Board Allocates Patronage Dividends to Members

May 2009
For Our Members
Board Allocates Patronage
Dividends to Members
At the March 20, 2009 Board of Director’s meeting, board
members unanimously approved allocating to cooperative
member-owners $601,068 of the 2008 operating margins,
which represents 2.237% of electric revenues (your patronage
with the cooperative) for the year ending December 31, 2008.
Crosses to WearNot Crosses to Bear
“When I retired, Esther said I
had to get some tools and get
out of the house.”
Your share of the allocated margin, called deferred patronage dividends
or capital credits, is based on the total dollar amount of your patronage
with Maquoketa Valley Electric Cooperative. We calculated your
patronage from the amounts billed to you for electric service in 2008.
Look for a message on your May energy bill that will identify your
2008 allocation. (This information is only a notice for you and cannot
be treated as cash or deducted from your bill.)
Payment of retired patronage dividends will be made to you at a
future time as determined by the Board of Directors. For this reason,
continue to inform us of your address changes if you discontinue your
electric service with the cooperative at any time in the future. We want
to make sure you receive your future patronage dividends checks.
Your cooperative operates as
a not-for-profit organization to
provide you electric service.
Revenue collected that is not
needed to cover the cost of
providing service is divided
among the members and
returned as future dividend
payments.
If you have any questions about
your patronage dividends, please
call Cleo at 319-462-3542 or
800-927-6068 or email her at
crogers@mvec.com.
PAGE 4
Robert Nelson, Delhi
You can pay your
electric bill online
by visiting
www.mvec.coop
Watts Inside:
2009 Washington, D.C.
Youth Tour Trip Winners
Page 2
New Tax Credits Cover Energy
Efficient Home Improvements
Page 2
State Electrical Inspection Program - NEW!
Page 3
Crosses to Wear - Not Crosses to Bear
Page 4
Beware of Energy Saving Claims
Page 5
Nutrient-Rich Value for Your Food Dollar
Page 6
Member Night Recap
Page 6
CFLs and Mercury
Page 7
2009 Washington, D.C. Youth Tour Trip Winners
Participants in this year’s contest were asked to
write an essay on the topic, “My View of the Next
Generation.” Five finalists and their families were
then invited to attend final judging in Anamosa.
After the delicious meal catered by Marilyn’s
Catering of Cascade, the finalists personally
interviewed with the judges. Everyone in
attendance was treated to a presentation by the 2008
Youth Tour Trip winners of the highlights of their
trip to our nation’s capitol.
This year’s winners, Ben Althoff, son of Wayne &
Alice Althoff of LaMotte and Kristin Luckstead,
daughter of Milt & Kelly Luckstead of Monticello,
were awarded all expense paid trips to Washington,
D.C. in June with thousands of other high school
youth tour winners across the nation. Melissa Kula,
daughter of Dwayne & Nancy Kula of Ryan, Zach
Pasker, son of Don & Julie Pasker of Manchester
and Patrick Soppe, son of John & Denise Soppe of
Manchester, were awarded cash honorariums for
their outstanding participation. Thank you to all
contestants who took the time to submit essays.
2009 Youth Tour Contestants (L-R) Zach Pasker,
Melissa Kula, Ben Althoff, Kristin Luckstead and
Patrick Soppe.
New Tax Credits Cover Energy
Efficient Home Improvements
Even though money is tight, this might be a good
time to make some home improvements.
You could qualify for up to $1,500 in federal tax
credits if you improve the energy efficiency of your
old windows, furnace, roof or water heater.
The tax credits are part of President Obama’s
economic stimulus bill and are good for energy
efficient improvements you make in 2009 and 2010.
panels, solar water heaters, small wind energy
systems and fuel cells. For these items, the credit
includes installation.
Before you buy any of these products, make sure
they qualify for the tax credit. To claim your credit,
you will need a manufacturer’s certification that
the product qualifies. You usually can find that
on the manufacturer’s website. You can claim the
tax credit by filling out IRS Tax Form 5695 (2009
version) when you file your 2009 taxes next year.
For more information about the energy-efficiency
tax credit, visit www.energystar.gov. Click on “tax
credits for energy efficiency.”
You could get a tax credit for 30 percent of the cost
of the improvement(s), up to $1,500 on windows
and doors, insulation, metal and asphalt roofs,
heating and air conditioning systems, non-solar
water heaters (but not tankless or electric storage
water heaters) and biomass stoves. For these items,
the credit does not include installation.
