MAY 2013 www.mcleanelectric.coop McLEAN ELECTRIC NEWS , MAY 2013 C1 From the manager’s desk Large projects planned this summer by Martin D. Dahl, general manager/chief executive officer I want to start with a big thank you to several people who shared some kind words and showed support for the direction we are going at McLean Electric Cooperative (MEC). The cooperative is doing well and met all of its ratio and equity requirements for 2012. The above-average system growth does push hard on our equity, but we finished the year at 31.7 percent, which is still above the 30 percent minimum required by our lenders. A sizable paper capital credit allocation held our equity flat over the past year. By a paper allocation, I mean we post it to our books, but we do not see the cash. The number is still our dollars and is posted on our books just like your capital credits are logged as owed to you and paid over a 20-year rotation. The generation and transmission allocation is nearing a 28-year rotation, so we won’t see those dollars for a while. I won’t go too deep on the financials as they will be printed in next month’s magazine to coincide with our annual meeting June 18. Spring has been slow to come this year, but it has not slowed the requests for new services. MEC already has more than 30 requests for new services. The summer promises to be very busy for the cooperative. MEC will be burying about 20 miles of power line to make room for a new transmission line running from the Corps of Engineers pump site near Totten Trail and going all the way to Parshall. Although we will be paid for these line moves, we will still need to cash flow them and ask for repayment as each section is completed. MEC was required to order nearly $716,000 of high-voltage cable to complete this project and some other construction that will be completed this summer. We had hoped to be started by now, but the slow thaw will put us behind before we ever start. MEC will see three substations upgraded as a result of this project with very little cost to the cooperative. The substation improvements will include more capacity with 10-MVA transformers, new high side switching and new relaying. These improvements will help reduce the blinks seen in this area. Another big project will be south of Mercer. In early April, we signed a contract with Minnkota Power Cooperative. Minnkota is building a new 345-kilovolt transmission line toward Grand Forks. Environmental concerns when building a transmission line of this stature require that for every mile of new line built in migrating bird habitat, a mile of old line must have reflectors added in bird habitat areas. The existing Minnkota transmission line was not designed for the additional wind and ice loads created by adding these reflectors. The Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to allow MEC to bury approximately 27 miles of cable to replace overhead lines in habitat areas and credit Minnkota for the migrating bird mitigation resulting from this work. This is a “win-win” for Minnkota and McLean. Minnkota is able to provide mitigation without de-rating its existing transmission line and McLean is able to replace some very old distribution line that we would not have been able to afford to do at this time. This project will be paid for by Minnkota and starts this summer. Completion of this project is required by the end of 2014. These two large projects will bring a large area of our system up to new standards, while costing MEC very little after reimbursement is made. Both Central Power and Minnkota have been good to work with on these projects. It is our hope that this continues with our members as well. If issues arise during construction, please let us know so we can do our best to keep everyone smiling. It is a pleasure to serve McLean Electric Cooperative. n Dahl
Transcript
MA
Y 20
13
www.mcleanelectric.coop McLEAN ELECTRIC NEWS , MAY 2013 C1
From the manager’s desk
Large projects planned this summer
by Martin D. Dahl, general manager/chief executive officer
I want to start with a big thank you
to several people who shared some kind words and showed support for the direction we are going at McLean Electric Cooperative (MEC). The cooperative is doing well and met all of its ratio and equity requirements for 2012.
The above-average system growth does push hard on our equity, but we finished the year at 31.7 percent, which is still above the 30 percent minimum required by our lenders.
A sizable paper capital credit allocation held our equity flat over the past year. By a paper allocation, I mean we post it to our books, but we do not see the cash. The number is still our dollars and is posted on our books just like your capital credits are logged as owed to you and paid over a 20-year rotation. The generation and transmission allocation is nearing a 28-year rotation, so we won’t see those dollars for a while. I won’t go too deep on the financials as they will be printed in next month’s magazine to coincide with our annual meeting June 18.
