News

July 2006 

Manager's Message - Electricity theft and vandalism--everyone's concern

Theft involving electricity and related materials is a problem all electric utilities face – and it's a problem for electricity customers, too. Since MVEA is member-owned, theft could end up costing you money. Compensating for electricity and material theft drives up prices for everyone involved. Theft of electricity puts your personal safety at risk. Tampering with an electric meter can make it unsafe and unstable. When people steal electricity, they put themselves, their neighbors, family and pets all at risk for electric shocks, power surges, sparks and fire from exposed voltage.

Electricity theft isn't isolated to rural areas or to big cities. It's a problem utilities encounter from agricultural operations to housing complexes to business offices from coast to coast. Although electricity can be easily acquired through a utility, some people are still willing to risk physical damage or loss of life just for the sake of some free kilowatt hours. Stealing electricity is illegal under Colorado law and violates electrical codes.

With the price of salvage copper soaring, electrical wire has become what some thieves perceive as easy pickings. Stealing electrical related materials can pose a significant risk to the culprit, resulting in injury or even death from exposure to high-voltage electricity. If a copper thief chooses an energized wire, the results will be very painful and could be deadly. MVEA has been a recent victim of theft and vandalism of material assets. We are taking extra precautions to protect the cooperative by installing theft deterrents within the supply yard and adding extra security. We will notify law enforcement authorities when an incident happens and will press charges when the thief is apprehended.

You can also play a role in this process by immediately notifying us if you suspect someone is gaining access to our power supply without paying their fair share of the costs. If you have information related to electricity or materials theft, please call us at 719-495-2283, 719-775-2861 or 800-388-9881. Rest assured, we'll keep your name anonymous and the Association will pay a $1,000 reward per related incident for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons causing substantial damage or acts of vandalism or malicious mischief to Association property. Because you share in the ownership of MVEA, when people steal from the cooperative, they're stealing from you.

Keeping power safe and affordable is a priority for MVEA. That is why we routinely inspect cooperative meters and equipment, to ensure we're doing our best to protect you from the risks of electricity theft. We take a proactive approach to this serious problem, eliminating theft and reducing related costs.

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Finding Cures, Saving Children

MVEA teamed up again with Touchstone Energy partners Tri-State G&T, KC Electric, Poudre Valley REA and United Power to sponsor the St. Jude's Radiothon on June 22-23. This is the seventh year MVEA and the other cooperatives have supported the St. Jude fundraiser.

St. Jude is unlike any other pediatric treatment and research facility. Discoveries made at the center have completely changed how the world treats children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. It employees some of the today's most gifted researchers and doctors from around the world. Doctors send their toughest cases and most vulnerable patients to be treated at this research hospital.

In 1962, Danny Thomas dreamed of a hospital that could find a cure for deadly diseases that sometimes attack children, particularly a disease called acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). He founded a hospital called St. Jude. At the time it opened, nearly every child with ALL died and medical textbooks said there was no cure. But, Danny knew there had to be a cure and because of his vision and determination, nearly 85 percent of children diagnosed with ALL go on to beat the disease and live normal healthy lives.

Danny's daughters, Marlo and Terre, and his son Tony, along with thousands of volunteers around the world continue Danny's dream that “no child should die in the dawn of life.” St. Jude's continues to research ALL and many other diseases. Their research has helped make the overall survival rate for childhood cancer jump from less than 20 percent to more than 70 percent. They have treated children from all 50 states and more than 70 countries.

The hospital is not affiliated with any religious organization and treats children regardless of their family's ability to pay. It is the only pediatric research center where families never pay for treatments that are not covered by insurance and families without insurance are never asked to pay. They also provide assistance with transportation costs and local living expenses during treatments.

As a non-profit institution, St. Jude relies on support from public contributions to provide cutting-edge medical care to kids fighting for their lives. This is where we come in. For 15 years the fundraising effort called Country Cares , reaches out through country radio stations and entertainers to listeners from coast-to-coast to support a country style fundraising effort for St. Jude. MVEA and the other cooperatives are very pleased to be able to support this wonderful cause. St. Jude's basic cancer research not only saves children; it provides discoveries that are beneficial to the treatment of adult cancers as well.

Touchstone Energy cooperatives team up to support various community programs each year. Sponsorship opportunities are a good example of how co-ops are putting into action their core value of commitment to and concern for the community.

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For Cowboys Only

MVEA and KC Electric were sponsors of the Colorado Championship Ranch Rodeo at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds on June 23-24. Fourteen teams from eight states competed in the Working Ranch Cowboys Association sanctioned rodeo. Winners are eligible to compete at the World Champion Ranch rodeo in November 2006 in Amarillo, Texas. Events included bronc riding, team doctoring, wild cow milking, branding and sorting. An added event this year was the jack-pot trailer loading.

This year's event winners were:

Bronc riding – Timberlake/Broken Spear Ranch, Colorado

Doctoring – Monroe Timberlake/AZTX, Texas

Wild Cow Milking – Buck Creek/Scribner Ranches, Kansas

Branding – Hi-Lo Falling Star Ranch, New Mexico

Sorting – Buck Creek/Scribner Ranches, Kansas

Jack-pot trailer loading – Bradley J3 Ranch, Texas

Overall winners, with first place qualifying for the World Championship were as follows:

1st place – Buck Creek/Scribner Ranches, Kansas

2nd place – Sandhill & Black Cattle Co, Texas

3rd place – Monroe Timberlake/AZTX, Texas

The “Top Hand” award for the rodeo is chosen by the contestants. This year's winner was Jesse Valdez of the Sandhill & Black Cattle Company.

Saturday's events also included a Ranch Horse of America Association horse show which had 52 entries. Jim Herron, MVEA general manager was the announcer for this event. Winners were:

Cowboy class – Cody Stoker, La Junta, CO

Junior class – Lavert Avent , Oklahoma

Senior class – Tripp Townsend , Texas

Ranch Hand class – Riley Smith, Texas

Plan to attend next year's rodeo for a weekend of fun watching real cowboys put to the test.

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Limon Celebrats Its Heritage

The Limon Heritage Museum invites you and your family to enjoy a friendly, old-fashioned, small town heritage celebration on Saturday, August 5 starting at 10 a.m. Festivities will take place at the depot museum complex, which includes an exhibit building, gardens, railroad park and free guided tours. Demonstrations will include pottery, pioneer crafts, spinning, weaving, tatting, quilting, genealogy, scroll saw toys, Norwegian arts and stories, chair caning, saddle making and many more. Among five new exhibits on display is the “1990 Tornado.”

If you get hungry, famous homemade pie will be on sale in the 1914 railroad dining car and you can enjoy an Americana meal from 11:30 – 1 in the Railroad Park .

Kids can cut loose out on the prairie with rides, petting corral, face painting, and many other activities geared just for them. Director Cindy McCallum will present the children's musical, “Forever Summer,” and there will be fun and hijinks by Birgitta Dupree. World renowned circus artist, Jim Jackson, is returning with an all new show, “Art Guffaw.” Between 2 and 2:30 p.m., cars and wagons will leave the Exhibit Building for a Limon cemetery history tour.

If you can't make it on August 5, the museum is open June 1 – August 31, Monday-Saturday from 1-8 p.m. and as always – IT'S FREE! On August 26, the museum will host a free pops concert/ice cream social at 6 p.m. on the depot lawn. Among the many artists for the evening is Floyd Beard, cowboy poet and singer.

For more information on the museum or on these events, please call 719-775-8605. Don't miss this golden opportunity to enjoy the small town hospitality of Limon and its award winning Heritage Museum .