Vol. 6, No. 1
Spring 2006
Vernon Telephone Cooperative
Celebrates 50th Annual Meeting
1956 - 2006
Vernon Telephone Cooperative held its 50th Annual
Meeting on Saturday, April 1, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. at the
Westby Elementary School cafeteria with 180 members in
attendance. During the meeting I presented a report covering
financial and operational results for the year 2005. I believe
we continued on the tradition of having a successful year.
We continue to operate in a very highly regulated environment that is getting more competitive all the time.
Telephone cooperatives in Wisconsin are treated differently
from those in every other state and have different rules
from all other cooperatives in any business. This is the
reason for our complicated and sometimes confusing operating practices and the
need to provide our subsidiary Vernon Communications for non-regulated products. This year, almost all of our growth was in our non-regulated services such as
Internet and digital television. Continued growth in these products is where your
board of directors see us needing to focus to keep the coop strong for years to
come. Like I’ve said many times before, being a telephone company is great, but
if telephones are all we do, we won’t be doing them for long. In this coming year
we will see how well we have prepared for competition. Cable TV companies are
now starting to offer telephone services and you can find a cellular telephone on
almost everyone’s belt. Sometime when you drive through a large city, look
around and count how many people are talking on a cell phone while walking
down the street or driving in their cars. For most, it is the only phone they have
and they get their Internet from the cable TV company. In past years we saw long
distance rates go way down. But, many of those companies are in financial trouble because of their price-cutting and for sure rates will rise again. This will send
even more people to cellular and Internet telephone calling. Our telephone line
and long distance subscriber counts were basically the same as last year. About
60% of our members use our long distance, but they account for only about 12%
of the total long distance calling
minutes.
Like I mentioned above, our
growth this year has mainly
been in our broadband products
offered by our subsidiary
Vernon Communications. Our
television offering grew nearly
110% to just under 1,500 subscribers at years end. Taking in
consideration for normal churn,
VTC Celebrates its 50th Annual Meeting.
(Continued on page 2)
What’s Inside...
➣ VTC 50th Annual Meeting
➣ Annual Meeting Photos
➣ VTC Board of Director Results
➣ Door Prize Winners
➣ Thank You Seas Branch Smithies
➣ Membership Appreciation Picnics
➣ Tech Talk: Beware Online Predators
➣ Gunnar Gretebeck-New Addition
➣ Hang Ten With VTC
➣ Important Information on UPN
➣ VC TV Listings Online
➣ The Power of #1
➣ 3 More iNDEMAND Channels
➣ Does Answering Machine Save...?
➣ Save a Tree, Receive Bill Online
➣ Simply Dial 2-1-1
➣ Girl Scout Gold Award
➣ You Didn’t Miss Winter Issue
➣ Farm & Home Safety Day Camp
➣ VTC Awards $5,000 In Scholarships
➣ Check Email While On Vacation
➣ Statement of Nondiscrimination
➣ VTC Participates In Reality Daze
➣ Speed Bump
➣ Kids Corner
Vernon TeleCommunicator
is published by
Vernon Telephone Cooperative
103 North Main Street
Westby, Wisconsin 54667
Phone: (608) 634-3136
1-800-543-2029
Fax: (608) 634-2000
E-mail: [email protected]
General Manager
Rod Olson
Marketing Coordinator
Lance Nedland
Office Hours:
Monday-Friday
7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Vernon Telephone Cooperative Celebrates 50th Annual Meeting
(Continued from page 1)
we did close to 900 new installs last year. Our high speed
Internet subscriber count increased over 60% to just under
1,400 subscribers as a result of people moving from dial-up
access to our always on high speed internet product.
Unfortunately, all these new installs come with a high price
for installation and equipment. It will take a while to make
up that ground, but we are well ahead of where we thought
we would be and are thankful to all that are using these services. With that said, we are in exactly the place that many
phone companies wish they were at.