Another 30 percent is available (with no upper limit
through 2016) for geothermal heat pumps, solar
Save $50 when
you purchase a
Dimplex EBQ
Electric Grill!
Stop by our office or give us a
call at 800-927-6068 to learn
how you can save on this special
limited-time coupon offer.
Coupon offer
available on
our website
www.mvec.coop
State Electrical Inspection Program - NEW!
Effective March 1, 2009, most new or upgraded
electrical installations in the State of Iowa will
be subject to an electrical permit and inspection
program by a state electrical inspector.
being made, the utility can energize the electric
service. The result is that extra time will be needed
before our personnel can energize a service after we
receive your request to do so.
MVEC is required to follow section 103.28(1)
of the Iowa Code which states that “no electrical
installation subject to inspection under this chapter
shall be newly connected or reconnected for use
until the electrical inspector has filed with the
electrical utility supplying power a certificate
stating that the electrical inspector has approved
such energization.” In other words, the state of
Iowa must inspect any newly installed electric
service before MVEC (or any electric utility)
can energize it. If the state does not perform an
inspection within three working days of the request
More information about the new requirements and
how to arrange for an inspection will be available
with the Cooperative’s Application for Service and
at www.dps.state.ia.us/fm/electrician/index.shtml.
Crosses to Wear - Not Crosses to Bear
Grace Zimmerman, Anamosa, Iowa
Why would an Iowa retired farmer devote most
of his retiree days to making crosses of all sizes
and types, such as pins, necklaces, wall décor, etc?
Why does Robert Nelson give most of them away?
I will try to answer those questions by relating the
highlights of my conversation with him as he shares
the tales of his 85 years.
“After graduating, teaching reading was a joy
because speed reading was one of my main courses.
Getting those who had problems reading was a real
challenge. I was fortunate to be teaching when
Lyndon Johnson was president. It was a time when
schools received all kinds of teaching aids, devices,
reading machines, individual reading courses,
etc. This really helped in teaching reading. Kids
proceeded at their own level. It was so satisfying.
Going back to school was the best thing I ever did!”
(By the way, I heard this comment more than once.)
Memories include the country school days. Robert
says, “I enjoyed school. We learned lessons from
the recitation of older kids as well as our own. We
kids brought beans to school and our teacher stirred
them altogether in a big kettle on the pot-bellied
stove, which stood in the middle of the school room.
They really tasted good.”
Then I asked him the obvious question. Why and
when did you change your occupation in such a
different way when you retired? With that touch
of humor, which he used so often, his answer was
brief. “When I retired, Esther said I had to get some
tools and get out of the house,” said Robert.
“I grew up in the depression when it was our farm
garden which sustained us. In the late thirties I cut
wood along the county roads. In 1941 I graduated
from Buck Creek High School. It saddens me to
see the old building now in such a state of decline.
I met Esther at Lennox College in Hopkinton and
years later in 1945, I chanced to meet her again
which resulted in our marriage. We moved here
on this farm in 1956 and it was all mud roads! The
milk truck even got stuck up to its axles getting
milk from our farm.”
Robert continues with
a twinkle in his eye and
definite pride. “It was
hard trying to make a
living on a small farm,
raising three daughters,
so I decided to go back
to school, graduating
from the Upper Iowa
University in 1963. A
Eshter and Robert wearing
graduate with me was my
neclaces that Robert made,
first grade teacher. How
as well as the crosses on
about that?”
He started out by
making all sorts of
wooden décor, many of
which are very much in
evidence in the comfy
farm home. With
proof of the compatible
relationship, Esther
These are just a few of the bear
makes a definite point
stands in the Nelson home.
of showing off some
of his handiwork.
What I found unusual was the accent on bears.
The wooden bears were also covered with a black
fur which gave them realism. The bears were the
foundations of varied sizes of small tables. When
I asked him if he would still make such items for
sale, his quick reply was, “I’d still make some
items if people asked for them.” (My comment is if
you want something unusual for a gift, here’s your
opportunity.)
the wall.
Now for an answer. Robert Nelson explained that
he read the “Left Behind” series by Tim LaHaye
and Jerry Jenkins, which really influenced his
beliefs. He decided it was very important for him
to let people know that we are Christians. Thus,
he started making crosses as proofs of our beliefs.
