Letters to the Editor

February 18th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Mark Harper of Columbus, IN Said:

Jim, It is never “goodbye” in the Rural Electric industry. It is more like “see you down the road.” I have greatly enjoyed your articles…about Labradors….chipmunks…Paradise, etc. In the past, I have traveled all over MI for the Rural Electrics…the “UP” was a special place. My wife & I, like you and Darl, have “downsized” and moved into a four-plex in a gated community. (I don’t know if the gates are to keep others out or us in. It has been a great move. This winter has been extremely snowy here in Columbus, IN and at the present there is 14” on the ground and more expected. Nothing like the “Yoopers” handle, but I don’t have to worry about it. The sidewalks, driveways and streets are all cleaned as soon as it snows. A great benefit! No more snow shoveling. We did have to dispose of several tons of “stuff” that we don’t know why we were keeping. I hope that your “downsizing” is as rewarding as ours has been. Best wishes to you both. When you talk to Mike Buda give him an “hello” from me. I agree; he is a good and talented person. I have enjoyed knowing him and working with him over the past many years.

Mark Harper, NRUCFC, Retired (but still working)

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January 24th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Jon of GR Said:

Funny this article only lists out-of-state suppliers. I purchased my solar water heating system right here from Event Horizon Solar and Wind at a better price!

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January 20th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Dr. Willard Lyman of Petoskey, MI Said:

Some numbers caught my eye … a $100 investment in a savings account can become $12,000 in 20 years? Surely you jest. Please inform me of such a savings account so that I can invest in it too. By my calculations, a $100 deposit, at a generous 3% interest rate and a monthly compounding, over 20 years, becomes almost $200. Same with the stock investment, unless, of course, you’re Hillary and put it into cattle futures. You might want to run your own number check on this one.

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January 17th, 2010 at 6:40 am
Jim of Rocklin Said:

Dave needs more than a new dictionary, he needs to give credit where it is due.

I designed those boats, I even built most of what is shown in his photo section, lol.

Might as well say, “As seen on Fred Trost show” He could then just claim to be me I guess

C-ya.

Jim Swanson

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January 11th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Joan Jaworski of Port Austin, Mi. 48467 Said:

Wild Blueberry Hero…..

As I was reading the article about the Wild Blueberry Hero in the Jan/Feb. issue of Country Lines everything that Charles Day was saying about his Hero all sounded real familiar to me. As I read further and saw the name of his hero, George Koskimaki, I about fell over. Mr. K. (as we use to call him) was my biology teacher at the Roseville High School in Roseville, Mi. I graduated in 1951. He was a wonderful teacher and I never heard of any student that felt any different. I attended a school reunion about 4 yrs. ago and had the privilege of meeting and talking to him there. You were a Hero in many eyes Mr. K. Keep picking those blueberries and God Bless.
A former student., Joan (Gildenpfennig) Jaworski, Port Austin, Mi.

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January 7th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Nick Edson of Traverse City Said:

Jim Hough is a one-of-a-kind writer and person. Country Lines readers have enjoyed how you made us look at ourselves for years. Thank you, Jim. You have made a difference.

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December 31st, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Bill Ross of Shelby Said:

We have lots of LED Christmas lights. Every year we have a string or two (two this year) quit working. So our experience is they last a year or two. So let’s see: cost more, last shorter, cost less to run…..hmmmm, not too sure they’re worth the money or hassle.

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December 18th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Roy Hancock of Galax, Va. 24333 Said:

Well, we talk about doing things to help to reduce the cost of utility bills in our homes, and I have done this every time that I find something to do to reduce my utility bill. But every time that I, or others that I know, do this, the power companies ask for a raise because of the reduction in those same bills that each of us is trying to save on and they wind up getting the increase, thereby causing us to not be able to save on the reductions that we have made, so the utility companies wind up getting the savings, not us.

In other words, I wind up always paying the same even though I have cut way back on things, even things that I enjoy, so what good does it do to try to do everything that you can do to save on the use of electricity, when the power companies always wind up with the savings that a person is expecting? It’s just a cycle with them. We cut out things and do things to save the use of electricity in our homes, then the power companies raise their rates and they are the ones who benefit, not the consumer.

The power companies are getting the same money from us that they were getting before and not having to supply as much electricity to the people. Every time the people do things to save on their energy bills, the power companies take it back in rate increases, so the consumer never wins. And then, since there have been incentives put in place to help the consumer save money when he/she wants to—maybe put a ground-source heat pump in, then the prices of the heat pumps go up to take the incentives that the people would have saved, and the business people who sell the pumps wind up with the savings, not the consumer again. There should have been a stop on the price increase of the pumps and solar when the incentives were put in place.

I sound like a very negative person, but I have been on the internet looking for reasonably priced ground-source heat pumps way before the incentives were put into place and I know that the prices jumped when the incentives were put into place as well as the prices on other products when all these incentives went into place to try to get the public to buy. It never saves the public money when the government doesn’t seal the price increases. The government is just giving the money to the businesses which are already wealthy anyway. The public does not benefit even though some think that they do. They are just deceived. Well, anyway thanks for letting me comment. If you really know for sure that what I’ve said here isn’t all true, then please prove it to me. Thanks again.