Looking at the results of the traditional telephone side of
the business, we only saw a net increase of four telephone
lines for the year although we had one of our busiest in terms
of new home wiring and construction. We took on five large
wiring jobs this year where having just one would have been
plenty. We pulled over 150 miles of data and telephone wire
last year at these locations and are only about 60% complete
at this time. We are doing a lot of work outside our telephone serving area. Large projects in Viroqua have been at
the Viroqua School District, Vernon Memorial Hospital,
Vernon County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center, S&S
Cycle in La Crosse along with other businesses in surrounding towns. We built a fiber-optic metro-Ethernet system to
connect all of Vernon County’s offices in Viroqua. On this
route we are trialing a fiber-optic cable to the home project in
30 homes in Viroqua for Internet and television. We have
been involved in the upgrade of the county 911 network to
make it available to cellular telephones users. We are fast
becoming a leader for data consulting and network engineering and integration for area businesses.
In conclusion, I feel that we put together another
extremely successful year. We have shifted our focus to new
growing lines of business and revenues and they continue to
increase. We spent some money to do it, but you the owner
have many more services to choose from and at a reasonable price. We stand by our Vision Statement that reads:
“Our goal is to be the best telecommunications provider
possible, and promote economic development in our communities”. We are working very hard to accomplish just
that, while keeping in mind the cooperative principle of
putting service ahead of profits. We like to believe that
we are doing our part to make our serving area a great
place to live and work with.
If you would like a copy of the Annual Meeting
booklet feel free to stop by the Vernon Telephone
Cooperative office located at 103 North Main Street in
Westby during normal business hours and pick one up.
We are open Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Rod Olson,
General Manager
VTC Board Members Ron Iverson (Westby), Edmund
Wolf ( DeSoto) and Brad Gabrielson (LaFarge) listening
to the financial reports at the annual meeting.
Close to 180 members attended the Vernon Telephone Cooperative Annual Meeting.
Board of Director Ballot Results 2006
De Soto
Dale Long
134
Edmund Wolf
160
Harold Mc Donough
1
Denny Witt
1
_____________________________
Liberty Pole
Ralph Hendrickson
73
Orris Pederson
54
Ed Fanta
1
_____________________________
Yuba
Terry Jindrick
50
Donald Stowell
50
_____________________________
The Election for the Yuba Exchange was a tie.
Under the Vernon Telephone Cooperative Bylaws Article IV, page 12,
Section 4.4 Nomination and Election, Subsection (b), Paragraph 3, sentence
1 and 2 states.
The candidate from each district receiving the highest number of votes
shall be declared elected. In the event of a tie, such tie shall be determined
by the members from such district in attendance at the annual meeting.
So a vote was held at the 50th Annual Meeting on April 1, 2006. There
were ten Yuba Exchange members in attendance. A signed ballot vote was
conducted. The results were as follows.
Terry Jindrick
6
Donald Stowell
4
Vernon Telephone Cooperative
would like to thank everyone at the
Westby Area School District who
helped make our 50th Annual
Meeting a success. A Special thank
you to Joyce McGarvey and the
rest of the custodial staff for helping to organize set up and clean up
throughout the day.
Door Prize Winners
Grand Prize- Willard Jindrick
27 in Flat Screen TV from Rockweiler
Appliance & TV Sales & Service; plus
one month of digital video service free.
1.0 Peak HP Shop Vac
– Carol Cade
Decorative Wooden Chest
– Matt Benson
5 Piece Stainless Steel Bowl Set
– Eileen Ellefson
80 Piece Auto Safety Kit
– Jenelle Anderson
Mr. Coffee Ice Tea Maker
– Marianne Miller
Tastefully Simple Gift Set
(compliments of Tracy Yanske)
– Kathleen Keuser
9 Piece Decorative Wall Spice Rack
w/ 9 Premium 4oz. Spice Jars
– Margaret Yanske
Smart Spin 49 Piece Storage System w/
Containers, Lids & Carousel
– Verna Marx
Master Mechanic 1in. Toolbox
– Carol Theis
Vernon Telephone Members Hiram Lund and District 96 Representative
Lee Nerison look over the annual meeting booklet.