Spring has been slow to come this year, but it has not slowed the requests for new services. MEC already has more than 30 requests for new services. The summer promises to be very
busy for the cooperative. MEC will be burying about 20 miles of power line to make room for a new transmission line running from the Corps of Engineers pump site near Totten Trail and going all the way to Parshall.
Although we will be paid for these line moves, we will still need to cash flow them and ask for repayment as each section is completed. MEC was required to order nearly $716,000 of high-voltage cable to complete this project and some other construction that will be completed this summer. We had hoped to be started by now, but the slow thaw will put us behind before we ever start. MEC will see three substations upgraded as a result of this project with very little cost to the cooperative. The substation improvements will include more capacity with 10-MVA transformers, new high side switching and new relaying. These improvements will help reduce the blinks seen in this area.
Another big project will be south of Mercer. In early April, we signed a contract with Minnkota Power Cooperative. Minnkota is building a new 345-kilovolt transmission line toward Grand Forks.
Environmental concerns when building a transmission line of this stature require that for every mile of new line built in migrating bird
habitat, a mile of old line must have reflectors added in bird habitat areas. The existing Minnkota transmission line was not designed for the additional wind and ice loads created by adding these reflectors. The Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to allow MEC to bury approximately 27 miles of cable to replace overhead lines in habitat areas and credit Minnkota for the migrating bird mitigation resulting from this work.
This is a “win-win” for Minnkota and McLean. Minnkota is able to provide mitigation without de-rating its existing transmission line and McLean is able to replace some very old distribution line that we would not have been able to afford to do at this time. This project will be paid for by Minnkota and starts this summer. Completion of this project is required by the end of 2014.
These two large projects will bring a large area of our system up to new standards, while costing MEC very little after reimbursement is made. Both Central Power and Minnkota have been good to work with on these projects. It is our hope that this continues with our members as well. If issues arise during construction, please let us know so we can do our best to keep everyone smiling.
It is a pleasure to serve McLean Electric Cooperative. n
DahlDahl
C2 MAY 2013 , McLEAN ELECTRIC NEWS www.mcleanelectric.coop
www.mcleanelectric.coop McLEAN ELECTRIC NEWS , MAY 2013 C3
Mariah Sondrol Mariah will graduate from Turtle Lake-Mercer High School and is the daughter of Kevin and Lana Sondrol of Turtle Lake. She will be attending the University of Mary and will be pursuing a career in early childhood education or public relations. She has been employed as a nanny, coached T-ball for the summer recreation programs and sold fireworks for her brother’s business. Mariah is involved in FFA, the American Legion Auxiliary, Turtle Lake Baptist youth group and has been on several mission trips.
Kaylee Tishmack Financial assistance awardA financial assistance award in the amount of $500 was awarded to Kaylee Tishmack, the daughter of Jerry and Sheila Tishmack of Underwood. Kaylee will graduate from Underwood High School and will be attending the University of Mary and will be pursuing a master’s degree in occupational therapy. She was previously employed at the Crab Apple and was employed as a nanny last summer. Kaylee has kept busy with extracurricular activities such as the dance team, cheerleading, Honor Society and church youth group, including a trip to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. n
Jocilynn Vander WalJocilynn is the daughter of Austin and Sheila Vander Wal of Washburn. She will graduate from Washburn High School and will be attending the University of North Dakota to obtain a doctorate in physical therapy. Jocilynn helps at home with caring for her younger siblings, doing yard work and helping her dad with his carpentry business. She has been involved with the Lutheran Youth Organization and McLean Family Resource Center. Jocilynn is also involved in 4-H and many extracurricular activities at school.
McLean electric awards scholarships
The McLean Electric Cooperative scholarship committee has chosen Mariah Sondrol and Jocilynn Vander Wal as recipients of the McLean Electric/Basin Electric Power Cooperative scholarships. These scholarships were awarded on the basis of academic excellence, which includes the following criteria: ACT scores, work experience and participation
in school and community activities. Both scholarships were for $500 each.This year, a small number of applications were received. All applicants were rated favorably, which is an indication of the
quality of students we have in McLean Electric’s service territory. These scholarships and the financial assistance award will be presented at the 68th annual meeting June 18 in Garrison.