“I’ve made 30,000 crosses of all shapes and sizes.
The United Church of Hopkinton donates the wood,
so any donation for the crosses goes right back to
the church. My crosses are in Afghanistan, Iraq,
Sweden, Italy, England, South America, some went
to the Hurricane Katrina flood area, and literally all
over the world. A wife of an American soldier who
was stationed in Iraq contacted me with a letter of
thanks as her husband sent them to her as he came
home safely.”
Nelson’s workshop
is the old milk house
which he explains works
very well because it’s
well insulated. In one
corner is the sanding
machine, which he uses
to embellish the natural
tones of the walnut, red
oak, white oak, maple and
hardwoods. Then he uses
Robert using the jigsaw.
the jigsaw to cut out the
crosses. He goes on to explain, “I don’t know how
many machines I’ve worn out.” As I debated
within myself as to
whether to do a project
one day, my inner good
lost with the result that
he lost all his fingernails
on one hand.
In the house are buckets
of crosses, all sorted
out according to size,
Robert holding some samples
use, etc. They are
of the crosses.
each in a small plastic
bag with his name and
address included. They’re ready and waiting for the
request. It may come from a nursing home, church
or a family to use for gifts because as Robert Nelson
says, “It’s a way to show we’re Christians.”
Robert and Esther welcome calls to the Hopkinton
phone, 563-926-2406 to find out more about the
Christian crosses at their Delhi address at 2468
290th Street. I was so fortunate to have the time
to visit with this extraordinary couple that exudes
the obvious joy of living with pride in their
accomplishments.
P.S. – Guess who’s going to the library to find the
“Left Behind” series?
Beware of Energy Saving Claims
Lean times understandably motivate people to
explore money-saving options. At what cost,
however, might that pursuit of savings come?
Members wanting to lower their electric bills most
likely already know the sage advice about insulating
their homes, investing in Energy Star appliances
and unplugging devices they are not using.
invest millions of dollars every day into researching
the latest energy efficient and renewable energy
options on the market. Many cooperatives offer
energy audits, weatherization programs, rebates and
other options to assist those members seeking the
answers about energy efficiency.
In today’s economic climate, marketers have found
a niche offering a range of products that they
promise will deliver quick and easy energy savings.
The soundest advice to follow in this climate is:
buyer beware. Instead of wasting money or risking
safety on schemes that fall short, cooperative
member-owners looking for answers are encouraged
to work collaboratively with their local electric
cooperative.
But isn’t there a quicker, easier way? What about
investing in one of those “magic boxes or cylinders”
that promises to slice home electricity costs by up
to 50%? Here’s a heads up. If a product sounds
too good to be true on the energy savings front, it
probably is.
Saving energy is not as simple as plugging a device
into an outlet or a meter. Electric cooperatives
Nutrient-Rich Value for Your Food Dollar
Susan Uthoff, ISU Extension Nutrition & Health Specialist
As frugal shoppers have known for years, it is
possible to minimize food costs while maximizing
nutrition. It just takes attention, time and most of
all, planning. Many resources for eating well on a
budget are available at the Iowa State University
Extension webpage Spend Smart Eat Smart at www.
extension.iastate.edu/foodsavings/.
uneaten food. Buying in bulk and in larger sized
containers means less packaging to throw away.
This can actually be a win-win for your health and
the environment.”
Make-ahead
Mexican Roll-ups
Here are three tried and true ways to help you
stretch your food dollar.
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 15-ounce can beans (black, pinto, chili, etc.)
2 cups frozen corn or 1 15-ounce can corn
2 cups shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack or hot pepper cheese (8 ounces)
1 cup salsa
8 10-inch tortillas
• Before shopping, make a plan: One of the best
ways to control spending and avoid impulse buying
is to make a list of the items needed and then stick
to the list. The idea is to buy everything that is
on the list but not anything else that looks good.
Having already planned your menus, this is easy.
Prepare rice according to package directions,
allowing about 15 minutes for instant rice
or about 45 minutes for regular brown rice.
Cool completely. Place beans in a colander or
strainer and rinse to reduce sodium. Transfer to
a large bowl. Thaw frozen corn in microwave.
Drain and add to bowl. Or, if using can corn,
drain and add to bowl. Stir in rice, cheese
and salsa. Spoon about ½ cup filling on each
tortilla and roll or fold up.