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December 15th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Lynne of Chesterfield,VA Said:

What a fine article. Often, where the need is the greatest, it’s not provided or supported. It may not be thought about, but in rural areas, bad weather can prevent a trip out unlike city dwellers who have only to round the corner for hot coffee, a doctor or a warm bagel shop. Long stretches without power don’t usually imperil city dwellers as it can rural residents, especially the elderly. It is also easy to forget that our safe local crops are provided to everyone, born by sustained labor and losses and the rationing of farm household resources. Electricity to rural areas, allows for more work and longer days, produced at a lower cost to all of us. Rural areas sustain forested natural areas that give us cleaner air and cleaner water through sequestering or capturing pollution, cooling the surrounding environment, allowing rain water to infiltrate and fill groundwater supplies or aquifers for our use. These stretches of rural areas allow that county a low cost water supply as higher concentrations of people and asphalt heavily load water supplies with pollution needing filtration and chemicals for consumption. Higher concentrations of people and asphalt also inhibit rainwater from infiltrating into groundwater supplies which provide flow to creeks and reservoirs. People who know the facts can better voice and support actions to better the quality of life for everyone. Affordable living and safe food and w ater supplies has everything to do with helping our rural areas thrive.

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December 8th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
pat hurtuk of cleveland Said:

I too was a good friend of Nora Armitage. She died exactly July 17 1962. I was told she had been at a cottage near Windsor, Ontario. Her mom brought her to a doctor, but he didn’t believe she was bitten. 10 hours later she got deathly sick and her mom put her on a boat to get to a doctor. She died on the boat. I got my info from her sister Ellen Armitage.

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December 4th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Ron Novak of Temperance Said:

It’s long past the time to bring God to the forefront. Man can NOT control the environment. Nor can he pollute it, by the methods of energy use we’ve employed for the last 100 years. God is in control of the environment, not science. To finish destroying our once strong economy is to incorporate the tactics of Al Gore and his gullible followers. The recent findings of the e-mails from East Suffolk, England has spelled fraud and deceit by the “global warming” scientists. Prominent British “scientists” were E-mailing the cover-up of fictitiously high numbers of the temperatures in the last 12 years.

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November 26th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Bill of Sylvania,Oh Said:

Sounds like a great idea. I wish more lettuce was grown around the great lakes area. Would the lettuce grow if the temps were a little warmer in Dec. Or was it the sun light?

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November 24th, 2009 at 12:29 am
Dwayne Thompson of Macomb Township Said:

Adam Grammer sounds like a fantasic young man. I applaud his spirit. my name is Dwayne Thompson from Macomb Township. I am the Michigan Fire Corps State Advocate over all of the state’s programs. Fire Corps is a national organization of more than 1000 programs who assist fire departments in doing the non-operational functions of their jobs.

I was told about Adam’s great work by the outgoing Michigan Fire Corps Region 7-8 Supervisor from Grand Traverse Metro Fire. He though Adam would be a great recruit for Region 7 Fire Corps. We are looking for people just like you, Adam!

Please look into Fire Corps (see web addresses below) and contact me at your earliest convenience.

firecorps.org or michiganfirecorps.org

Keep up the great work!

Sgt. Dwayne Thompson
Macomb Township Fire Department
Michigan Fire Corps State Advocate
stateadvocate@michiganfirecorps.org

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November 20th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Brad of Mears Said:

Like Diane, I looked everywhere but could not find the online survey. Is there one?

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November 20th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Ilene Schmieding of Shelby Michigan Said:

I am also looking for the survey on this site and cannot find it. It was in the nov/dec/ issure…

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November 19th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Simone of Bellaire Said:

I like the idea of the LED lights. I plan on purchasing some this year. I wonder though what the average life span is of each individual light is.

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November 17th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Lou Sxhomberger of Pellston, MI. 49769 Said:

Dear Editor,

The last paragraph of Mr. Peter’s “Comment” says it all. We need nuclear generation plants; clean-coal fired power plants; and carbon capturing technology. Without these new and improved old technology the American tax payers will eternally be paying billions of $$$$ in taxes and user fees.

Lou Schomberger

Pellston/Paradise

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November 15th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
William Felmlee of Maple Ridge Twp (Alpena Co.) Said:

Why don’t we use the lumen as a means of light intensity rather than watts? Currently we are given the comparison of light emission from an incandescent lamp at so many watts to a CFL, say, at a lower wattage rating. When I place them side-by-side, the CFL reported xxx wattage equivalent of the incandescent lamp is no where near as bright as the incandescent.

I think there is some fudging by the industry here.

We don’t traditionally see incandescent lamp output given in lumens. We just see how much energy it consumes.

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November 15th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Barbara Petersen of Traverse City Said:

Hooray for Pauline Hancock, she takes great care of homeless animals.

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November 14th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Diane Lehning of Petoskey Said:

I am reading my Nov/Dec Country Lines mag. and wanted to take the online survey but cannot find it on the web site.

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