Solid Oak Book Shelf –
(Compliments of Furlano Fine Oaks)
– Alice Stowell
Thank You and Congratulations
To the Seas Branch Smithies 4-H Club
Vernon Telephone would like to thank the Seas Branch Smithies 4-H Club for their “Take Me Back to the 50’s” performance at the 50th Annual Meeting. The group consists of 23 members ranging from Kindergarten through 8th grade. They
received the following awards.
Blue Ribbon at the Vernon County Fine Arts Festival.
Merit Award (the best you can get) at District Competition in Whitehall.
Earned an invitation to perform at the Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee in August.
We would like to wish you good luck at the State competition. We are proud of you!
Membership
Appreciation Picnics
Vernon Telephone Cooperative
and Vernon Electric
Membership Appreciation Picnics
will be held on
June 14
at Timber Coulee in Westby,
July 12
at the Genoa Park,
and
August 16
at the Readstown
Advancement Building.
Lance Nedland presenting a check to Kala Green Seas Branch Smithies 4-H
Club group leader from Vernon Telephone to be used for $250 to go towards the
entry fee for the students at the Wisconsin State Fair competition in August.
Look for more information
in your June, July,
and August telephone bills.
Tech Talk
Dale Levendoski
New Addition
To the Vernon Telephone
Cooperative Family
Beware of Online Predators
With the latest craze of websites like
Facebook.com and MySpace.com,
teenagers can find people around the world
who share their interests such as sports,
music, or movies. Authorities say teens are increasingly finding
trouble in an online environment where millions of people can,
in seconds, find out where they go to school, learn their interests, download their pictures and instantly send them messages.
MySpace, one of several popular social networking sites, is
a free service that allows people to create Web sites that can be
personalized with information, pictures and movies. Searching
for a person is simple. You can type in the name of a high
school of someone and you will receive photographic results
almost immediately.
Parents should know that no one under the age of fourteen is
allowed to use the MySpace site. If you discover that your child
is posing as someone older and using the MySpace site, please let
them know and they will delete their site from MySpace.
Facebook is an online directory that connects people
through social networks at schools.
It was launched to the public on Wednesday, February 4th,
2004. Now there are two Facebooks: one for people in college
and one for people in high school.
You can use Facebook to:
• Look up people at your school.
• See how people know each other.
• Find people in your classes and groups.
Some teens keep their personal profiles scant, aimed only at
their friends. Others describe their likes and dislikes, from the
mundane to the profane, and encourage people to send them
messages. This is very dangerous because it basically tells a
predator everything they need to know about someone. There
have been cases where teenagers have met someone on
MySpace thinking they were a friend there age and scheduled
meetings only to find out that they are older than they appear
and can be possible sexual predators.
Parents need to be aware of this; many times the parents aren't
around to keep an eye on their children while on the internet. They
often don't know their children are using these Web sites or what
information is being released. Parents need to closely monitor
Internet activity. Parents need to ask themself the following question. You wouldn’t leave your child alone in the side of a busy
street without supervision, so why would you let them on the
information superhighway without checking in on them.
It’s important to us to help you keep your child safer online.
Please visit the following sites to learn more information on
how to keep your child safe while using the internet
www.facebook.com
www.myspace.com
http://wiredkids.org
http://www.wiredsafety.org
Gunnar Gretebeck
Vernon Telephone Cooperative is proud to announce
the addition of a new employee. Gunnar Gretebeck
graduated Westby High School in 1993. He enlisted in
the United States Air Force and was stationed at Norad,
in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He handled deck mainframe maintenance for Digital Electronics Corporation
as well as network repair. From 1997-1999 Gunnar was
in Spandahlen, Germany where he worked supporting
F-16 fighter squadrons train mapping systems, as well
as network encryptology and install networks. From
1999 till the fall of 2000 he worked for GTE which got
bought out by General Dynamics. He was a Junior
Network Engineer in charge of a lot of network installations especially those with CATV5 and Fiber. While
there he worked at the Warrior Prep Center aka “War
Games Simulation.” In 2000 Gunnar moved to RAF
Molesworth, England where he worked until spring of
2006. His main projects were working on video teleconferencing systems, as well as deployable communications, building networks, working with Minerva video
distribution and headends as well as working on the
Cisco side with the video also.
