Spring 2014 - Polar Communications

CONNECTIONS
Spring
2014
Published by Polar Communications
and its Subsidiaries
Construction Update p. 2
March Mania p. 2
Director Applications p. 3
Scholarships p. 3
Directory Advertising p. 4
WHAT’S INSIDE:
Eagle Award p. 2
localsolution.com p. 4
Stopping Nuisance Calling p. 5
Boost Your Broadband p. 6
Home Hotspot p. 6
CPNI p. 7
Directory Updates p. 7
Polar Awards $5000 in Grants to Area Schools
Save
the
Date
2014
ANNUAL MEETING
THURSDAY,
JUNE 5TH
PO Box 270
Park River, ND 58270
www.thinkpolar.com
Polar Communications recently announced they have awarded three schools in their service territory a
total of $5,000 in Polar Technology Grants. Polar’s Technology Grant provides funding for K-12 schools
enabling the purchase of hardware, software, contracted services and other technologies that target student
achievement through technology integration. Applicants were required to submit their proposals, including
an overview of their project abstract, goals, narrative, and budget information. Accredited K-12 schools in
Polar’s service territory were eligible to apply. Polar Communications awards up to $5000 per year with
each grant not to exceed $2500.
Schools winning the 2013-14 Polar
Technology Grants were the following:
• Cavalier Public School - $2,500 –
“Speed Supports Success in Standards” Project
• Dakota Prairie Public School - $2,300 –
“Today in Multi Media” Project
• Park River Area School - $200 – “Flipping the English Classroom with Swivl!” Project
This is the 6th year that Polar has provided this grant
to schools they serve, totaling $30,000 given to
Cavalier Grant - L to R: Rocky Fredricksen –Technology
enhance technology in the classroom. Polar is proud
Coordinator, Geri Beckman – HS English Teacher,
Ron Steinke – Polar Board Chairman, Jeff Manley –
to invest in our schools and communities, providing
Superintendent.
value for the future.
Dakota Prairie Grant - L to R: Karen Retzlaff – Librarian,
Carolyn Berdal – Technology Coordinator, Lori Dahl –
Polar Board Member, and Darren Sheggerud – Business
Ed Teacher
Park River Grant - L to R: Ike Meberg – Polar Board
Member and Kierstin Hurtt – HS English Teacher
CONNECTIONS
Lisa Olson Receives
Polar’s 2013 Eagle Award
Lisa Olson has been named Polar Communications’
Eagle Award recipient for 2013. She has been with
the company for 21 years, starting as a general
clerk in June of 1993. Lisa works in the marketing
department, planning and executing promotions
and designing all printed and digital marketing
pieces for the company. Lisa was nominated for
this distinguished award and voted on by her peers
based on the following qualifications: goes above and
beyond normal job responsibilities, will do whatever it
takes to get the job done, provides new and creative
ideas, shows outstanding company dedication,
demonstrates teamwork and accepts challenges, is
involved in the community and/or volunteer work,
demonstrates outstanding customer service and/or
assistance, and promotes a positive attitude.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ronald Steinke.....................................Cavalier
Beverly Jensen.....................................Drayton
Amber Meyer..................................St. Thomas
Joe Torgerson....................................... Fairdale
Eric “Ike” Meberg............................. Park River
Jon McMillan....................................... Fordville
Lori Dahl...................................................Lakota
Cynthia Hejl............................................ Arthur
Brian Udby...............................................Lankin
David L. Dunning......General Manager/CEO
HOURS OF OPERATION
Monday-Friday • 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Congratulations Lisa, on this well-deserved award!
Construction Update
The board of directors of Polar Communications, at their regular board meeting on November
19, 2013, approved a construction bid of $4.5 million for construction in the city of Edmore, rural
Cavalier, rural Neche, rural Pembina and Drayton, city and rural. At the regular board meeting
held on December 19th, 2013, the board also approved a construction bid of $2.2 million for
construction in the city and rural areas of Hunter, Arthur and Galesburg. The bids totaling $6.7
were awarded to Ripley’s Inc. of Erhard, Minnesota. This $6.7 million is a portion of the company’s
$10.2 million capital budget for 2014.
The construction will involve installing fiber optic cable to the home. This technology allows Polar
to extend services, such as voice, broadband Internet, and video, farther to reach its most rural
customers. A total of 600 miles of buried cable will be installed within an approximate 6-month
time period.
Saturday • 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
(assistance by phone)
24 Hour Customer Service • 284.7127
Published By
Polar Communications
PO Box 270
Park River, ND 58270
701.284.7221 • 800.284.7222
www.thinkpolar.com
PLAY
OUR
FREE
NCAA BASKETBALL CONTEST
COMING IN MARCH!
