country living | mayl 2013 | 1

may 2013

Figures to date:

Applications reviewed...........................511

Applications granted.............................378

Applications denied................................123

Applications tabled..................................10

Scholarships awarded.............$107,000.00

Total Disbursements...........$988,618.90

Average member contribution............44¢

Operation Roundup funds support local charitable organizations, civic groups, youth programs, community services, and needy families and individuals. For more information on this voluntary bill roundup program, please visit www.ecoec.com.

Country Living is published monthly by East Central Oklahoma Electric Cooperative, Inc., 2001 S. Wood Drive, Okmulgee, Oklahoma 74447. Second class postage paid at Okmulgee, Oklahoma 74447 and at additional mailing office. Subscription price: 60 cents /year.

POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to ECE Country Living, PO Box 1178, Okmulgee, OK 74447.

East Central Electric Cooperative PO Box 1178 • Hwy 75 South

Okmulgee, Oklahoma 74447-1178

(918) 756-0833www.ecoec.com

OffICE HOuRS: Monday-friday, 8 am - 4:30 pm.

POWER OuTAgE HOT lInE(918) 756-0833

BOARD Of TRuSTEES

lowell Hobbs, President

larry Harvey, Vice President

Dwight luther, Secretary Treasurer

Max Shoemake, Asst. Secretary Treasurer

Jerry RempeEd Kloeckler Jimmy Eller

Tim Smith, General Manager

PAyMEnT OPTIOnS

• Pay online at www.ecoec.com.

• Pay by phone using VISA, Mastercard or Discover at 866-999-4584. Available 24 hours a day. Convenience fee associated with payments.

• Pay in person using our drive through window or lobby during regular office hours, Monday through friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm.

• Pay via automatic draft of your checking or savings account.

operations roundup

update

country livingpublished for members of east central electric cooperative

1938-2

013

■ Tulsa RV RanchHorse-friendly camping plus ro-deos, motocross & more. page 2

■ Teens win DC tripCo-op knowledge nets free trip for five local teens. page 3

■ Seniors prone to firesElectrical safety for the elderly could save a life. page 4

■ District 4 MeetingJune 18, Oktaha School

East Central Electric Cooperative District Meetings

Attend Your District MeetingDistricts 4 and 7 to nominate candidates for board positions

East Central Electric Cooperative (ECE) members who

live or own property in Districts 4 or District 7 will meet in June to nominate representatives to serve on the ECE board of trustees.

Candidates for the board must reside in the district and be a member of the co-op. further requirements are detailed in the ECE bylaws, available online at www.ecoec.com, or pick up a copy at the ECE office in Okmulgee.

Candidates nominated at the district meetings will stand for election at ECE’s 75th Anniversary Annual Meeting on July 25 at OSu-IT in Okmulgee. Watch your newsletter for more details!

■ District 7 MeetingJune 17, Bristow Housing Authority1110 S. Chestnut, Bristow

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co-opvaluecurrents

Good ideas can be impossible to rein in. At the Tulsa RV Ranch in Beggs, for example, the rampant

entrepreneurial spirit of brothers Pete and Spike Madison has resulted in a massive RV playground complete with 4,000-seat capacity rodeo arena, family-style restaurant, saloon with live music and dancing, 40-acre horse training track, and a four-acre motocross track with obstacle course and jumps. All of this activity spreads over 160 acres of rolling hills and large pecan trees.

“We built a destination,” said Spike Madison. As he tells it, what began as a simple idea for a horse-friendly RV park “snowballed and just kept rolling.”

“Originally we planned to use the property to develop a wake board park, but the economy went south on us, so we decided on an RV park,” he said. noticing the many horse trailers traveling along Highway 75, they decided to include horse facilities; both portable stalls and regular stalls are available.

While installing the lagoon system for the park, an employee suggested using the leftover dirt to build a motocross track. “We thought that sounded like a great idea so we built it,” Madison said. The track is now open to the public, and is available for special events.