Sometimes all it takes to bring history to life is to ask a simple question: “How did Fort
Stevenson State Park get its name?” Tucked along the north shore of Lake
Sakakawea about three miles south of Garrison, the park is best known as a launching place to some of the best fishing, boating and sailing along the lake. It hosts campers, group activities, special events, and interpretive programs. It even offers cross-country skiing in the winter.
However, it didn’t unlock many secrets about the history of its
namesake. That is, until a dedicated group of
volunteers decided it was time to bring some of the park – and its namesake, Fort Stevenson – to life.
Ralph Sayler, Garrison, and longtime park manager Dick Messerly were two of the early members of what became the Fort Stevenson Foundation. The foundation’s goal was simple – besides exploring the fort’s history, they wanted to bring something tangible to the park so visitors would have something to identify with the fort.
They wanted to re-create its
guardhouse. Fort Stevenson served as a vital cog
in the wheel that grew North Dakota’s pioneering history. Tucked near the Missouri River along Douglas Creek, the fort provided protection as well as a link for supplies to areas such as Fort Totten near Devils Lake.
The guardhouse consisted of two small buildings constructed of clay and Missouri River bottom cottonwoods and were connected by an overhead observation tower. The United States flag, 37 stars representing the nation’s 37 states, flew above the tower.
sUMMer is CoMiNgIt’s time to step back in time, hit the links
BY PATRICIA STOCKDILL
C4 MAY 2013 , McLEAN ELECTRIC NEWS www.mcleanelectric.coop
PHOTO
S BY PATRICIA STOCKDILL
The Fort Stevenson Guardhouse brings military life of the Dakotas to life. Located on the southern tip of Fort Stevenson State Park near
Garrison, the guardhouse’s expansive lawn is popular for kite-flying, weddings and more – including the home of Military Days.
Sayler’s interest in the foundation began when he read an article about how its members wanted to find a missing military cannon once located at Garrison’s Main Street City Park. The group wanted to put the cannon at the site they hoped would eventually become home to a replica guardhouse.
Founded in the early 1990s, the group worked for more than a decade before they successfully broke ground on a replica building in 2002.
The group realized early in their planning that the size of the original guardhouse was too small to serve as an interpretive center if built to original specifications, Sayler described. So they opted to enlarge it while retaining its original shape.
One side served as living quarters for troops tasked with serving as jailers and guards; the other side housed inmates.
“Most of them were for drunkenness, thievery, AWOL, insubordination, I suppose, fist-a-cuffs,” Sayler described. “One guy was even in there for suspected murder. He was in there for a long time.”
Rather than people behind bars and troops bunked out in-between shifts, today’s guardhouse is home to one wing of interpretive displays, including replica and authentic American Indian, military and transportation artifacts and pioneering history.
The other wing is dedicated to a research library where visitors can learn about the Dakota Territory era, gift store and deTrobriand Art Gallery. The gallery displays 27 paintings and sketches by Philippe Regis de Trobriand, fort commander from 1867 to 1869.
While the foundation never located the original cannon once found in Garrison’s City Park, it has two replica cannons on the guardhouse grounds. In addition, in 2008, Sayler crafted two steel life-size mule silhouettes, which are hitched up to a supply wagon. One of the mules is in the same position as a mule de Trobriand depicted in one of
his sketches. This summer, Sayler hopes to
complete another project symbolic of the fort’s era – two one-quarter-inch steel buffalo. Like the mules, they will be life-size. But one thing will be different: “I measured real, live mules, I did. ... I’m going to go out and measure some real, live buffalo – from a distance,” Sayler described. “I wish he (de Trobriand) had drawn a buffalo,” he laughed. He expects each silhouette will weigh at least 400 pounds.
The buffalo silhouettes will be visible from Lake Sakakawea, Sayler added, from their location high above a cliff south of the guardhouse.
The foundation will also add a high-tech observation telescope this summer, enabling visitors to get a close look across the vast expanse of Lake Sakakawea toward Garrison Dam.
