newsletter - Cimarron Electric Cooperative

Cimarron Electric Cooperative
February 2015
www.cimarronelectric.com
Inside this issue
* Reherman & Yost* Journeyman Shirey
* Youth Tour Contest
* Classified Ads
* EPA Delays Rule
* SmartTrack Training
* President’s Day, Feb. 16
* Upgrade Report
Cooperative Accounting!
One of the most important jobs in any busi“There is now more emphasis on budgeting
ness is accounting. Good, accurate accounting
and tracking expenses. We are always looking
is necessary for a business to survive and sucfor the most cost effective way to do things.
ceed.
Cost analysis and wanting to get better are very
Cimarron Electric is blessed in our accountimportant to us,” said Richard.
ing team of Richard Reherman and Kacy Yost.
Cimarron Electric has a yearly audit from
Each bring unique talents and skills to their
independent (outside) auditors and also has an
different job duties, but they are alike in their
audit committee of trustees that meet quarterly
honest, hard working reputations. They take
to keep track of revenues and spending.
pride in their work and
Richard commented
enjoy doing it right.
that his favorite thing
Richard Reherman
about working at Cigraduated from Okarche
marron Electric was the
high school and the Unifriendships with fellow
versity of Central Oklahoemployees. The worst
ma. He lives in Okarche.
thing had to be the ice
He began his career at
storms.
Cimarron Electric CoopThe 1249 mile harderative in 1999. Richard
ening of our distribution
started out doing payroll,
system, now underway,
plant and subsidiary achas really increased our
counting. Richard is now
work load. “This is the
Life is good when the accounts balance!
the Senior Vice President
most contractors we
of Finance.
have employed since the 2002 ice storm,” said
Lots of changes have occurred over RichRichard, “The ability to maintain cash flow is ....
ard’s career. Cimarron is now a 100 per cent
well, a challenge!”
CFC (Cooperative Finance Corporation) borThis 1249 mile upgrade and hardening of
rower. We paid off our REA loans and use CFC’s our system is really going to benefit Cimarron
budgeting and modeling tools. Challenges
members for years to come. We have saved
we face are to keep up with cash flow models
and increased cash revenues slightly to reduce
and trends. The ability to forecast and track are the amount of money we have to borrow to
huge in today’s work environment.
pay for this upgrade. (Continued on page 6)
Cimarron Trustees
Tom Kloeppel, Pres.....................Dist. 6
Ron Sproul,VPres.......................Dist. 1
Jim Simmons,Sec........................Dist. 9
Robert Yeoman,Treas..................Dist. 7
Dr. Susan Lee..............................Dist. 4
Gene Peters.................................Dist. 5
Floyd Driever..............................Dist. 3
Raymond Flatt.............................Dist. 8
Chalentz Hedges........................ Dist. 2
Mark Snowden...............................CEO
Barry Haynie
CEC News Editor
What to do if the electricity
goes off...
1. Check your fuse or breaker box..
2. Check with your neighbors. Is
their power off? If so, have they
already reported the outage?
3. Call CEC at 375-4121 or our toll
free outage number 1-800-375-4121
and the trouble will be corrected as
soon as possible.
Have your service number,
account number, or map location
ready. This information helps our
dispatchers pin-point the location
of your problem.
Brandon Shirey Makes Journeyman Lineman!
Brandon Shirey just completed the Northwest Certifications Program of the Northwest
Lineman’s College,. He is now a
Journeyman Lineman!
Brandon began working
at Cimarron Electric in July of
2011 as an apprentice lineman.
After years of classroom and on
the job training and testing, he
is now classified as a Journeyman Lineman by the Department of Labor.
Brandon tries out some new climbing
gear at a safety meeting
Brandon Shirey -Journeyman Lineman
Brandon completed all the steps
and training required to get his
certification. He now joins our
other 16 Journeymen Linemen at
Cimarron Electric Cooperative.
When you see Brandon, tell him
congratulations for all his hard
work in accomplishing this goal.
Brandon and his wife Mandi, live
in Okarche with their three kids,
Anna, Afton and Ethan.
Connect, Disconnects Not Made
On Weekends
Please do not call and request that a connect,
disconnect, or reconnect be made from 5:00
p.m. on Friday until 8:00 a.m. Monday, as
we do NOT have anyone on duty during
that time for that type of work. All connects,
disconnects will be made on a Monday
through Friday schedule.
For Updates on Outages,
Friend us on Facebook or
Follow us on Twitter.
