Rural Missouri - April 2013 - (Page 5)
Hart to Heart
Linemen: The new American heroes
in reducing the time our members are
gency assistance program that has
without power. But it takes way more
been in place since 1948. Because of
than a plan to make disaster recovery
this program, electric cooperatives are
a reality. It’s the strong work ethic of
never alone when disaster strikes. It
“These are the times that try men’s
these linemen that gets the job done.
takes just one phone call to the Assosouls.”
I’ve witnessed a number of these
ciation of Missouri Electric Cooperamajor outages, and I am always
tives to speed help on the way.
homas Paine penned those
amazed at what these crews accomThese days, we are assisted by new
words during the dark days
plish in some of the worst possible
technology that makes it possible to
of the American Revolution.
working conditions.
track outBut they apply
During the latest outages often
equally well to recent
ages, these linemen
before
events, when thousands
worked 16-hour days
members
of electric cooperative
To learn more about power
repairing the damage.
know they
members found themrestoration efforts, click this
They battled slick
are withselves without power in
button inside our digital
roads and snowdrifts
out power.
the wake of two powerful
edition, online at
that often required
We also
winter storms that struck
www.ruralmissouri.coop.
pulling their trucks
can make
Missouri less than a week
from pole to pole. On
more effective use of
apart.
many occasions, they
crews by tracking where
Paine also wrote, “the harder the
abandoned the trucks
the trucks are.
conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
altogether and lugged
We’ve enacted this
And that aptly sums up the accomtools and materials into
program many times
plishments of a new breed of Ameriplaces no truck could
over the years, and it
can hero. I believe the title of “hero”
reach.
always has succeeded
perfectly describes the electric co-op
lineman.
Linemen always have been unsung
“Linemen always have been the unsung
heroes who labor without regard to
their own comfort in order to ensure
heroes who labor without regard to their own
their neighbors have electricity in the
comfort in order to ensure their neighbors have
wake of some horrific natural disasters. Never more was this dedication
electricity . . . ”
to duty on display than during the
Barry Hart
recent outages.
Missouri has a time-tested emerby Barry Hart
bhart@amec.coop
T
More inspiring is the fact that
many of these men repaired their
own electric co-op’s outages, then hit
the road to help neighboring systems
make repairs. Often, they worked
overtime and returned home to a cold
house with no power. In fact, at Three
Rivers Electric Cooperative, one of the
systems hit by Winter Storm Rocky,
one of the last members reconnected
was one of the co-op’s linemen.
I am quite sure these men consider
a winter storm a personal slap in the
face from Mother Nature. They know
how critical electricity is to homes,
schools and businesses. For this reason, they do whatever it takes to get
the power flowing.
I’ll leave you with one more quote
from Paine:
“The summer soldier and the sunshine
patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the
service of his country; but he that stands
by it now, deserves the love and thanks of
man and woman.”
Let’s show our “love and thanks”
to these unsung heroes who turned
disaster into triumph. Thanks to all of
you who did so much. When Mother
Nature was at her worst, you were at
your best.
Hart is the executive vice president of
the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives.
Guest Column
Protecting Missouri’s energy future
L
by U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill
info@ruralmissouri.coop
ast March, the U.S. Department of Energy announced
it would support a new
undertaking: the design and
quick commercialization of small,
American-made Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), a new generation of safe,
emission-free and cost-effective nuclear power generators. This decision will
enhance our nation’s manufacturing
opportunities, boost our energy security and put us on the cutting edge of
a critical industry.
The project also will help ensure
the United States remains a world
leader in the manufacturing of nuclear technology, and that we cede no
ground to foreign competitors.
To further our national security
goals and attain energy independence,
we need a wide variety of projects
and an all-of-the-above approach. We
must continue to expand renewable
energy production and complete the
long-overdue Keystone XL pipeline.
A joint proposal between Ameren
Missouri, one of the state’s power providers, and Westinghouse, a firm with
expertise in nuclear power, presented
an exciting opportunity. Their propos-
al, had it been approved, would have
immediately created new jobs and
put our country on the front lines of
developing this state-of-the-art technology. It also would have provided
for increased investments in technical training and nuclear expertise at
Missouri’s colleges and
universities.
I was deeply disappointed when the
Department of Energy
announced late last
year that the Ameren/
Westinghouse proposal
had not been approved.
Knowing that strengthening our energy security and promoting
domestic job creation
aren’t partisan issues, I
worked with my Republican colleagues U.S.
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer and U.S. Sen.
Roy Blunt. We collectively worked to
ensure that the Ameren/Westinghouse
proposal was fairly considered and
shared in the disappointment of the
Department of Energy’s decision.
I was particularly surprised to learn
that the Department of
Energy chose to award
only one company
with a contract to build
SMRs. The original plan
for two contracts would
have increased competition in the SMR marketplace, enhancing
development, reducing
costs and ensuring
quick deployment of
the technology — the
ultimate goal of the
program. Instead, the
department has indi-
“I firmly believe SMRs are a part of our future
and that Missouri has the talent, resources and
expertise to compete.”
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill
APRIL 2013
cated they plan to go in a different
direction and issue a new funding
announcement for SMR technology
that will focus on innovation, bypassing the initial goals of competition
and commercialization.
I believe this recent decision by the
Department of Energy is misguided
and is contrary to the purpose of the
SMR program.
That is why I’ve again teamed up
with other members of Missouri’s
congressional delegation to request
that DOE provide detailed reasons for
abandoning their original plan and to
urge them to reconsider making a second award under the initial funding
announcement. Such a result would
fulfill the department’s initial promise
and allow the Ameren/Westinghouse
application to get the consideration it
deserves.
I’ll continue working as hard as I
know how to make sure that the U.S.
remains a leader in this emerging field
and that Missouri companies get a fair
chance to compete. I firmly believe
SMRs are a part of our future and that
Missouri has the talent, resources and
expertise to compete.
McCaskill is Missouri’s senior U.S.
senator.
5
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - April 2013
Rural Missouri - April 2013
Table of Contents
Comments
Columns
Companion planting
News Briefs
Operation cooperation
Outdoors
It’s all about redemption
Best of rural Missouri
Hearth and Home
Marmaduke’s Cape expedition
Around Missouri
Marketplace
The soldier’s paper
Neighbors
Just4Kids
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