Each year, they try to change and improve displays and features, Sayler added. Another goal is to bring even more youth-friendly interactive features
and perhaps even meld history and technology as the foundation explores unique ways to bring history to life.
The guardhouse is a vital addition to the park, Fort Stevenson State Park Assistant Manager Chad Trautman described.
“It gives us a wonderful opportunity for interpretation,” he said. “The support for special events is really appreciated.” Guardhouse grounds host events such as the annual Military Days, kite festival and “it’s become very popular for weddings,” Trautman added, as well as serving as the headquarters for annual National Trails Day hikes.
Saturday “Kids in the Guardhouse” interpretive programs from Memorial Day through Labor Day are held at the facility. The guardhouse is also available during the school year for tours. Interpretive programs during the 2012 Dickens Village Festival entertained more than 500 festival visitors at the guardhouse. n
www.mcleanelectric.coop McLEAN ELECTRIC NEWS , MAY 2013 C5
Ralph Sayler, Fort Stevenson Foundation president from Garrison, discusses the role the riverboat Far West played during the 1976 Battle of the Little Bighorn. The model is on display at Fort Stevenson State Park Guardhouse Interpretive Center.
interpretive center details
The Fort Stevenson Guardhouse Interpretive Center is open daily Memorial Day through Labor Day and by appointment during the off-season. Admission is free with daily or annual park admission.
Fort Stevenson Foundation: • Membership levels: $5 annual student (under 18 years of age), $10
annual individual, $15 annual organization or business, $100 lifetime individual, or $125 lifetime business.
• A variety of “First Dakota Volunteers” for Fort Stevenson, Dakota Territory are also available. Contributors receive a “Certification of Rank” and their names added to the volunteer roster displayed at Fort Stevenson Guardhouse. Volunteers can earn the rank of Private ($25), Corporal ($35), Sergeant ($50), 1st Sergeant ($75), 2nd Lieutenant ($100), 1st Lieutenant ($200), Captain ($300), Major ($400), Lt. Colonel ($500), Colonel ($750), One-Star General ($1,000), Two-Star General ($2,000), Three-Star General ($3,000), Four-Star General ($4,000), Five-Star General ($5,000), Junior Scout ($100) or Scout ($250).
All contributions go to the Fort Stevenson Foundation Guardhouse Building and Endowment Fund.
More information about Fort Stevenson Guardhouse and the Fort Stevenson Foundation is available at Fort Stevenson State Park, three miles south of Garrison, mailing address 1252A 41st Ave. N.W., Garrison; telephone 701-337-5576, or [email protected]. n
A history of American Indian transportation of the plains is part of the Fort Stevenson State Park Guardhouse Interpretive Center displays.
about Fort stevenson:
• established June 14, 1867, at the mouth of Douglas Creek about one-quarter mile above the Missouri river.
• established by the 31st U.s. infantry with troops from Fort Berthold, which it replaced.
• served as a base for the delivery of goods to Fort Totten in northeastern North Dakota and another link in the chain of military posts along the emigration route from Minnesota to Montana.
• protected Missouri river navigation and the people of the Fort Berthold agency.
• Named for Brig. gen. Thomas g. stevenson, killed May 10, 1864, in the Civil war Battle of spotsylvania.
• served as military post until July 22, 1883, with a small detachment of troops staying until aug. 31, 1883, to dismantle the fort and dispose of its public property.
• Troops transferred to Fort Buford.
C6 MAY 2013 , McLEAN ELECTRIC NEWS www.mcleanelectric.coop
hit the linksMcLean County offers five, nine-
hole golf courses, all just minutes away from Lake Sakakawea or the
Missouri River. If it is too windy to play on the water, playing nine or 18 holes on any of these courses offer an alternative – and yet another great opportunity to enjoy the North Dakota outdoors:
• Doc Blatherwick Municipal Golf Course, Parshall: One-half mile south of Parshall, nine-hole artificial greens, par-36 course. Tuesday Women’s Night, Thursday Men’s Night. Green fees: $15, nine holes; $20, all day. Cart rentals and meeting space. Telephone 701-862-3899.