2015 Cimarron Electric Cooperative Rural Electric
Youth Tour Contest
A Cimarron Electric representative will be visiting area schools soon
to talk to high school juniors about the Youth Tour contest. Each year
Cimarron sends three contest winners on an expense paid trip to
Washington, D.C. The winners will take the trip in June 2015. For
more information about the contest, call Jeff Hyatt @ 405-375-4121.
Classifieds
Submit ads by e-mail
Barry@cimarronelectric.com
Ad deadline is the 5th of previous month to publication. mail: (P.O. Box 299, Kingfisher OK. 73750)
Ads must be resubmitted each month
phone (405-375-4185)
CEC reserves the right to edit or limit ads
fax (405-375-4209).
3rd Annual Hereford Heritage
2011 Chevy 1/2 ton Pick-up. LT
JD 530 5x6 round baler with
Sale- Monday Feb. 23, 2015
Z71 Crew Cab. 95K, one owner
bale trac monitor, 1000 PTO,
-Noon at the OBI Sale Facility
string only, excellent shape, al- miles, Bluetooth, Electric winWest of Stillwater, OK. Selling ways shedded $3500.00. (580)
dows and driver’s seat, Towing
Over 100 Hereford and Angus
822-5578.
package, Silver color, 405-550Bulls, and a few select female
2626 $22,500.
pairs. For further information
4 acres for lease, trees and
or sale catalog contact Cindy
perimeter fencing. Perfect for
Sweet Pro Protein cattle lick
at 405-853-5232. Sale videos
horses. Double gate access. No Tubs 16-18-20% 250# tubs.
will be available starting Feb
We also carry bloat tubs for
shelter, but lessee is welcome
12th at dvauction.com.
to build one onsite and take
stockers on winter wheat paswhen lease expires. Lessee to
ture or High Cal for cows on
Heer’s Country , featuring Leg- provide water tank and means
wheat pasture. This is a comendary Classic Country Artists, for freeze prevention, as well
plete block. No other suppleBuck Goucher and Jarod Cross as food/hay and any other pro- ments needed. Not even salt.
w/special guests Bob Bennett, visions necessary. Lessor will fill 580-445-8706.
Sr. and David Jenkins on Sat.,
tank as needed. Banner Road
Feb. 7th, 2015. New Winter
and NW Expressway (Hwy3).
For sale: Westfield Grain AuHours 5:30-10:00 p.m., LongCall 405-538-8806.
ger 10” x 71’ with swing out
dale Community Center Gym,
tub. PTO powered. Hydraulic
Longdale. Come for supper
2002 North Star tractor genraised. $5,000. 405-853-5240
at the new Food Concession.
erator, 48HP, 24,000 watts with Hennessey
Admission $7. Information
PTO shaft on trailer including
580-886-5141.
about 30 feet of cord with
Tar coated pipe. 10 7/8” OD.
plug-in. Like new, used only
Multi Length. Jay Pope.
2011 Polaris RZR S 800 has J
a few times. $3,000. El Reno,
580-822-5476
strong top with lightbar and ra- 405 850 1110.
dio system. Full front and back
windows also extra half windLiving Room Chairs $60,Kitchen
shield 329 hrs 4,455 miles runs table & 4 chairs $100; dining
great $7500 also a 2005 Polatable & 6 chairs $150; recliners
ris 500 predator four wheeler
$100; glider rockers $50; coffee
$1700 405-831-5987
& end tables $15-$45; dresser
$80; chest of drawers $35; miAntique Ingraham mantle clock crowaves & carts $35 ea.; full &
(Adrian) with key. Original finqueen beds $150; wheelchairs
ish and runs. Could use a pro$100; shower chairs $15-$35;
fessional cleaning but otherlift recliners $375; wheelchairs
wise in good condition. $250.
$100. Call 580-227-0273.
El Reno. 405 850 1110.
Sprayed and fertilized BermuI will buy healthy baby calves.
da and prairie hay. Large round
Call me anytime. 580-445-8706 bales net wrapped Guthrie
area call 405-317-9781.
Cimarron’s Office
will be closed on
Monday,
February 16th,
in observance of
President’s Day.
Classified Ads
Come out to the Hennessey
Hometown Hootenanny 2015
on Saturday, February 14.
Open mic begins at 6:30 and
the show at 7:00. To sign up
for open mic or for more information, call 405-853-6212
or visit www.hennesseyhometownhootenanny.com . 525 S.
Main, Hennessey Public Library
Auditorium. Enjoy an evening
of country, gospel, and bluegrass music. Local favorite,
Buck Goucher will perform.