Easy to enter and fun to play – all participants have the chance
to win awesome prizes including a 40” Samsung Smart TV!
Director Applications Being Accepted
Applications for the Polar Communications Board of Directors will be accepted for the election to be held during Polar’s Annual Members Meeting
on June 5, 2014. Positions to be filled are as follows:
District 1 – Position currently held by Beverly Jensen is up for re-election.
District 2 – Position currently held by Eric ‘Ike’ Meberg is up for re-election.
District 3 – Position currently held by Lori Dahl is up for re-election.
Polar Board of Directors Nomination Procedure Steps:
1. Any qualified member meeting the requirements of Section 3, Article IV of the company by-laws may request an application and petition from the cooperative headquarters. The forms can be picked up at Polar’s front desk or can be found on Polar’s website at www.thinkpolar.com.
2.Members shall submit a completed application and a petition containing a minimum of thirty (30) signatures of cooperative members from the district in which the applicant resides. Please note that a husband and wife constitute one membership. Either spouse may sign the petition as a member; however, the signature of a husband and wife on the petition may only be counted as one.
3.Completed applications and petitions should be submitted by March 21, 2014, at 4:00 p.m. to Polar Communications, Attn: Shari Flanders,
PO Box 270, Park River, ND, 58270.Please contact Shari at 701.284.4343 with questions or email sflanders@polartel.com.
4.All nominations by petition are subject to verification. Once verification is complete, the candidate will be notified and their name will appear on the ballot at Polar’s Annual Members Meeting.
To find the service areas that make up each district, please refer to Article IV, Section 2 of the by-laws of Polar Communications found in your
telephone directory.
Non-Discrimination Statement
Polar Communications is the recipient of Federal
financial assistance from the U. S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA prohibits
discrimination in all its programs and activities on
the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability,
and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial
status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation,
genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or
because all or a part of an individual’s income is
derived from any public assistance program. (Not
all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons
with disabilities who require alternative means for
communication of program information (Braille,
large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s
TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and
TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write
to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights,
Office of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights,
1400 Independence Avenue, S., STOP 9410 W.,
Washington, D. C. 20250-9410, or call toll free
(866) 632-9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339
(TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (English Federalrelay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay).
“USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer,
and lender”. The person responsible for coordinating
this organization’s non-discrimination compliance
efforts is the Chief Financial Officer.
Attention Students!
There is still time to apply for a Polar sponsored scholarship and the Youth Tour!
Applications and information can be found on Polar’s website at www.thinkpolar.com.
For questions, please contact Carol LaHaise at 701.284.4361 or email clahaise@polartel.com.
Available Scholarships:
Polar’s John G. Walters Scholarship - $500
Foundation for Rural Services (FRS) Scholarship - $2,500
FRS Starulakis Family Scholarships - $5,000
Telecom Management Services - $1,500
Minnesota Telecom Alliance (MTA) Foundation Scholarship - $2,000
Polar’s Retiree Scholarship
Youth Tour: Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) Youth Tour
Directory
Advertising
Sales executives from Pinnacle Publishing will
be in our area soon to begin selling advertising
for the official 2014–15 directory. When you
advertise in the Polar directory your ad will
automatically be featured in our online directory
at no additional charge! All website and email
addresses are linked. Both the printed and online
directories are great tools to increase visibility
and connect with your customers. Get the most
out of your advertising investment by placing an
ad in the Polar Yellow Pages and online directory.
For more information regarding advertising,
contact Pinnacle Publishing at 800.343.8086
or visit www.pinnaclepub.com.
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Stopping Nuisance Calling
Unwanted phone calls range in degree from serious to trivial, but there’s no doubt they can be annoying and unnecessary. Undesired
calls as a form of harassment are much more serious than telemarketers phoning during dinner or teenagers pulling pranks. Unwanted
calls of all kinds can be stopped. Here are some tips on several ways people can learn how to stop unwanted phone calls.
1. Put your name, home phone number and mobile numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. This registry, which is for
United States residents, lists telephone numbers and owners of those numbers that refuse to receive unsolicited calls by telemarketers. This registry can reduce telemarketing calls by approximately 80 percent. Register by calling 1-888-382-1222 or
online at www.donotcall.gov.
2. Call your phone company or long distance carrier to report the problem. Because the calls are inbound, the phone company or
long distance carrier may not be able to track the number; however a trace can be placed on a landline with assistance from the
local police department.
