Keeping Us in the Light
This article (“Lives on the Line,” June 2011) got my attention quickly as I saw a lineman in action in May. During the evening hours, I had trouble with the electricity to our home. I made a call to the Hamilton County Electric Cooperative office, and about 45 minutes later, a young lineman arrived.
I watched him climb that pole with only those steel gaffs strapped to his boots and a leather belt to keep him up there while he did his job with perfection. He had all those tools that your article showed, and he knew how to use them all.
Thank you, thank you all linemen for coming to our aid when we are in the dark.
Delores Whitt, Hamilton County Electric Cooperative
Way Cool Savings
Thanks for forwarding the June 2011 Texas Co-op Power newsletter to us. It is great to see that other Texas residents will be receiving some of the energy upgrades that we did in 2010!
Even though we added 400 square feet to our home in October, we continue to see lower electric bills. In fact, recently, our A/C was out for about five hours one day. However, due to the added insulation that we received as part of our energy makeover, the temperature inside our home never went above 77 degrees! How awesome is that?
We continue to be appreciative of our winnings and amazed at our energy savings!
Nancie Jimenez
Editor’s note: Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative members Richard and Nancie Jimenez and their family were winners in the 2010 Texas Co-op Power Home Energy Makeover Contest.
Hats Off to Linemen
It’s so easy to get in our cars or trucks, turn the key and expect them to go. Just ask a mechanic. The same goes for our homes or businesses—turn on the switch and expect power or light.
Well, I want to thank you for your article on electric linemen. It helps me to remember not to take for granted all these things we use that run on electricity. Someone, somewhere has made it possible for me to have cold food, cool air, lights, water, machines that run, and so on and so on. Thanks, linemen.
Jo Ann Masturzo, San Patricio Electric Cooperative
Co-op to the Rescue
I’m writing to tell you how my co-op came to my rescue. Several years ago, I made my father a flagpole for his yard out of some drilling pipe I had. The only problem is it was 30 feet long and made a very tall flagpole. My father is 85 years old and a veteran.
Last winter, we had some terrible blizzards, and the flag and rope were torn to shreds. Many people in my community of Spanish Fort, Texas, look at the flag to see which way the wind is blowing—has the front come in yet, etc. Several people tried to find a way to get a rope back up to the top through the ring, but to no avail.
Finally, I thought of Cooke County Electric Cooperative in Muenster. They were glad to come do it at no charge. I had several people call me that evening to ask how I got the rope up there. I told several I shimmied my 50-year-old body up the pole, but then I’d laugh and tell the truth. Thank you, Cooke County Electric Co-op, for helping me honor my father.
Marlissa Gibbs, Cooke County Electric Cooperative
Enjoyed ‘True Grit’ Article
Connie Strong: I enjoyed the article you wrote for Texas Co-op Power (“The Big Picture,” June 2011) on Granger being used for the filming of “True Grit.” It has been passed around among all of my cousins.
Rodger Barnes, Central Texas Electric Cooperative
In Defense of Animals
A big thank you to Tracy Frank (letter to the editor, June 2011) who wrote: “I find the pictures of dead animals alongside grinning people to be grotesque and offensive. … Please consider that not everybody in Texas thinks it is fun to harm innocent animals.”
I couldn’t have said it better!
Nicole Huntley, Pedernales Electric Cooperative
Thank you to Tracy Frank of the Society for Animal Rescue and Adoption in Seguin for pointing out what many of us thought when we saw the pictures for “Catch of the Day” (Focus on Texas, April 2011). They were offensive. I urge Texas Co-op Power to consider another topic for upcoming issues.
Shari St. Clair, Pedernales Electric Cooperative
Animals Provide Food
My family came to Texas in the early 1800s. I have photos of them hunting squirrels, deer and catching fish. It was food to survive on. I married a man with a similar tie to Texas. This is a modern time when it is easy to just go to the store to buy hamburger meat; however, I am proud of the Texas attitude of “live off the land.” It makes me extremely proud to be from Texas when I see others out there catching their own supper.
That’s what Texas is all about—being tough enough to do it for yourself. Fish (and yes, even the dead alligator) are not pets to rescue, they are food—and to catch this type of food, you use hooks. Do you kill flies, roaches, spiders or mice? If the answer is “yes,” then you also harm “innocent” animals! Therefore, stop being a hypocrite. If the photos offend you, turn the page. I enjoyed the photos.
Wanda Evans, Pedernales Electric Cooperative
