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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (May 2, 2012)
The INDEPENDENT, May 2, 2012 Page 13 Power of the People By W. Marc Farmer, General Manager, West Oregon Electric Cooperative May is Safety Month! All that remains of the restroom on the far side of Vernonia Lake after vandalism that occurred on the night of April 28. Vernonia Grange has scheduled their annual Rummage Sale The Vernonia Grange will hold its second annual Spring Rummage Sale on Saturday, May 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Grange Hall, 375 North Street. All proceeds will go to the Grange for its programs and continuing building improve- ments. If you have items to do- nate, please bring them to the Grange, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., on Friday, May 11. You might even find that unique but affordable item for Mom! Questions? Call Grange Master Julie Prohaska at 503- 429-7055, or Tobie Finzel at 503-705-2173. Since May is safety month, I felt it a perfect time to let you know what that means to us, to you the members, and what we are doing here at WOEC to help with both. Safety will save both of us money, time, and possibly lives. We take it very seriously, both in our work and our work place. We also endeavor to stress the importance to you as well. In the work place and in the field we have very specific safety guidelines and procedures we follow. We have a safety committee that re- views procedures, work place issues, and es- tablishes guidelines to provide a safe working environment both inside and outside. We pro- vide training to our staff to make sure we are current in safety procedures, equipment, and CPR training. For our members, we provide information in the Ruralite throughout the year, especially dur- ing safety month. We maintain our lines and equipment and trim trees as best we can to keep our system safe and respond quickly when there is an emergency such as a line down. Electrical problems in older homes account for nearly 55,000 fires every year. These blazes cause more than 500 deaths, injure petition and a log loading com- more than petition, too. 1,400, and Admission is free. Bring the whole family. Take a tour of all the great, old-time logging mu- seum equipment. There will be food booths, hats, license plate frames, t-shirts and sweatshirts for sale. Volunteers are needed! For more information or to volun- teer, contact Mark Standley at 503-434-0148, logsafeinc@ya- hoo.com or Darlene Wilcoxen at 503-728-2050, darlene.wil coxen@yahoo.com. Camp 18 is located at milepost 18 on Hwy 26, 42362 Hwy 26, Sea- side. See picture on page 1 for picture from the 2011 Exhibi- tion. VHS will be in 2012 Logging Exhibition The 2012 Camp 18 Loggers Memorial Dedication and Log- ging Exhibition will be held Sat- urday, May 12, at the Camp 18 Logging Museum in Elsie, Ore- gon. All are welcome to attend this free event! Founded by Maurie Clark and Gordon Smith back in the 1970s, the Camp 18 Logging Museum is a popular spot to stop on the way to the coast. The museum has grown over the years and through gener- ous donations of time and mon- ey, the Camp 18 Logging Mu- seum Loggers Memorial was completed in 2009. The beauti- ful building houses a bronze statue of a timber faller and contains logging memorabilia from many local families, as well as over 300 plaques com- memorating loggers who’ve passed on. The 2012 Loggers Memorial dedication begins at 10:00 a.m. There will be about 20 new plaques dedicated this year. Many local loggers will com- pete in the third annual Logging Exhibition as well as High School teams from Knappa, Scio, Sweet Home, Vernonia and Philomath. The high school teams work hard to help keep the logging industry alive. The forestry teams compete in logging events and study all as- pects of forestry, including bio- mass, timber harvesting, silvi- culture and forestry engineer- ing. These programs help pre- pare students for careers in the industry, and serve as college prep for those going on to study forestry at the university level. Team registration starts at 9:00 a.m. and the Exhibition begins at 11:00 a.m. Events in- clude tree climbing, choker set- ting, splicing, double bucking and the hook tender relay race. There will be a tree falling com- State Farm ® Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710 Bunny Girt, Agent 1229 N. Adair PO Box 543 Cornelius, OR 97113-0543 Bus 503-357-3131 Fax 503-357-9667 bunny.girt.b71g@statefarm.com rack up $1.4 billion in property damage. The risk of such fires is significant, since half of all homes in the United States were constructed and wired prior to 1973, according to the U.S. Census Bu- reau – before the advent of garage door open- ers or home computers. Even more telling, one- third of U.S. homes were built before hair dryers or electric can openers were even invented! “As each year goes by, Americans consume more energy in their homes,” remarks Brett Brenner, president of Electrical Safety Founda- tion International (ESFI). “Many homes and electrical systems are simply being overbur- dened, which leads to fires, injuries, and deaths.” Owners of older homes can upgrade their electric systems with newer fire prevention tech- nology, such as arc fault circuit interrupters (AF- CIs). These advanced electronic circuit breakers detect dangerous conditions in a home’s wiring and cut off power before a fire develops. Addi- tionally, those living in older homes with children can install tamper-resistant receptacles. These devices look like normal electrical outlets, al- though they have a built-in shutter system that prevents children from inserting foreign objects into the slots. Use of tamper-resistant recepta- cles would prevent most of the 2,400 burns suf- fered by children each year from outlets. We are all committed to yours and our safety here at WOEC. If you become aware of a possi- ble problem such as a downed line, please stay back from it and call us as soon as possible to fix the problem. Our members are a big help to us as the more eyes we have out there, the bet- ter it is for all of us. Thank you from all of us for all of your help in keeping you and us safe throughout the year.
