" them 25 cents for each lightbulb left on in their rooms. A ceiling fan with 4 bulbs could lead to a costly mistake. Demonstrating the tangible cost of inefficient electricity use might be the way to get the lesson to stick. Show them the electric bill to help them understand why it's important to use energy wisely.
No matter what the approach, talking to kids about energy use is sure to pay dividends. They might not always follow through, but they'll be learning important lessons about the value of energy and the importance of conservation that can last a lifetime.
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Safety Tips
Keeping Safe Around The Big Green Box
Landscaping
To improve property aesthetics, underground powerlines are often installed. While it eliminates utility poles and overhead wires, these services do require installing pad-mounted transformers. Unfortunately, some homeowners, concerned about curb appeal, attempt to screen pad-mount transformers from view with fencing and plants-creating an unsafe situation.
In order to work safely on these units, WCEC crews require at least 10 feet of clearance in front of the transformer and 4 feet of clearance on the sides and back. This space is needed because workers use an eight-foot-long "hot stick" to protect themselves while disconnecting the power source on pad-mounts that are energized. The other clearances are needed to perform other repairs.
Fences, shrubs and trees located too close to the pad-mount transformers can slow restoration and create a serious safety hazard. Too, p
lants can be an attractant to snakes, rodents or other animals that will try to make a home and can cause service disruption.
Avoid these situations by planning landscaping or other additions with the appropriate clearances in mind.
Call Before You Dig
Because underground service continues from the transformer to your home, you should never dig anywhere in your yard without first calling 811 to find out where lines are buried.
Educate The Kids
Also,
please teach your children to stay away from pad-mounted transformers (the big green box). While safe, they are not meant for touching, climbing, or playing on. Any electrical equipment has the potential to shock or electrocute, if its been damaged by a lawnmower or a vandal or some other way.
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Energy Efficiency Tips
Laundry Tip: Use rubber or wool dryer balls, which help separate clothing in the cycle, providing better airflow and a shorter drying time. Wool dryer balls can help absorb moisture, which also reduces drying time.
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