Admission $4 and $1 for children 6-12.
Fresh eggs for sale. $1.75 per
dozen. 580-623-8313. Greenfield area. Leave message.
Split Oak and Blackjack Firewood for sale. Call for price.
Delivery available.
580-886-5173.
Local honey for sale from
Omega. Will deliver to Kingfisher and Watonga. 580-6239502 or 405-368-1952.
Livestock Hauling with Sandy
Land Trucking. Centrally located between OKC, El Reno,
Woodward, Fairview and Enid.
Hartford Cargo Insurance. No
job to big. Also will haul grain
and fertilizer. 580-445-8706
CLEANING SERVICES
HOME AND BUSINESS
References avail, free estimates
Denise 405-278-1015
Wesley Heupel Excavation
No job too little or too big.
Natural grass fed longhorn
Ponds Dug, Cleaned out, Genbeef. Sell by whole, 3/4, 1/2,
eral Demolition.
1/4, and down. 580-887-3402
Cell: (405) 368-7797
or 580-309-0135.
Home: (405) 263-7797
Circle N Chuckwagon Catering.
Let us pull up the wagon and
serve vittles cooked over the
fire at reunions,parties, weddings, meetings, round-ups and
so on. 580-819-3149.
Ranch Hand Grill Guard, HDuty
fits 2003-09 Dodge. Exc. cond.,
like new. $200 OBO. Also,
mobile welding service. repairsfabrication. satisfaction guaranteed. 405-853-5786
For sale: 2014 Hyundai Sonata
Limited, Metallic Gray exterior,
Loaded, leather heated and
cooled seats, sunroof, extras
too, Under Warranty!! 12,550
miles. Older, non-smoker
owner, no children, garaged
parked, bought off lot, excellent car! $23,300.00 OBO Call
405-375-4758
Wanted For A Good Cause;
Band instraments in good
cond. for St. Peter & Paul Band.
Please call Jane Hightower @
405-375-4888.
Bermuda hay for sale. 5x6
round $40 ea., small squares $6
ea. 405-263-4802
Lots of Baby Dolls for sale from
1967 till now. My dad’s old
pipe collection from 1920. Bass
things. Old records. Antiques.
9855 N. Gregory Rd. 354-3800.
Lots of box toys, 1976 Like
new.
4T Services on farm repair specializing in Cultivators, Sweep
plows and Chisel point replacement. We also replace Conventional and No Till drill Coulter
and seed opener blades. Save
valuable time and money. Call
Brett Tyler for your service
needs. 405-760-9640.
Walker Spray Foam Insulation.
Call for an estimate. Locally
owned and operated.
580-822-0090.
1981 - 24 foot Prowler bumper pull trailer. Refurbished,
new tires, sleeps 6, everything
works. $2,200. Will consider
trade for pickup. Also, Wanted
Propane cookstove in good
shape (must not be more than
30” wide) and Propane clothes
dryer. 405-969-3685 Crescent
Doors out of old farm house.
Solid wood doors.
El Reno area. 405-262-2884
Manual Walking Treadmill. $20
Good cond. 405-375-6335.
Calf ready for butcher, for sale.
$3.75 lb., hanging weight.
Grain fed. 580-541-4660.
For sale: 76L abd 80L2 Gleaner
combines in good cond. 580935-6781. Leave message.
Large round bales of bermuda
hay. Sprayed & fertilized. Net
wrapped. Okarche. 405-2637941.
Coleman Powermate 5000
MAXAER Plus Electric Generator with power cord. New
cond. $500. Call Jim Morton.
405-282-3292.
SmartTrack Training
System Upgrade Report
Reed Emerson, Senior Vice President over
Operations and Engineering, reported that
things are going as scheduled. Some weather
conditions and the holidays slowed things
down.
Nine of our contracting crews went to West
Texas to work an ice storm in the MidlandOdessa area. Three are still out there.
We now have 175 miles completed out of
the 1249 mile project.
Plans are to open up the Hennessey and
Okeene
contracts this month. We have 28 overCimarron employees took turns training . Above from left,
Janette McDonald, Kayla LeForce, Ron Pennington, Ron Wilczek, head crews and 6 tree crews working on the
project. We have two different staking engiRoss Barrick, Sandy Turner and Bobby Smith.
neering firms working staking projects.
Hands on training was just completed by Cimarron employees
Finished job inspections are right behind the
on the mobile work force system. The training is another step
crews as they turn in completed paperwork.
in allowing service orders and additional information to be sent
to the employees via their I-pads in the field.