• Garrison Golf Course, Garrison: One mile east of Garrison, nine-hole grass greens, par-36 course originally opened in 1950 with sand greens. Tuesday Youth Night, Wednesday
Men’s Night, and Thursday Women’s Night. Green fees: $15, nine holes; $20, 18 holes; or $25, all day. Cart rentals, club rentals, putting green, driving range, pro shop, meeting space, snack bar, and Full Swing Golf-E6 Golf Simulator. Several types of annual membership levels available. Telephone 701-337-5420 or visit the Facebook page for specials.
• Painted Woods Golf Course, Washburn: Four miles south of Washburn, nine-hole grass greens, par-36 tucked along the meandering Painted Woods Creek. Green fees: $19, nine holes; $24, 18 holes; $34, all day; $12, junior nine holes; $16, junior 18 holes. Cart rentals, club rentals, putting green, pro shop, snack bar, and lessons available. Several types of annual membership levels available. Telephone 701-462-8480 or website, www.paintedwoodsgolf.com.
• Riverdale Golf Course, Riverdale: A mile north of Riverdale along Lake Sakakawea, nine-hole artificial greens, par-36. Monday Men’s Night; Tuesday Women’s Night. Green fees: $10, nine holes; $15, all day. Cart rentals and meeting space available. Single, family, and seasonal memberships available. Telephone 701-654-7607.
• Westridge Golf Course, Underwood: West edge of Underwood, nine-hole grass greens, par-36. Constructed in 1989 through a joint effort of the city of Underwood and Falkirk Mine on reclaimed land previously mined for coal. Tuesday Men’s Night and Thursday Women’s Night. Green fees: $15, nine holes; or $25, all day. Cart rentals, putting green, driving range, pro shop, snack bar, and meeting space available. Single, family, and seasonal memberships available. Telephone 701-442-5555. n
www.mcleanelectric.coop McLEAN ELECTRIC NEWS , MAY 2013 C7
C8 MAY 2013 , McLEAN ELECTRIC NEWS www.mcleanelectric.coop
Board of directors:Alvin Myers, President, 701-743-4383,
District 1, Ryder
Orvin Ravnaas, Vice President, 701-448-2226, District 4, Turtle Lake
Agnes Jennings, Secretary-Treasurer, 701-743-6557, District 7, Washburn
Ron Bloom, Director, 701-743-4313, District 2, Ryder
Rod Stockdill, Director, 701-337-5462, District 3, Garrison
Troy Presser, Director, 701-447-2855, District 5, Turtle Lake
Ernest Grueneich, 701-426-1536, District 6, Turtle Lake
staff:Martin Dahl, General Manager
Wayne Skarda, Operations ManagerDarrin Sand, Member Services Manager
Unclaimed capital creditsListed below are the names of former McLean Electric Cooperative members who
had checks mailed to them in December 2012. These checks were for members having service with McLean Electric in 1992.
These checks were returned by the postal service because of an outdated address. If you know of anyone on this list, please have them contact McLean Electric’s office at 701-463-6700 or 800-263-4922 with their correct mailing address. Please keep in mind that some check amounts are small, but we still wish to refund the money to those who earned it and remove these amounts from our accounts.
Name Past service location Last known address
Gackle, Eugene Strawberry Lake Grand Forks
Kistler, Lynette Max Trailer Court Max
Klein, Carl Jr. Brush Lake Bismarck
LCM Corp NE¼-12-148-88 New Town
McQueen, Mike NW¼-20-150-83 Minot
Perkins, Wayne C. White Shield Housing White Shield
Strom, Randy J. SW¼-2-147-79 Underwood
Thompson, Randy NW¼-13-144-82 Hesperia, Calif.
Whitman, Janice NE¼-19-150-90 New Town
Widiger, Gary SW¼-32-150-78 Fargo
May’s TogeTher
we save TipSave energy and money.
Replacing old windows with ENERGY STAR qualified windows
lowers household energy bills by 7-15 percent. Lower energy
consumption also reduces greenhouse gas emissions from
power plants and shrinks a house’s carbon footprint.