• Make it yourself and save: You can spend $3 on a
liter of iced tea or you can make your own for about
10 cents worth of tea bags. And, skip the meal kits.
A pasta salad kit that contains about 80 cents worth
of macaroni and a packet of seasonings may cost
$3.50. Save over $2 by looking up a recipe on the
Internet.
• As you shop, are you paying for convenience?
You can save a lot of money on groceries simply by
washing your own lettuce, peeling your own carrots,
slicing your own cheese and chopping your own
onions. I think people underestimate just how much
extra they are spending for these small conveniences
and at the same time overestimate how much time
they are really saving. Foods also lose freshness
and nutrients when they are pre-washed and
processed.
To freeze for future use, wrap each in plastic
wrap and place in a pan in the freezer
overnight. When completely frozen, place in
freezer safe plastic bag. Seal, label with date
and return to freezer.
Member Night Recap
Young and old alike enjoyed pizza, games
and bucket rides at events in Monticello and
Manchester. Winners of electric grills were
Boyd Chatterton, Onslow and Raymond Weber,
Bernard. Children winning cash prizes for
submitting electric safety tips were Austin Hess,
Dyersville, and Marissa Manternach, Monticello.
Lynn Paul, EdD, RD (registered dietician) and
Extension Food and Nutrition Specialist at Montana
State University says, “Smart nutrition shopping
strategies can help you be a ‘greener’ consumer at
the same time that they save you money. Careful
planning means that you will throw away less
CFLs and Mercury
CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the
glass tubing – an average of 4 milligrams. By comparison, older
thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury – an amount
equal to the mercury in 125 CFLs. Mercury is an essential part of
CFLs; it allows the bulb to be an efficient light source. No mercury is
released when the bulbs are intact (not broken) or in use.
Thanks to technology advances, the average mercury content in CFLs
has dropped at least 20 percent in the past year. Some manufacturers
have even made further reductions, dropping mercury content to 1.4
– 2.5 milligrams per light bulb.
The EPA recommends that consumers take advantage of their local
recycling options for CFLs. Consumers can contact their local
municipal solid waste agency directly, or go to www.epa.gov/
bulbrecycling or www.earth911.org to identify local recycling options.
You should put the bulb in two plastic bags and seal it before putting it
next to your trash collection or take it to a local recycling center.
Due to the small mercury content if a CFL breaks, the EPA
recommends the following clean-up and disposal guidelines:
1. Air out the room. Open a window and shut off forced-air
systems. Have people and pets leave the room and don’t let
anyone walk through the breakage.
2. Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar
with metal lid or in a sealed plastic bag. Use sticky tape, such
as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass pieces and
powder. If the bulb breaks on a hard surface, wipe the area
clean with damp paper towels and place in the bag with the
broken pieces. If the bulb the breaks on carpeting and you need
to use a vacuum to remove remaining debris, you may do so
but remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe canister) and
put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.
3. Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash
container and then wash your hands.
Watts The
Answer?
1. You could qualify for up to
$1,500 in federal______ credits
if you make energy efficient
improvements to your home.
2. Robert Nelson has made
30,000 _________ of all shapes
and sizes.
3. Older thermometers contain
about 500 milligrams of
__________.
Mail your answers in with your
energy bill or email them to
erobertson@mvec.com.
Two winners will each receive
a $10.00 credit on their energy
bills.
Name:
__________________________
Address:
__________________________
__________________________
March winners:
Lynn Feye, Maquoketa
Lloyd Kilburg, Bellevue
Maquoketa Valley
Electric Cooperative
will be closed
May 25th
in observance of
Memorial Day
Watts Current
is published monthly for the members of
Maquoketa Valley Electric Cooperative.
109 North Huber Street • Anamosa, Iowa 52205
319-462-3541 or 800-927-6068
OFFICE HOURS
Monday thru Friday • 7:30 to 4:00 p.m.
After Hours Call
Center
800-582-8998
Visit Our
Web Site
at www.mvec.coop or
Email direct to the following departments:
Billing Questions
Product or Service Questions
Maintenance Issues
Dividend Questions
New Service Questions
Management
billing@mvec.coop
memberservice@mvec.coop
maintenance@mvec.coop
patronage@mvec.coop
engineering@mvec.coop
management@mvec.coop