3. Subscribe to custom calling features. Phone companies and mobile companies provide a range of call blocking and screening
services, such as Selective Call Rejection and Anonymous Call Rejection. These features can block certain numbers or prompt
“private” numbers to enter their phone number in order to release the call to your number.
4. Buy an inbound call blocker. This device requires the caller to punch in a code to reach you. This will reduce your inbound calls
to only those that you have given a code to.
5. Put your phone number on specific company do-not-call lists. If you receive an unwanted telemarketing call, tell the telemarketer to remove your name and number from their calling list. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires
that they honor your request and remove your name from their lists for 5 years. You can file a complaint with the FCC online
through www.fcc.gov or by phone at 1-888-CALL-FCC.
6. Search online. Entering unknown numbers in a search engine may give you some information about who owns that number.
Many online report services also allow you to report and share your experience with other users.
7. Document. Be sure to make note of the date, time and nature of the call. Note any specifics the caller said. Any information
you gather may help towards identifying the caller and prosecuting them if it comes to that.
Unfortunately, there is becoming more and more call “spoofing” (the practice of causing the telephone network to display a number on
the recipient’s caller ID display that is not that of the originating station) and nuisance calling that is difficult to track and control. If a call
seems odd or too good to be true…it probably is. Use caution and never disclose any personal information. Taking the actions above will
help you to take only the calls you want to receive.
BOOST
YOUR
BROADBAND
When you use the Internet, you are uploading and downloading data. This is known as your broadband usage. Factors affecting your broadband
usage include the number of devices online, the amount of time online, and what type of online activities you do. Some online activities require more
broadband usage than others. For example, video streaming takes up much more data than browsing a simple webpage.
To get an idea of the varying amounts of broadband usage for different online activities, take a look at the list below.
Each example requires about one GB:
• 68 YouTube videos
• 512 digital photos
• 7 minutes of high definition TV
• 293 digital songs (mp3 files)
• 1 hour of standard definition TV
• 1 hour of a movie
Some Internet providers meter broadband services and impose data caps on their Internet plans. Polar currently meters broadband use for the
customer, which can be seen on your bill each month under “Internet Usage”. As customers use more online video streaming for services like
Netflix, the need for more speed and capacity increases.
If your family streams many movies and TV programs each month, often uses several devices simultaneously, or enjoys online gaming, you may want
to boost your Internet speed. Residential customers can boost their download speed from the standard 5 Mbps to 10 Mbps for an additional $10 per
month. If you are unsure of what plan is right for you, give us a call and we’ll help you choose the right speed for your family.
Make Your Home a
Hotspot
Did you know you can make the power of the Internet
available throughout your home? With a Wi-Fi network, your
Internet connection is no longer confined to one computer.
When the broadband service coming into you home is
connected to a wireless router, you can create a Wi-Fi
network that allows you to get more benefit from the same
service — just like a Wi-Fi hotspot you see in libraries,
restaurants, malls, hotels and other public places. A home
WiFi network should be secured with a strong password to
protect your network and avoid hackers.
Many devices today are Wi-Fi enabled, ready to take advantage of your home’s network. This includes smart phones, tablets, laptops, e-readers,
monitoring and security systems, gaming systems, televisions, thermostats and even appliances.
Unlock the power of your broadband Internet connection. As your telecommunications company, we can help you determine what you need to
create a home Wi-Fi network.
CPNI Privacy Notice
From time to time Polar changes its service offerings and makes available
additional features and services, which may enhance and augment the
services to which you are already subscribed. In order for us to determine
which customers may benefit from the new services and enhancements,
we will use information about your account that is within our database,
legally referred to as Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI),
unless you restrict that use in the manner described below. CPNI includes
information such as which long distance carrier and plan to which you are
subscribed, calling features and plans to which you are subscribed, and the
associated charges for those plans. Use of this data will allow Polar to tailor
its service offerings to your individual needs.
For this purpose, CPNI data will be used by Polar Communications,
its subsidiaries, and affiliates only. This data will not be shared by Polar
Communications with any other outside source except as necessary and required
to provide the service(s) to which you are already subscribed, and unless we are legally compelled to.
DIRECTORY UPDATES
You have a right under federal law to protect the confidentiality of your account information and restrict the use of CPNI data, and we have a
responsibility to protect your data. To restrict the use of your CPNI data, you must contact our business office at 701-284-7221 or
sales@polarcomm.com within 30 days of your receipt of this notice to request that we not utilize your CPNI data. Your denial of approval for Polar
to use this data will not affect the provision of any services to which you subscribe. Your approval or denial of approval for the use of CPNI outside of
the service to which you already subscribe will remain valid until you revoke or limit the approval or denial.
