The other day I was visiting withone of our members who haslived here in Carter County all of

his life. We got to talking of the recentcold snap with wind and snow. “Itseems Old Man Winter is here to stay,”I said to him. He just chuckled andsaid, “Well, we’ve had it pretty easy forthe last 20 years or so. Winters used tobe like this all the time.” He thenrecounted many stories of his earlieryears, when the snow got nearly asdeep as the telephone poles and the cat-tle could only be fed by team andsleigh. He talked of winter snow thatfell in October and didn’t leave untilApril, and how you couldn’t get in totown all winter long. “Winters used to be a lot worse,” he

continued. “We’ve just forgotten, we’vebecome soft.” Then as we left, heturned and said, “Keep the lights on!”He’s probably right. Winters do seem

milder than when I was a kid in themountains of Wyoming. And he’s cor-rect saying we’ve become soft. Maybeone reason we’ve become soft is werely so heavily on electricity to liveeach day. Storms and cold don’t botherus much…as long as the power stayson. But severe winter storms greatlyincrease the chance of extended poweroutages. We must all admit to beingtremendously dependent upon thisvaluable resource to keep us warm andcomfortable. But if Old Man Winter isgoing to continue camping out in ourcorner of Montana, then perhaps weshould look at ways to get by if thepower goes out. Here are some ideas toprepare for a power outage.

Where’s my FlashlightMake sure you know where your

flashlights, candles and matches arestored. You can’t do much of anythingin the dark.

Buy Emergency SuppliesDon’t wait for a power outage to buy

emergency supplies. If your power goesout, you will need the basics to livewithout electricity. It’s likely others inyour area will be affected as well. Inthat event, emergency supplies will behard to find immediately. You shouldalways have on hand:• Candles and matches.• Flashlights and extra batteries.• Canned goods and dry food mixes. • Bottled water and juices.• Extra blankets. • Paper plates, cups and plastic utensils.

• First-aid kit.• Camp stove with propane bottles. • Fire extinguisher.

Keep Your Family Warm• Dress warmly —Use several layers of cloth-ing if necessary.

• Put extra blan-kets or sleepingbags on yourbed at night.

• Eat high-energyfoods to gener-ate body heat.Raisins, nuts orcandy are a goodstart.

• Close off asmany rooms as

possible. Heat only one room andcenter your activity in that room.Select a room on the warm side ofthe house, away from prevailingwinds.

• Keep doors and curtains closed.• Use your fireplace if you have one. Ifnot used, make sure the flue isclosed.

• Be sure to ventilate properly if youheat with any source that uses anopen flame. Cross ventilate by open-ing a window an inch on each side ofthe room. It is better to let some coldair in than to run the risk of carbonmonoxide poisoning.

There are many more things you cando to prepare for a power outage.Usually, power can be restored in shortorder, but as we all have experiencedlately, power outages can last manyhours — even days. It would be wellfor all of us to be better prepared forwhen the lights go out.

4 RURAL MONTANA

SOUTHEAST ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.

PO Box 369 • Ekalaka, MT 59324Toll Free: 1-888-485-8762 • 406-775-8762www.seecoop.com • Facebook: Southeast Electric Cooperative

Manager’s Notes - By Jack Hamblin

“To ensure good health: eat lightly, breathedeeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulnessand maintain an interest in life.”

— William Londen

Old Man Winter – “Keep the Lights On!”

By Allison Goldberg

Health advice can vary widely,but one thing health and fitnessexperts seem to agree on is that

sitting for much of the day is bad foroverall health, especially cardiovascularand back health. Luckily, most of theresearch says an hour of brisk exercisecan counteract the harmful cardiovascu-lar effects of sitting. And what aboutimproving the health of your back,spine and adjacent muscle groups?Here are some exercises suggested to

help remedy muscle strain and weak-ness caused by sitting, and all areappropriate for most work environ-ments:

• Stand up: If you’re taking a call orin a long meeting, or if you can readthat document while on your feet, trystanding instead of sitting –– even ifit’s just for five to 10 minutes.

• Walk: If you can take that callwhile walking the halls, try it.

• Leg swings: To loosen your hips,glutes, hamstrings and inner and outerthighs, swing your right leg backwards

and forwards as far as you can whileholding something for balance. Do 15-20 swings, and then switch legs. Alsodo side-to-side swings: Swing yourright leg in front of you from side toside as far as possible. Do 15-20swings, and then switch sides. It might feel peculiar or awkward to

exercise at work, but that’s okay. Closeyour office door, or grab a friend and aconference room. More ideas can befound at prevention.com and live-strong.com. You can do this, and yourbody will thank you.

SOUTHEAST ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.

FEBRUARY 2018 5

Don’t just sit there — get moving!

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:Albert Paul, PresidentMike Hansen, Vice President Karen Kreitel, Secretary-TreasurerDave HaydenLeroy JardeeDoug Gardner

EMPLOYEES:Jack Hamblin, ManagerJerry Kalstrom, Line ForemanMike Dalzell, LinemanJake Hammel, LinemanAdam Kuntz, LinemanBill Kalstrom, Lineman Sam Erfman, Lineman Dave Johnstone, Groundman Robin Kuntz, Office Manager Rita Williams, Office Assistant Vicki Fix, Member ServicesTerri Buck, Custodian

Southeast Electric maintains medical alert list

Youth Tour Winner

AED on boardIn 2016, SoutheastElectric Cooperativeemployees weretrained to use AEDs,and decided that itwould be a good idea to purchaseAEDs for our lineman pickups. Ittook us several months to get thempurchased but in April 2017,Southeast Electric Cooperativereceived our AED. We have 4 truckswith AED on board and one in theoffice. We have said several timesthat AEDs are a piece of equipmentthat we hope we never have to use.

Southeast Electric maintains a med-ical alert list for member house-

holds with individuals who depend onelectricity-powered medical equipment.If you or someone in your homedepends on a feeding machine, heartmonitor, oxygen machine or nebulizer,call Southeast Electric at 406-775-8762or 1-888-485-8762. We will need thename and phone number of the contact

person and the type of medical equip-ment. In the event of a planned orexpected outage due to severe weather,Southeast Electric will make everyeffort to contact the individuals on themedical alert list and let them knowthey should plan to make arrangementsfor backup power or to relocate tem-porarily.

In June 2018,LilliannaHanson will

embark on a tripof a lifetime. Itmay sound like acliché’ but it trulyis an opportunitythat our youthshould be taking advantage of. Studentswere asked to write an essay on howtheir electric cooperative can connectwith young people, especially with chil-dren and teens. Lillianna listed theYouth Tour and scholarships as thingsthat are already being done, but alsoshared some new ideas. She suggesteda drawing or coloring contest, not justfor small children but also teens andeven adults. She also enveloped theseventh cooperative principle of“Concern for Community” by statingthat a 5K or walk event would bring thecommunity together. Lillianna is the daughter of

Kristopher and Meghann Hanson ofBaker, MT. We are very pleased thatLillianna will be representing SoutheastElectric Cooperative members inWashington, D.C.