Another visitor to the RV Park suggested a rodeo arena so they built that, too. At 130 feet, the arena is one of few in the area wide enough to host sanctioned barrel racing events.

With visitors pouring in for jackpot roping and bull riding events, horse sales, rodeos and more, the restaurant and saloon were built next, with seating that overlooks the rodeo arena.

All facilities at the Tulsa RV Ranch are handicapped accessible and open to the public. you don’t even have to own an RV! Rental RVs are available at nightly, weekly or monthly rates; also tent camping and primitive camping sites. All overnight guests enjoy use of on-site laundry facility, fitness center, and bathrooms with showers. A meeting room with kitchen sink, microwave and refrigerator is also available for interested groups.

There’s a lot happening at Tulsa RV Ranch, making it a multipurpose playground for the whole family—and a great location for groups looking to host a fun run, chili cook-off, tractor pull, you name it. for a full roster of upcoming events or to visit with someone about hosting an event, visit tulsaRVranch.com, or call 918-267-7569.

Note: Tulsa RV Ranch is a member of East Central Electric Cooperative.

RV Ranch Ropes in BusinessHorse-friendly RV park offers rodeo events, live music, motocross track, restaurant, saloon and more.

The newly constructed restaurant and saloon at Tulsa RV Ranch near Beggs. Tables overlook the rodeo arena where roping, horse shows and rodeo events are scheduled regularly.

Memorial Day closing. East Central Electric Cooperative will close on Monday, May 27 for Memorial Day. To report a power outage during this time, please call our 24-hour hotline at 918-756-0833. Please have a safe holiday!

Right of way work ongoing. East Central Electric right of way contractors will continue right of way maintenance in certain parts of the co-op system through the end of June.

Crews are treating the right of way with herbicide to slow the growth of trees and shrubs growing beneath power lines. Crews will be working in the following areas:

Boynton ChecotahCouncil Hill Duchess landingEufaula lake HitchitaKeifer OktahaRentiesville SummitWainwright Warner

If you have East Central Electric power lines on your property, and prefer to decline the herbicide treatment, please contact your co-op right of way department at 918-756-0833. Please leave a message with your name, address and telephone number so that we can return your call. your cooperation is appreciated.

Save on Mother’s Day gifts with Co-op Connections. Mother’s Day is May 12. Before you set out to buy your favorite lady a gift, remember your Co-op Connections card. you can save on flower arrangements, gift baskets, clothing, jewelry, entertainment and more.

Visit the website at www.connections.coop for a complete list of deals and discounts from local businesses as well as national retailers such as landsEnd, Proflowers, gemologica, gift Tree, and Sam’s.

Remember, your card saves you money on healthcare, too. Pay less for prescription medicine, eyeglasses, hearing aids and more. View “Healthy Savings” on the Co-op Connections website for more information.

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may

billing cycles For bill payment questions or details about East Central Electric’s convenient bill payment options, please visit www.ecoec.com, or call 918-756-0833.

Your prompt payment is appreciated.

glanceback

▲ A Rural Electrification Administration (REA) published pamphlet touts the advantages of rural electricity to unserved residents in the late 1930s. For many, such

notices were the realization of a dream come true —lights and power were coming to their rural home.

Mailed DueCycle 1 May 10 May 30

Cycle 2 May 18 June 7

Cycle 3 May 24 June 15

Cycle 4 June 1 June 22

superservices

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Co-op-savvy teens win tripTeen’s knowledge of co-ops nets big trip to Washington DC

Anniversary GiftEast Central Electric employees Kim Melton and Kay Brians hold up a stadium blanket commemorating the co-op’s 75-year anniversary. Members who register at the 75th Annual Meeting will receive this free blanket in their gift bag.

Drawings for cash prizes and the grand prize, a Hustler X-One zero turn riding lawnmower, will take place at the conclusion of the business meeting.

A little knowledge about electric cooperatives can go a long way: for five local high school juniors, it will

take them all the way to Washington D.C.

