Annual meetings: Your say counts

Wondering what that invitation to your electric cooperative’s annual meeting is all about? This is a good year to find out.

When you signed up as a consumer of the electric cooperative, you automatically became a member and a part-owner of that utility. That’s how cooperatives work: Each member-consumer has a say in how the utility operates.

To make your voice heard, attend your cooperative’s annual meeting this year. You’ll hear the utility’s manager and board president update consumer-members on the state of the utility at the meeting.

You’ll also get to elect the utility’s board of directors. Only consumer-members are eligible to hold seats on the board, so local people—not far-away stockholders—are running things at your community’s utility.

In fact, you might be eligible to run for a seat on the board yourself. Ask about next year’s election when you meet your electric cooperative manager, staff and board of directors at the annual meeting.

So, don’t throw away that invitation. Save the date and become an important part of the utility that you and your neighbors own.

Did you know?

Georgia’s 42 electric membership corporations (EMCs) return millions of dollars in capital credits (margins earned above the actual cost of providing service) to their member-customers each year. More than $25.7 million was returned to customers in 2005.

Call before you dig

Spring is in the air, yards need mowing and flower beds are begging to be spruced up with colorful annuals. But, digging even the smallest hole in the ground—especially with a metal trowel—can be dangerous.

Knowing where underground utility lines are buried before you start helps prevent injury, expense and penalties. The depth of utility lines may vary, and multiple utility lines may exist in one area.

Simple lawn or flower bed improvements can damage utility lines and disrupt vital services to an entire neighborhood, plus harm those who dig and result in expensive fines and repair costs. Having the lines marked by a utility company shows the approximate location of underground lines and helps prevent undesired consequences.

Before you pull out that shovel, call your local electric cooperative or contact the Utilities Protection Center (UPC) at least 72 hours in advance, in accordance with Georgia law. Beginning May 1, dial the new, federally mandated "Call Before You Dig" number at 811 for the UPC. The local number in Atlanta is (770) 623-4344. The toll-free number is (800) 282-7411. For more information, visit www.gaupc.com.

Six steps to effective poison prevention

By Rene Hopkins

From a child’s point of view, brightly colored bottles of detergent look like Kool-Aid, and shiny, round pills look like candy.

About 1.2 million children under age 5 are poisoned every year by common household products. To help protect children, Safe Kids East Central and the Medical College of Georgia Children’s Medical Center recommend the following tips for parents and caregivers:

1. When not in use, keep all poisons high up in a locked cabinet. Child-resistant packaging is great, but it’s not infallible. Also, actively supervise your children. Remember when you were a child and climbed chairs or used keys to “explore”?
2. Stay alert while using cleaning products or other potentially harmful substances. Never leave children alone, even for a few seconds, with an open container of something you wouldn’t want them to ingest.
3. Know what to do. Make sure you and your babysitters have the poison control hotline number, (800) 222-1222, on hand as well as the number for your local ambulance service, if it is not 911. If you suspect poisoning, call poison control immediately, and do not induce vomiting or give the child any fluid or medication unless directed. Call 911, not poison control, if a child is choking, having trouble breathing or having a seizure.
4. Test your home for lead and carbon monoxide, which can make children seriously ill.
5. Don’t refer to medicine or vitamins as candy. Even multivitamins can poison a small child who swallows too many. Remember to discuss these precautions with grandparents or other relatives who may have medications in their homes, and help them ensure their homes are safe. When these relatives and friends visit your home, remember to appropriately stow away their purses or baggage if they hold medications.
6. Learn CPR. It takes only three hours to complete this class. You can learn effective interventions to help save a life.

—Rene Hopkins is the coordinator of Safe Kids East Central led by the Medical College of Georgia Children’s Medical Center in Augusta. For more information, visit www.mcghealth.org.