#Clip this page and keep it with your Polar directory
A D Rutherford International Inc 152 W Rolette St Pembina...... 701-825-6285
Askim Irene
res Park River........................................................................... 701-284-6160
Binger Tamera res Fairdale............................................................................ 701-966-2211
Bjornstad Randy & Jeanette Park River.................................................. 701-284-7110
Brolliar Diane & Jeff 13051 94 St NE Cavalier.................................... 701-265-4631
Brown Jean Skarperud 226 1 Ave NW Mayville.............................. 701-788-2641
Butler’s Boutique 408 Briggs Ave S Park River................................. 701-284-7004
Chop Shop The 105 1 St E Michigan..................................................... 701-259-2221
Christianson Marvin R res Park River....................................................... 701-284-7060
Cole Wayne 150 Co Rd 34 Arthur............................................................ 701-967-8376
Davis Cheyenne D 325 1 Ave NW Mayville....................................... 701-788-8706
Dub Brothers 141 County Road 12a Pisek......................................... 701-284-6196
Elvick Transport Inc 11601 32 St NE Michigan................................ 701-259-2300
Erickson Jonathan res Park River............................................................... 701-284-6010
Flaten Myles J 513 Code Ave S Park River.......................................... 701-284-6455
Flom Nathan 122 2 St W Michigan......................................................... 701-259-2173
Galde Deann R 10650 52 St Ne Brocket.............................................. 701-655-3605
Gray Keith & Tara 5915 175 Ave SE Walcott....................................... 701-998-2024
Gritz Janet
res Hoople................................................................................... 701-894-6202
Ground Up Ag 1113 Main St W Mayville............................................ 701-788-8811
Gunderson Marvin
Borg Home Mountain....................................... 701-993-8311
Hastings Landing 104 E Highway 66 Drayton................................. 701-454-3425
Henry Laurie A 325 6 Ave St Thomas.................................................... 701-257-6400
Herzog R J 12633 County Road 9 Edinburg..................................... 701-993-8354
Jerome Clint 3046 Glendale Ave Hoople........................................... 701-894-6168
Johnson Bert
Cavalier.................................................................................. 701-265-4440
Johnson Ian res Lakota.................................................................................... 701-247-2353
Johnson Todd & Heidi PO Box 183 Petersburg............................... 701-345-8540
Kemp Steve W. 102 River St Cavalier..................................................... 701-265-4423
Kiner Samantha
res Neche......................................................................... 701-886-7608
Kratochvil Linette 210 Forest St Lankin............................................... 701-593-6122
Kringstad Alek Hoople.................................................................................... 701-894-6228
Latozke Arnold res Mountain...................................................................... 701-993-8320
Leraas Alice M 150 County Road 34 Arthur...................................... 701-967-8427
Lo G Saskia 506 4 St Inkster......................................................................... 701-865-4125
Matejcek David R. Lakota............................................................................... 701-247-2188
McIvor Kevin 124 Veterans Ave S Park River..................................... 701-284-7091
McNamara Ashley Hunter............................................................................. 701-874-2180
Mellick Bonita 104 5 St Christine............................................................. 701-998-2050
Miller Rebecca 319 Searns Ave Aneta.................................................. 701-326-4115
Moore Jonathon W. 12829 92nd St NE Cavalier............................. 701-265-4717
Morin Jan 200 Kneeshaw Ct Pembina................................................. 701-825-6319
Narum Harold & Thiry 6050 Hwy 18 Walcott................................... 701-469-2050
O’Toole C
res Crystal...................................................................................... 701-657-2147
Olson Wayne & Linda 7635 125 Ave NE Edinburg........................ 701-993-8652
Reilly Charolotte K. 513 5th St Crystal................................................... 701-657-2216
Rintala Craig 310 Orange St E Cavalier................................................. 701-265-4045
Sandbar The 66 Lovcik Ave Pisek............................................................. 701-284-6208
Sierpinski Walter & Pamela 2057 Myrtle Ave Hoople.................. 701-894-6229
Sigurdson Sigrun 804 Main St W Cavalier.......................................... 701-265-4522
Sundeen Baird res Lakota.............................................................................. 701-247-2194
Swanson Norman 150 County Road 34 Arthur.............................. 701-967-8393
Warcken Daniel 106 Eugene Ave Park River..................................... 701-284-7058
Wedel Richard D 6937 141 Ave NE Grafton...................................... 701-284-7019
Polar Communications | Polar Telcom
Polar Cablevision | Wolverton Telephone Co.
PO Box 270 | Park River, ND 58270
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