Albemarle Soundsis published monthly by

Albemarle Electric Membership Corporation

P.O. Box 69Hertford, NC 27944

(252) 426-5735

Gary Ray, General ManagerChris Powell, Editor

Website and member portal:www.aemc.coop

Outages:1-800-274-2072

24-hour payments: (252) 426-4419

We are members of NC 811. Call 811 or 1-800-632-4949

two business days before you plan to dig. They will contact us to locate any underground

electric lines. It’s the law.

The Boys and Girls Club of Edenton/Chowan recently received an Albemarle Community Trust grant to assist its meal program.

The $2,500 grant will be used to provide meals and snacks for the 75 children who attend the club. The trust is funded by co-op members who contribute voluntarily through their power bills.

January 2017 Proudly serving the members of Albemarle Electric Membership Corporation

Albemarle EMC Carolina Country JANUARY 2017 21

Be Cautious When Farming Around Utility Poles

When preparing fields for the upcoming planting season, farmers will often burn the stubble left over in the fields from the previous crop. If utility poles are located in the fields, farmers should be aware that those poles will burn at the base, even from a relatively low-intensity fire. To prevent a pole from burning, farmers can disc around the pole.

In 2013, an outage was caused in Perquimans County by a controlled burn that burned down two utility poles and severely damaged a third pole. The farmer reimbursed the co-op for the cost of the destroyed poles, equipment and labor needed to make the repairs.

“If poles are burned, we often have to disconnect power to members in order to fix the damaged poles,” said Gary Ray, general manager of Albemarle EMC. “These outages are completely avoidable.”

Farmers also should take caution when operating equipment around the guy wires that help stabilize poles. The co-op marks guy wires with a yellow, plastic guy guard that makes the wires more visible. If you see a guy wire that is missing its guard, please let us know by calling (252) 426-5735, and we will install a new one.

Remaining Security Lights to be Upgraded

Members who still have the older styles of security lights will begin receiving new LED lights the first quarter of the year.

The old mercury-vapor and high-pressure-sodium lights will be replaced with LED lights. The co-op started switching security lights to LED in 2015 and is now ready to continue implementation, said Gary Ray, general manager of Albemarle EMC.

“The LED lights produce a brighter light and are more efficient, which will save the co-op money,” Ray said.

The new security lights will have no effect on members’ security light charges.

Boys and Girls Club Receives

Grant

Above is a picture of a utility pole that was severely damaged by a controlled burn in a field.

Albemarle EMC Carolina Country JANUARY 2017 22

Teachers Win BigBright Ideas grants were recently

awarded to teachers in the Albemarle EMC service territory. A total of $12,889 was granted to 17 of the 47 teachers who applied.

Bright Ideas is a program that awards grants to teachers through a competitive application process. The grants are used for creative projects that, otherwise, would lack funding.

Pamela White, an educator at Moyock Middle School, in Currituck County, received $882.69 for her project, “Dun, Dun, Dun! Whodunit and What Happened Here? Inferring a Mock Crime Scene.”

Her project seeks to teach students how to infer. She will use her grant to purchase crime scene kits, and students will be tasked with solving the crimes.

Marie Moss, a teacher at Camden County High School, received $999 for her project “Advanced Science with Data Analysis.” Moss plans to use her grant to update science laboratory equipment. The equipment will be used to promote field studies, lab investigations and independent research studies.

Megan Clayton, a teacher at Perquimans Central School, received $934.98 for her project “STEM for Kindergarten.” Her grant will purchase STEM kits. The kits will involve science, engineering and problem solving.

Glenna Markham, a teacher at Grandy Primary School, in Camden County, received $989 for her project “STEAM Today Gleam Tomorrow.” Markham’s project involves teaching science, technology, engineering, art, math and literacy. The project will use coding, robotics and engineering, while also integrating literacy and art.

Amanda Copeland, a teacher at Sheep-Harney Elementary School, in

Pasquotank County, received $940 for her project “Outdoor Science Experiments.” Copeland intends to use her grant to purchase kits that include magnets, a weather station, navigational compasses, paper airplane launcher and a large-scale planetary model. Magnets and compasses will demonstrate magnetic forces, while water rockets will show Newton’s laws of motion. Students will model the solar system to show how the earth’s tilt results in seasons, and how the earth’s shadow creates phases of the moon.

Connie Ashley, a teacher at Perquimans Central School, received $1,000 for her project “All Hands on Stage.” Ashley will use her grant to purchase supplies and costumes for a musical to be performed by the students.

Kimberly Wilkerson, a teacher at Sheep Harney Elementary School, in Pasquotank County, received $840 for her project “Engaging Beginning Readers through Diverse Characters.” Wilkerson’s project will provide all kindergarten and first-grade students with The King School series, a guided reading series that uses the same group of characters in a classroom setting.

LeAnn Nixon, a teacher at White Oak Elementary School, in Chowan County, received $235.90 for her project “Hands on Learning.” Nixon’s grant will be used to purchase learning games to assist students who are below-grade level. The games will include activities such as reading, math and counting money.

Leslie Peele, a teacher at White Oak Elementary School, received $125.49 for her project “Polydron Puzzles.” Peele will use her grant to purchase a Polydron Class Set. The activity will enable students to create three-dimensional shapes using mathematics.

Michele Swinney, a teacher at Perquimans Middle School, received $793.42 for her project “Tiger Paws at Work.” Swinney will use her grant to purchase electric circuit kits, a set of simple machines and a DNA Necklace classroom kit. The teaching aids will explore electric currents, machines, tropical weather and DNA.