Gunnar began working for Vernon Telephone
Cooperative on March 1, 2006. He is the Network
Engineer where he is responsible for engineering and
network implementations for Vernon Telephone and
Vernon Communications. Gunnar resides in rural
Westby with Teri his wife of six years and their children
Makayla, Lars, and Annaliese who was born on April
19th of this year. In his free time Gunnar enjoys hunting, farming, and spending time with his family.
Vernon Telephone is very lucky to have the
Gretebeck family join our growing Vernon Telephone
family. If you happen to run into Gunnar welcome him
to the cooperative.
www.vernoncommunications.com
midwest tel net
www.mwt.net
103 N. Main St. • P.O. Box 92 • Westby, WI 54667-0092
PHONE: 608-634-3136 • FAX: 608-634-2000
Important Information on UPN
On Friday, January 27, 2006 KQEG (UPN) Channel 23
decided to move to independent programming. WKBT picked
up the UPN Network. We are currently negotiating with WKBT
for the UPN Network and hope to have it added to our lineup
later this spring. KQEG-TV is now called TV23 and can be
found on Channel 23. It will air at 7:00 p.m. a rebroadcast of
WXOW-TV’s 6:00 p.m. newscast. The rebroadcast will be
Monday through Friday. Also independent programming will be
shown on Channel 23.
3 More iNDEMAND
Channels Added
The new iNDEMAND Channels can be found on Channels
707-709.
Visit www.indemand.com to view upcoming movies and
showtimes.
Vernon Communications
TV Listings Online
Can’t find our listings in your TV Guide.
Visit http://www.tv.yahoo.com Click on My Listings. Type in
the 54667 in the Enter Your Zipcode Box. Then select Vernon
Communications (Digital) from the drop down box. You can
search up to 10 days in the future to see what is playing.
1
The Power of #1
…With Vernon Telephone
Cooperative and Vernon
Communications #1
is not the loneliest number…
its the easiest!
How would you like to be able to talk on the
telephone, surf the internet, and watch television all
at the same time. Well You Can! If you have
Vernon Telephone service you can also subscribe to
Digital Video*, High-Speed Internet* and Long
Distance and be able to use all three of these services at the same time on one existing phone line.
Also with these services there is only #1 monthly
bill, #1 monthly payment, for one easy way of
doing business.
At Vernon Communications “You don’t need to
read the fine print, because there isn’t any.
*Digital Video and High-Speed Internet are
distance sensitive services and is available in most
locations NOW!!
www.vernoncommunications.com
midwest tel net
www.mwt.net
Hang Ten With VTC
School’s almost out and summer will be
here soon….So grab your mouse and
(key)board it’s Time To Surf! Find a Surfin
Safari and Catch a Wave with Vernon
Communications High Speed Internet service.
You’ll be flying down the half pipe at breaking
speeds leaving you screaming Cowabunga!
Ask us about our Digital Video & High Speed
Internet bundled packages. Don’t be caught in
a wipe out, make the switch to Vernon
Communications High Speed Internet and
you’ll be the Big Kahuna!
s
e
t
a
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e
ts
Low
s
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& No Hid
634-3136
Simple
One-Rate
Long-Distance
Plan!
www.vernontel.com
Does Your Answering Machine Save Messages
While You’re Talking On the Phone?
....Probably Not
Sign up for Vernon Telephone’s Voice Mail
Service and replace that machine.
Voice Mail is similar to an answering machine, but there is no
equipment to purchase or replace.
It always works even when the power is off. It has the ability to
answer your calls if you do not answer or even if you are on the telephone. Your calls can be retrieved remotely from any telephone
regardless of where you are. You have the ability to save, delete or
even transfer your messages to others.
