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Nominating committees
appointed for 2008
election
Three directors to be
elected at Annual Meeting on July 17
The
REMC board of directors appointed nominating committees for the 2008 election
of directors were appointed at its meeting on April 8. The committee members
and the districts they represent are listed below.
District Three:
Includes the REMC’s service area
in Brown, Howard, Jefferson, Posey and Vernon Townships,
cheeseand
the part of Washington Township west of State Road 135, all in Washington
County.
Nominating Committee:
Edgar Ear Williams, John M. Bush and Tim Guthrie.
District Six:
Includes the REMC’s service area
in Center, Geneva, Marion and Spencer Townships, all in Jennings County.
Nominating Committee:
Steve Deputy, Raymond Derringer and Tom gudgel.
District Nine:
Includes the REMC’s service area
in Pershing and Salt Creek Townships in Jackson County; Van Buren Township in
Brown County and Jackson Township in Bartholomew County.
Nominating Committee:
Jon Henning, Kyle Priddy and George
Rietman.
The
qualifications for director candidates were included in last months’ issue of
"Watt High Lights" and is included in the REMC’s Member Handbook.
Copies of these publications are available upon request. The Member Handbook
is also posted on our website www.jacksonremc.com. The election of directors
will be held at the REMC’s Annual Meeting of Members on Thursday, July 17, at
the Jackson County Fairgrounds.
Nomination process
The bylaws of
Jackson County REMC require that a nominating committee made up of resident
member-consumers from each of the districts involved in the election prepare a
slate of two director candidates for nomination.
Nominations may also
be made by petition of at least 15 members from within the district involved,
with said petition to be delivered to the general manager of the REMC at least
40 days prior to the Annual Meeting on July 19, 2007. The 2007 petition
deadline is 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 8.
The REMC’s bylaws
prohibit nominations made from the floor at the Annual Meeting.
Please contact the
REMC by phone (800-288-4458 or 812-358-4458), by e-mail (info@jacksonremc.com)
or in person if you have any questions about the 2007 nomination or election
processes.

Scroll down
for highlights from our
April 2008
issue!
Be sure to join us for the
2008 annual meeting
on July 17 at the Jackson
County Fairgrounds!
Community Calendar
Click here to find out what's happening in REMC Country!

Retail rates to
reflect full
wholesale power cost
as of April 1
General Manager
Jed Wheatley
Talking about rising prices is
never pleasant, but it is necessary in order to keep everyone well informed.
Back on April 1, 2007, the rates
that Jackson County REMC was paying for wholesale power increased by $11.60
per 1,000 kWh. The REMC board of directors elected to pass through $8.60 in a
first phase of the corresponding retail increase and to absorb the remaining
$3.00 for a year in order to mitigate the impact upon members.
It is now time to implement the
second phase of the rate adjustment that was previously announced. Jackson
County REMC has, therefore, recently asked the Indiana Utility Regulatory
Commission to approve an increase in its retail rates for the other $3.00 per
1,000 kWh that it had been absorbing.
Even after the April 2007 wholesale
increase, cost pressures continued to build in electrical power markets
sufficient to generate another raise in wholesale prices that occurred on
January 1, 2008. Consequently, a retail "fuel adjustment" request for an
additional $1.28 per 1,000 kWh has also been placed before the utility
commission to deal with this incremental increase.
The overall effect upon member
bills from both requests would be to raise a typical residential retail bill
of 1,000 kWh by $4.28, or 4.8 percent, from $88.54 to $92.82. As submitted,
the new rates would become effective on April 1, 2008, and would first appear
on bills to be mailed on May 31, due and payable by June 17.
Only the higher prices for
wholesale electricity have been included in the rate adjustment. All funds
generated will be paid out to cover the higher cost of power.
I wish I could say that electric
rates should now stabilize, but, unfortunately, that is not the way the world
is shaping up. Rising demand for energy, tightening emissions standards and
the need to build additional generating capacity are three significant factors
that will put further pressure on electric rates in the coming years.
REMC’s wholesale power supplier,
Hoosier Energy, has forecasted the need for further quarterly "fuel cost
adjustments" and has scheduled a base rate increase of $1.50 per 1,000 kWh for
January 1, 2009.
More significantly for the longer
term, major decisions are being discussed at the state and federal levels
regarding global warming and carbon dioxide regulations with huge
ramifications for electricity prices. Everyone will need to tune in and
participate in the debate, as carbon legislation could easily increase
electric prices by another 100 percent.
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Our Energy, Our
Future -
Climate Change
Legislation
Last fall, Michigan Congressional
Representative John Dingell offered a "discussion draft" for dealing with
climate change. In his own words: "I’m trying to have everybody
understand that this is going to cost and that it’s going to have a measure of
pain that you’re not going to like."
Indeed, his draft bill, which he
only introduced to generate discussion, included some sobering proposals
indicative of potential legislation: 1) an additional 50 cents a gallon tax on
gasoline and airline fuel, 2) a $50.00 per ton carbon tax (that could raise
wholesale electric prices from coal generation by nearly 100 percent), and 3)
a phase out of the interest tax deduction on homes in excess of 3,000 square
feet.
Representative Dingell helped
highlight the cost and social commitment that would be required if we are
going to take meaningful action on climate change. Since that time, several
studies of the possible cost of carbon legislation have been published.
Currently, a "Lieberman-Warner
Bill" has been passed out of the U.S. Senate Environmental and Public Works
Committee. It would institute a cap and trade system for carbon that would
greatly impact electric rates for Hoosiers, who are dependent upon coal-fired
generation.
Since the general public will
ultimately bear the cost for whatever Congress decides about climate change,
it is critical that the public be aware of the impacts of the legislation
being considered, be involved in the discussion, and buy into the commitment
and sacrifice they will be required to make.