The teens are winners of the East Central Electric Cooperative youth Tour essay contest. As representatives of the co-op, they will join 75 other Oklahoma students on an electric cooperative sponsored tour of Washington, D.C.

Winners are: logan Ashley, Henryetta; Shiann Swearingen, Beggs; Eli Hobbs, Haskell; Colleen White, Eufaula; and Haylee lindsey, Kellyville.

The students will tour the nation’s capital June 15-20. The fun kicks off on friday, June 14 as youth Tour winners from across the state gather in Oklahoma City for a get-acquainted banquet. They will depart from

Oklahoma City on Saturday morning to begin a fun-filled week of touring historical monuments and sites including the White House , uS Pentagon, u.S. Capitol, u.S. Holocaust Museum, and Mount Vernon. An evening riverboat cruise of the Potomac River is another high point of the trip.

While in Washington, the Oklahoma teens will meet with more than 1,400 other youth Tour winners from across the nation at a dinner-dance hosted by the national Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

your Tour is coordinated each year by the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives and East Central Electric in Okmulgee. for more information, please contact Billie Been, youth Tour coordinator, at 918-756-0833 or visit www.ecoec.com.

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East Central Electric Cooperative is committed to helping you and your family save energy. With free energy saving programs, free home energy audits, and our energy saving educational curriculum for the classroom, we help every member of the family realize the benefits of energy

conservation. For details on our energy saving programs, please contact your co-op at 918-756-0833 or visit www.ecoec.com.

It’s time to start saving!

energy efficiency

Tip of the Month

May is Electrical Safety Month

Elderly more prone to fires

playitsafe

Favorite recipes from members of East Central Electric Cooperative.

therecipebox

Banana TrifleSource: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 (3.5 oz) pkgs. instant banana pudding mix 1 quart cold milk 2 bananas, chopped 4 cups heavy cream 4 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup sugar 1 (12 oz) pkg. prepared pound cake, cubed 1/2 (12 oz) box vanilla wafers, crushedDirections

Whisk pudding mix with milk until smooth. Stir in chopped bananas; set aside.

In a large bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in vanilla and sugar until peaks form. Make sure not to over-beat, or cream will become lumpy and butter-like.

Layer half the pound cake cubes, half the pudding, half the whipped cream, and half the crushed vanilla wafers in a trifle bowl. Repeat with the remain-ing cake, pudding, and whipped cream, and top with the remaining crushed wafers. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Yield: 12 cups.

During Electrical Safety Month this May, the Electrical Safety foundation (ESfI) is highlighting the importance of electrical safety for all ages, but particularly for senior citizens.

While electrical hazards can affect anyone, the ESfI reports that adults over the age of 65 are more than twice as likely to die from a house fire as the general population. Many of these fires originate in the kitchen. If you are caring for an elderly person, or are a senior citizen yourself, certain safety precautions can help you avoid a serious accident.

• Don’t cook if you are sleepy, have been drinking alcohol, or have taken medications that make you drowsy.

• Turn off the stove if you leave the kitchen.• use a timer to regularly remind you that you’re cooking.• Turn handles of pots and pans to the side so you don’t

accidentally bump them and spill the contents.• Wear short, close-fitting sleeves when cooking. • Make sure the oven burners and other appliances are turned off

when you are finished cooking. • Keep the stovetop and oven clean. Clean the exhaust hood and

duct over the stove regularly.• Keep towels, dish cloths, and other flammable items away from

the stove and other hot surfaces.• Plug countertop appliances into ground fault circuit interrupter

(gfCI)-protected outlets.• never use an oven or stove for heating your home. East Central Electric Cooperative is serious about safety. To report an unsafe electrical situation, or schedule a free electrical safety program for your classroom or organization, please call 918-756-0833.

Properly installed shades can be one of the most effective ways to use your windows for energy efficiency. Lower shades during summer and, in winter, raise them during the day and lower back at night on south-facing windows. Dual shades, with reflective white coating on one side and a heat-absorbing dark color on the other, can be reversed with the seasons and save even more energy. Learn more at EnergySavers.gov.

—us department of energy