Visual Message Waiting indication is also available. This will
require a telephone or other adjunct device that is equipped with this
feature.
We can customize your service to meet any home or business need.
If your answering machine needs replacing our service is available
for as little as $4.00 per month.
Save A Tree With VTC…And
Receive Your Bill On-Line
Vernon Telephone customers can now access
their monthly bills on-line. This will save Vernon
Telephone bill processing and mailing costs, and
VTC would like to pass this savings on to you. If
you sign up for the VTC eBill and choose the
option of not receiving a paper bill you will
receive a $1.00 credit on your monthly bill, and if
you also sign up for the ACH option you will
receive an additional $1.00 credit each month.
You will still be able to see your full bill with
additional information such as balance and bill
history. To sign up for the eBill service, simply go
to https://secure.vernontel.com/eBill/. Click on the
new users register here link and you will be
prompted for information to set up your account.
If you have any questions regarding this new
service please feel free to call us at 634-3136 or
toll free at 800-543-2029.
Simply dial 2-1-1
to get help with life.
2-1-1
What is 2-1-1?
2-1-1 is the national abbreviated dialing code designated by the FCC, nationwide
for free access to health and human services information and referral (I&R).
Wisconsin and 2-1-1
Great Rivers 2-1-1 has been designated as the 2-1-1 call center for the
Southwestern Region in Wisconsin consisting of the following Counties: Buffalo,
Crawford, Grant, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Richland, Trempealeau, and Vernon.
About Great Rivers 2-1-1
Great Rivers 2-1-1, formerly First Call For Help, plays a unique role throughout
the Tri-State area by providing a central and easy to remember access point for people
to obtain complete and current information on over 3,500 community and human service programs.
Get The Help You Need
At different points in our lives, we can all use a little help whether it’s parenting concerns, putting food on the table,
dealing with an abuse situation, or just making ends meet. But we don’t always know when - or where - to ask for that help.
2-1-1 is a place to make the connections that can help you find answers and prevent problems from getting more serious.
Using a comprehensive resource database, 2-1-1 Information and Referral Specialists will listen to your needs and concerns,
help you make informed decisions and link you to the right community resources.
Dial 2-1-1 or toll free in WI, MN, IA, (800) 362-825
Free, confidential community information, referrals and crisis line services 24 hours a day.
Source: http://www.greatrivers211.org
Vernon Telephone’s Girl Scout
Gold Award Sponsor:
Brittney Gabrielson
Brittney Gabrielson of Westby, daughter of Larry and Shelley Gabrielson
received the Gold Award the highest achievable award in Girl Scouting and
was sponsored by Vernon Telephone Cooperative. Brittany was one of 32 Girl
Scouts members who received the Gold Award. Brittney is sixteen years old
and a member of the Girl Scouts of Riverland Council Troop 219. She became
a member of Girl Scouts when she was in kindergarten and received her Girl
Scout Silver Award when she was a freshman in high school. She is a Junior
at Westby High School and is involved in track and field along with serving as
the Activities Board Chair Woman for the Westby FFA. Brittney is also a
member of the Barn Ball Maids and serves as a mentor for elementary students. Another interest of Brittney’s is creative writing where she has a piece
published online. After graduation Brittney would like to attend the University
of Wisconsin-La Crosse and eventually become a 7th-8th grade Social Studies
teacher or a High School Ag teacher.
To receive the Gold Award a girl scout must create her own individual
project consisting of 30 hours of community service. Usually the project takes
a year to complete. Brittney’s project was to collect suitcases for kids for
when the county puts them in foster care. The suitcases were filled with certain amenities such as soaps, toiletries, towels, toothbrush and toothpaste etc.
All the suitcases were donated from members in the community. Brittney had
a booth at the Vernon County Fair was well as placed ads in the newspaper to
make the community aware of her cause. Suitcases were dropped off at the
Erlandson Building of the Vernon County Office. Through this project there
were 50 suitcases donated with 20 of them filled up with the items for the foster children. Daniel Iverson donated $75.00 for toothbrushes and toothpaste.