The App Suite includes sending service orders with out paper
and better work management techniques.
Large Amount of Public Comments
Causes EPA Delays On The
Carbon Dioxide Rule til Mid-Summer
Final federal regulations to control carbon dioxide emissions
Tim Hopkins , Operations Controller and Mobile Work Force Adfrom new, modified and existing electric generating units will be
ministrator, explained that with better and quicker information,
delayed until mid-summer, the Environmental Protection Agenwe can respond faster and save money, time and mileage.
cy (EPA) said Jan. 7. EPA plans to finalize carbon dioxide limits
for new, modified and existing coal-based generation sometime
Tim explained that before mobile work force, a member would
in mid-summer.
call into the office needing help. The member would be identiThe agency had been expected to finalize its highly controversial
fied with their service location on a map. After that, a service
carbon dioxide standards for new units on Jan. 8, and for existorder ticket would be printed out. The ticket would then be put
ing units on June 1.
into a lineman’s “to do” file box and he would see it the next
EPA will postpone these rules until sometime in “mid-summer,”
day when he arrived at work.
Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of
With the mobile work force, an incoming call will be taken, the
Air and Radiation, said in a conference call with reporters.
identity of the caller, with a map location will be confirmed. The
The agency did not provide a specific date for the final rules.
actual work to be done will be available to all service employThere were over 4 million public comments.
ees on their I Pads. The work is looked at in real time and we
NRECA CEO Jo Ann Emerson said, “We hope the EPA will be uscan see if there is someone in the area.
ing this additional time to consider, thoughtfully and carefully,
the numerous comments on proposed greenhouse GAS limits
Who is using Mobile Work Force? Our member service reprefor new, modified and existing power plants. If the final rules
sentatives, our billing department, the metering department,
look anything like the proposed rules, a delay will do nothing to
the records department and all of operations and engineering.
soften their impact on American families and businesses.”
Very soon the staking department will be on mobile work force.
Affordable electricity is vital for families, especially low-income
It is integrated into our main customer records program. Smart
families, across the nation,” said Emerson. “By continuing along
Tract information can only be sent from the office, and contains
the course it has set, EPA puts affordability and reliability at risk.”
only minimal personal information about members, to comThank you to all the Cimarron members who sent in comments!
plete the service order. It is encrypted and fire walled.
Cooperative Accounting (continued from page 1)
This system upgrade will increase service
reliability, reduce outage cost and even make
members capital credits down the road.
Cooperative cooperation is one of the seven
cooperative principles. Richard said,”the relationship with our CFC lender is great. Using
CFC’s financial models have helped us be successful. When a forecast turns out to be really
accurate, it makes all the hard work very worthwhile.” Richard is also involved in the accountant associaton at our statewide organization,
Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives.
Richard really loves the cooperative philosophy. He worked 12 1/2 years before coming to
Cimarron Electric at a grain cooperative. He
really loves the cooperative model. When the
cooperative is successful, it will be a direct benefit to the members in capital credits. We give
back to our members.
Richard Reherman
Kacy Yost received her education from Watonga High School and the University of Central
Oklahoma. Kacy began her career at Cimarron
Electric in February of 2011 and her title is Manager of Accounting and Capital Credits. Kacy
lives in Kingfisher.
Kacy has a lot of job duties. She is in charge
of accounts payable, employee payroll, general retirement and estate retirement of capital
credits. She also balances bank statements,
prepares power bill reports and various other
Kacy Yost
reports needed by management for the Cimarron Electric Board of Trustees.
Kacy said that the thing she likes most
about working at Cimarron Electric is her coworkers. Her least favorite thing is increased
workload from storms. The biggest changes
Kacy has seen is in technology. We are going
paperless and are looking for new ways to do
things.
When asked what was the most important
job she does, Kacy replied that it all depends
on when you ask. We constantly have deadlines when things must be done. Payroll is
most important, right before payday. Reports
and jobs must be completed so others can see
the numbers. It’s all in the timing!
In addition to completing tasks and balancing accounts, Kacy said she gets the most
satisfaction in her job when paying out estate
retirements to folks who really need the money and are appreciative of it.
Kacy knows that cooperation between cooperatives is real. “I see the paperwork when
we, or other co-ops help each other during
storms. I’ve been with hundreds of cooperative employees from across the state volunteering to help with the Special Olympics. The
safety and training programs that co-ops are
constantly doing are impressive. It makes me
proud to be part of the cooperative family,”
said Kacy.