Julie P. Brothers, a teacher at Grandy Primary School received $544.91 for her project “APPS in Speech-Language Therapy.” Brothers will use her grant to purchase an Apple iPad Air 2 as well

as a Otterbox Defender Series Case. Brothers plans to use the iPad and various applications to assist students in speech-language therapy.

Margie White, a teacher at Grandy Primary School, received $182.95 for her project “Flippin’ Fluency!.” White’s grant will be used to purchase a WhisperPhone with accompanying materials. Her goal is to increase the fluency time for each student. Students will graph their reading times and track their reading growth.

Holly Jordan, a teacher at Perquimans Central School, received $961 for her project “Dog on Good Reading.” Jordan’s grant will be used to purchase six sets of “Danny” books. Based on a lovable dog named Danny, the books encourage students to read.

Angie Strode, a teacher at Chowan Middle School, received $999.75 for her project “Tracks and Traces.” Strode’s project will educate students on the abundant variety of plants and animals that can be found in eastern North Carolina. The goal is to make students more aware of the natural world around them. She plans to use her grant to purchase animal skulls, tracks and scat cards, three bluebird houses, a butterfly house, hummingbird feeders and more.

Brenda Ward, a teacher at D.F. Walker Elementary School, in Chowan County, received $1,000 for her project “Learning to Cook Healthy All by Myself.” Focussed on grades third through fifth, her goal is to teach students how to prepare healthy meals for themselves. Her grant will be used to purchase a small refrigerator, food, electric griddles and a food processor.

James Schiffbauer, a teacher at Sheep Harney Elementary School, received $1,000 for his project “Active Seating.” Schiffbauer will use his grant to purchase wobble chairs, balance-ball chairs and beanbag chairs. The goal will be to assist special-need students with active-seating. The activity requires frequent postural adjustments that strengthen muscles that lead to better motor-control.

Deborah Bunch, a teacher at Chowan Middle School, received $459.91 for her project “You are Invited to the Living Wax Museum.” Her grant will be used to purchase books about famous people. Students will be encouraged to read and write.

Teachers were recently presented with their Bright Ideas grants at an awards banquet.

How Albemarle EMC works to provide its members with the highest-quality service possible.

Albemarle EMC is at Your Service

Albemarle EMC Carolina Country JANUARY 2017 23

A New Year for Albemarle EMCIt’s hard to sugar-coat the month of

January. It’s a defoliated time of barren fields, cold winds and short days. It’s as if the slate has been wiped clean to make way for future events to unfold. As bleak as the month may seem, January is also the month of renewal, pregnant with the cyclical rebirth of nature and the possibilities that await us all through the coming year.

Government AffairsA new president and Congress should

make for interesting developments on the political scene. Albemarle EMC has a standing position of supporting energy policy that results in affordable, reliable electricity for our members. As always, we will be joining forces with our sister cooperatives throughout North Carolina to lobby the N. C. General Assembly and the U.S. Congress on your behalf. Albemarle EMC is a member of a consortium of electric cooperatives that jointly purchases power on the wholesale power markets. Our portfolio of power is mixed, containing a variety of generation sources. These include coal, nuclear, natural gas, hydroelectric and renewables. The nation’s energy policy will likely change under the new administration. Because of a long history of steady lobbying efforts, electric cooperatives have a seat at the negotiating table. Rest assured that we will be there every step of the way to represent your interests.

Engineering / OperationsAfter successive years of building

new substations and transmission line upgrades, engineering will mostly go into a maintenance mode during 2017. There are plans to replace old underground

power line in some areas. There is also an initiative to complete the replacement of the old, high-pressure sodium and mercury-vapor security lights. The first phase of this switch-out project began in the summer of 2015. The second phase should be completed in 2017, with all of Albemarle EMC security lights switched to the new LED security light. Members who choose to have security lights installed are charged a flat monthly fee, instead of being billed for the kilowatt hours used by the light. The monthly fee includes any labor to install and perform any future maintenance on the lamp. The current $10.75 monthly charge for the security light will not be affected by the switch to the LED security lights. The LED security lights provide a brighter light, while using less kilowatt hours, which saves the cooperative money.

SafetyAlbemarle EMC is due for a safety

accreditation in 2017. Every three years, the co-op receives a surprise safety inspection from a team working with the Rural Electric Safety Achievement Program (RESAP). Among other items, the RESAP measures the general manager’s commitment, document verification, on-site observation and safety improvement plan entry. Completing the RESAP process results in a 5 percent discount from Federated Rural Electric Insurance on property, general and auto liability, collision, comprehensive and worker’s compensation policies.

During the inspection, every aspect of Albemarle EMC’s operation will be evaluated for safety. Inspectors look at items such as first aid boxes, fire

extinguishers, evacuation plans, eye wash stations, signs, personal protective equipment and much more.

Albemarle EMC has traditionally scored high in each of the safety categories. However, the report card that matters most to us is the well-being of our workers. As I write this, the co-op is well over 1,000 days without a lost-time accident.

Services to the MembersAlbemarle EMC employees are

constantly looking for ways to improve service to the members. We now offer prepaid billing (called Flex Pay) that enables new members to receive service with a much lower deposit. By allowing for electricity to be paid for gradually throughout the month, members can better manage their household finances. Prepaid billing is also a good option for those members who want to keep power on at a second home, or who are traveling for an extended period. By paying for several months of electricity in advance, you can rest assured that your account won’t become delinquent in your absence.

One of the most important services we provide to members is our ability to restore power in a timely fashion. We are always looking for better ways to restore power as safely and quickly as possible. We have robust mapping software, quality line trucks and equipment. Moreover, we have a well-trained, well-coordinated group of employees, who know what they are doing. We look forward to serving the members and meeting the challenges to come in 2017. Happy New Year!