After Brittney’s project was complete she had to write a report charting the
hours she spent on the project as well as a brief description about her project
and how it helped the community. Congratulations Brittney on your Girl Scout
Gold Award, Vernon Telephone is happy to sponsor you and is proud of your
outstanding achievement.
SPECIAL
DOUBLE
ISSUE!
In case you’ve been wondering if
you missed an issue of the Vernon
Telephone Cooperative Dial-Up
News, you didn’t.
We’re sorry for not issuing a
Winter 2006 newsletter, but we’ve
been reorganizing and redesigning the
newsletter to make it more colorful
and enjoyable reading. The addition
of color photos will be a great addition to the stories.
We’ve also changed the name to
Vernon TeleCommunicator to better
reflect the changing times.
This is a special twelve-page
issue to bring you up to date on the
celebration of our 50th annual meeting and to highlight some of the
events that have taken place since the
Fall 2005 issue of Dial-Up News.
We hope you enjoy the new look.
Past Issues of
Dial-Up News
Now Available
Missed an issue of the Dial Up News.
You can access archived issues
on the web
at www.vernontel.com
and www.vernoncommunications.com
Call Before You Dig!!
Spring is here and that means yard
work.
To prevent serious accidents and
costly delays.
Call Diggers Hotline for general
location of buried cable
at least 3 days before you dig.
1-800-242-8511
VTC Participates in Farm and Home Safety Day Camp
Vernon Telephone Cooperative participated in the
Vernon Memorial Healthcare 12th Annual Farm and Home
Safety Day Camp on April 26, 2006. Approximately 375
fourth grade students from eleven areas schools participated in the one day camp held at the Viroqua Community
Arena. Students learned the safety rules when dealing with
the following; Electrical Safety, Gun Safety, First Aid
Basics, Chemical and Grain Safety, Highway and Bike
Safety, Animal Safety, All Terrain Vehicle Safety,
Emergency Response, Power Take Off Safety, Lawn
Mower Safety, Fire Safety, Preventing Tractor Roll Over
and Water Safety.
Approximately 375
local 4th grade students attended the
Farm and Home
Safety Day Camp.
4th graders from Viroqua are
watching a video about lawn
mower safety.
Lance Nedland from Vernon Telephone
and Martha Olson from Citizens First Bank
in Viroqua answer questions from 4th
graders on lawn mowing safety.
Vernon Telephone Cooperative
Awards $5000 In Scholarships
To Local Students.
$500 Scholarship Winners
10 local high school student were recognized at the Vernon Telephone
Cooperative 50th Annual Meeting held on Saturday, April 1, 2006 as
recipients of a $500 scholarship.
Vernon Telephone Cooperative offers scholarships for local high
school graduates interested in continuing their education either at a technical college or a university. The applicant’s parent must be a Vernon
Telephone customer.
Pictured from Left to Right: Jordan Bechtel, (De Soto Exchange) De Soto
High School, Randi Leek, (Readstown Exchange) Kickapoo High School,
Whitney Stevenson, (De Soto Exchange) De Soto High School, Caleb
Hendrickson, (Liberty Pole Exchange) Viroqua High School, Kylie Hess,
(Westby Exchange) Westby High School, Kade Walker, (La Farge
Exchange) La Farge High School, Kayla Lind, (Genoa Exchange) Viroqua
High School, Alison Adams, (La Farge Exchange) La Farge High School)
Not Pictured Eric Anderson, (Viola Exchange) Kickapoo High School,
Amanda Bahr, (Westby Exchange) Westby High School.
How Do I Check
My Email While
On Vacation?
We’re including a brief article this quarter
in our newsletter about “ How to Check Your
Email While On Vacation This Summer.”
This will explain to you how to check your
email via our web server.
It’s easy and simple to check your email
remotely by using Web-based E-mail using
your MWT e-mail account. Follow the simple instructions below:
Access the following web address.
http://www.mwt.net/mailman/mmstdol.cgi
Fill out our Username and Password.