Everyone will be very tuned in once
they see the impact on their electric bills. However, the best time to
actually affect the direction the nation takes on climate change is now, on
the front end, when the legislation is being developed.
Some questions you might wish to
direct toward your congressional representatives to get the dialogue started
are:
1) What is your plan to make sure
we have the electricity we’ll need in the future?
2) What are you doing to fully fund
the research required to make emissions free electric plants an affordable
reality?
3) How much is all this going to
increase my electric bill and what will you do to make it affordable?
For assistance in beginning this
dialogue with your elected officials, you may visit www.ourenergy.coop.
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2008 right-of-way
spraying
season to begin in May
Parts of Jackson, Jennings, Scott and
Washington Counties included in this year’s program
The REMC’s right-of-way herbicide
spraying program for 2008 will begin in early May. Approximately 520 miles of
right-of-way have been scheduled for this year’s program. The REMC’s tree and
brush maintenance program represents a significant investment, the cost of
which we feel provides you with the reliable electric service that meets your
needs.
The REMC will again be using its
own equipment and employees to perform the spraying, which has proven to be
quite effective. Selective herbicides remove only unwanted weeds, brush and
trees from rights-of-way. Ongoing research results show that spraying programs
like the REMC’s enhance wildlife habitat by promoting grasses, low-growing
shrubs and other ground cover that birds, deer and small animals prefer.
This year’s treatment area will
include distribution lines served by the Chestnut Ridge substation south of
Seymour; the area served by the Dudleytown substation in southeastern Jackson
County and southwestern Jennings County; and the western part of Scott County
and the eastern part of Washington County served by the Little York
substation. Customers will be notified in advance of work starting in their
areas.
Questions concerning the spraying
program are welcomed. Just call us at 1-800-288-4458 or 358-4458.
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Cooking for one or
two
by Betty Baute,
Member Services Assistant
After my kids left for college I
found it necessary to cut back on my cooking to serve just my husband and
myself because we quickly tired of eating leftovers. It took a little math to
figure the ingredients, and I had to make adjustments in pan sizes and cooking
times. But, I’ve managed to adjust several of our favorites to two to four
servings.
Here are some recipes already
written for one or two servings. We’re also including a list of tips to help
you reduce the number of servings of your favorite recipes.
Baked rice for one
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup long grain rice (not
instant)
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup shredded Swiss or cheddar
cheese
Combine broth, rice, parsley, salt
and pepper in a greased 12-ounce baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees
for 30 to 35 degrees or until rice is tender. Sprinkle with cheese; bake an
additional 4 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
* * * * *
Orange cobbler for two
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons orange juice
concentrate
2 teaspoons butter
1/2 cup biscuit mix
dash ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons milk
vanilla ice cream
Combine sugar and cornstarch in a
saucepan; stir in water, marmalade and juice concentrate. Cook and stir over
medium heat until thickened. Stir in butter until melted. Pour into a greased
1-quart dish. Combine biscuit mix and nutmeg in a bowl; stir in milk just
until moistened. Drop by tablespoonfuls over orange mixture. Bake, uncovered
20 to 25 minutes at 400 degrees or until golden brown. Serve warm with ice
cream.
* * * * *
Hobo dinners for two
1/2 pound ground beef
2 medium potatoes, peeled and
sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup
chopped onion
salt and
pepper to taste
2 ice
cubes
Cut two sheets of aluminum foil 18
inches X 13 inches. Shape beef into two patties; place one in the center of
each sheet of foil. Divide potatoes, carrots and onion over the two beef
patties; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add an ice cube to each dinner. Fold
foil over and seal top and sides well. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Open foil carefully --- the steam will be hot!
* * * * *
Quick baked apple for one
1 teaspoon finely chopped nuts
1 teaspoon raisins
1 teaspoon flaked coconut
1 medium tart apple
dash ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons apple juice
1-1/2 teaspoons maple syrup
Combine nuts, raisins and coconut
in a small bowl; set aside. Core apple and remove top third of peel; place in
a microwave safe dish. Fill center of apple with nut mixture. Sprinkle with
cinnamon. Pour apple juice into dish and drizzle syrup over apple. Cover and
microwave on HIGH for 2 to 3 minutes, or until apple is tender, basting and
rotating every minute. Serve warm.
* * * * *
Lazy lasagna for two
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup cottage cheese
3/4 cup shredded mozarella cheese
1-1/2
cups cooked wide egg noodles
2
tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Warm the spaghetti sauce; stir in
cottage cheese and mozzarella. Fold in noodles. Pour into two greased 2-cup
casserole dishes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 375
degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly.
* * * * *
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Why the monthly "Watt High Lights"?
"Watt High Lights," Jackson County REMC's monthly newsletter, has been mailed to the cooperative's
members every month since the first issue was published in June 1946. Fred Schleter, a new REMC
employee at that time, had arrived just a month before and was assigned the task of starting a
monthly publication to keep members informed of the rapidly changing world of rural electrification.
Why begin a newsletter, you ask? In 1946, the only ways of communicating across a broad area were
telephones, radios, and the United States Post Office. Not everyone had telephones or radios back
then, but every REMC member had a mailbox! The newsletter became the most consistent and efficient
method of keeping our members informed of new appliances and equipment, wiring information, and
changes in the REMC's procedures and policies. In today's world of instant communication through
e-mail, the internet, and fax machines, we still think that our newsletter is the easiest, most
economical, and most efficient way to reach each and every member, each and every month.
We certainly welcome your comments and suggestions to keep the "Watt High Lights" a welcome
arrival in your mailbox each month.
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