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FEC Sends
Four Linemen to Aid Fellow Louisiana Cooperative After Gustav Hits “I really want to thank these guys for representing Farmers’Electric and for travelling such a great distance to help a fellow cooperative,” said Mike Sanders, FEC CEO. “I know their efforts down south were appreciated more than we will ever know.” The men left Chillicothe, accompanied by crews from Grundy Electric Cooperative, Trenton, on the morning of September 2. They arrived late the next day, beginning their first days in the field on September 4. The men began each day at 4 a.m. and worked until 10 o’clock each night. They slept each night on the floor of a rural church. At one time DEMCO had just over 2,000 linemen in the field at the same time. “It was an incredible job regarding safety when you consider how many men were working down there,” said Boley. “The only thing we heard about were two spider bites, which shows how good the safety training is at each cooperative.” Lots of humidity and daytime highs were up to 95 degrees in DEMCO’s service territory, which is east of Baton Rouge. One of the biggest problems the men faced involved what the locals called “love bugs.” “They would get into everything,” said Turbyfill. “We had to keep the radiator washed out every day and when they hit the windshield it sounded like rain.” The men said they concentrated on replacing downed poles and splicing primary lines until they left Louisiana on September 10 arriving home on September 11. |
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