Be sure to only place your username in
the username box, do not type
[email protected], just simply put in your
username without appending @mwt.net.
General Rules to remember while using
webmail when you are away from home.
• First and foremost is that if you have never
used web based mail before, try it BEFORE
you leave home so that you can become
accustomed to it and can have any questions answered by our customer service
representatives before you leave town.
• Make sure that the PC you are using does
not save your password.
• Do not give your password to someone
helping you on a public access PC.
• Make sure that you are logged out when
done.
• Try to keep the number of emails residing
in their webmail account to a minimum. To
take strain off of too many emails stored
on the server.
Vernon Telephone Cooperative Statement of Nondiscrimination
Vernon Telephone Cooperative, Inc. is the recipient of Federal financial assistance from the Rural Utility Service, an agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, and is subject to the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture which provide that no person in the United States on the basis of race, color, national origin, age or handicap
shall be excluded from participation in, admission or access to, denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under
any of the organization’s programs or activities.
The person responsible for coordinating this organization’s nondiscrimination compliance efforts is Rodney Olson, General Manager.
Any individual, or specific class of individuals, who feels that this organization has subjected them to discrimination may obtain further
information about the statutes and regulations listed above from and/or file a written complaint with this organization; or the Secretary,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250; or the Administrator, Rural Utility Service, Washington, D.C. 20250.
Complaints must be filed within 180 days after the alleged discrimination. Confidentiality will be maintained to the extent possible.
VTC Participates In Reality Daze 2006
On March 15, 2006 Vernon Telephone participated in the Reality Daze that was held at Western Technical College
(WTC) – Viroqua campus. The Reality Daze was a collaborate effort between the school districts of DeSoto, Hillsboro
Kickapoo, LaFarge North Crawford, Viroqua and Westby.
The Reality Daze Project is an interactive program designed to:
• Introduce students to money management skills.
• Provide students an opportunity to connect with
community business leaders.
• Allow students to learn an exercise budgeting skills.
Ashley Hoff and Ashley Jefson of Westby High School listing to Lance Nedland of VTC talk about telephone service.
“Some days you are the bug;
Some days you are the windshield!”
–Zen Wisdom
SPEED BUMP
Dave Coverly
Dana Hohlfelder from VTC explaining the telephone services
to Maggie Russell from DeSoto High School.
K id’s Corner
Vernon Telephone Cooperative
Lawn Mowing Safety Trivia
??
1. How many people are injured in lawn mowing
accidents each year?
2. How full should you fill the gas tank?
3. Should you fill the gas tank when the mower is hot or cold?
4. How long should you wait to fill the tank?
5. Where should you look when mowing the lawn?
6. What should you do when you need to cross the driveway
or the sidewalk?
7. How should you turn the lawn mower?
8. Should you pull the mower towards you?
9. How should you mow on a hill when using a push mower?
10. How should you mow on a hill while on a riding lawn
mower?
Answers on the back cover.
Enjoy the Spring!
Vernon Telephone Cooperative
N
lor!
Use of Co details
8 for
See page
Check out the 50th Annual Meeting and “Back to the 50’s”
performance by the Seas Branch Smithies 4-H Club inside.
Answers to Lawn Mowing Safety Trivia
1. At least 60,000. The number of people injured would not
fit into a stadium.
2. 3/4 full because gas expands when hot.
3. Cold. The mower can start on fire if the mower is hot
when refueling. The muffler can be up to 1200 degrees
Fahrenheit.
4. You should wait at least 10 minutes. It’s is a good time for
a break, have something to drink.
5. At least 2 to 3 feet directly in front of you.
6. Shut the mower off to safely cross.
7. Never lift the mower up – you expose the blade and could
hurt someone or an animal. You should always keep all 4
wheels on the ground.
8. No, you can slip and fall and the mower could come back
and run over your feet.
9. When using a push mower you should mow side to side.
10. On a riding lawn mower you should mow up and down
the hill.
103 N. Main St. • P.O. Box 20 • Westby, WI 54667-0020
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