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-
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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.