Lock systems on Illinois rivers need updating

The Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) submitted comments to the Army Corps of Engineers earlier this summer stating its belief that the 70 year-old lock system on the Illinois River and Mississippi River must be updated.

"Agriculture continues to be the state's largest industry and corn and soybeans are the foundation of agricultural commerce, so the ability to export and compete in world markets is fundamental to all Illinois citizens," said ICGA President Carry Niemeyer, in comments regarding the Army Corps of Engineer's recently released Draft Interim Report on River Navigation.

ICGA appreciates and advocates the need for a balanced approach to managing our river system and meeting the needs of businesses, recreational users, and environmental constituencies, said Niemeyer.

The Illinois River is critical to the overall movement of grain in the Midwest. When the Mississippi River closes in the winter, all of the traffic shifts to the Illinois within the Rock Island Army Corp of Engineers District. The data indicates that the actual tonnage on this critical portion of the Illinois River actually moves more tonnage during the winter months than the Mississippi River portion of the Rock Island District.

Half the total tonnage passing St. Louis comes off the Illinois River because of increased traffic demand in the winter.

"Exporting is an on-demand enterprise, so it's not the average delay but the actual delay at the time the lock is needed that is relevant. A three-hour locking procedure during peak export season translates into poor customer service and endangers future business. The increased locking cost is also a burden to farmers who ultimately pay increased shipping costs," Niemeyer said.

Source: www.ilcorn.org

Co-ops harness the power of distributed generators

A collection of new business templates, developed by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), will help local electric co-ops harness the power of distributed generation.

Distributed generation (DG) refers to small-scale electricity generators deployed at or near the point of consumption — power without wires. The tool kit will help utilities put in place policies for the interconnection of DG units, assuring the safe and reliable operation of the distribution system. "The electric utility industry must establish comprehensive and flexible interconnection criteria," says Jay Morrison, NRECA senior Regulatory Counsel.

The tool kit is a recognition by NRECA, National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp. and Energy Co-Opportunity, who jointly funded the effort, that the DG market will continue to expand and that significant challenges must be met before its potential can be fully realized. Resource Dynamics Corporation predicts the DG market will double by 2010.

Mosquitoes and the West Nile virus

The West Nile virus was first identified in Illinois in 2001. It is a virus affecting the central nervous system. Mosquitoes get the virus from infected wild birds, dead crows, blue jays and raptors. Mosquitoes can transfer the virus to humans and other animals. No human cases of infection have been reported in Illinois. Birds from Cook, Crawford, DuPage, Kane, Lake McHenry and Will counties tested positive in 2001. Cook and Kane Counties also each reported one horse infection case. In 2002, nine bird cases have been reported in the counties of Clark, Cook, Edgar and Kane.

The risk of getting the virus is very small. Even in areas where mosquitoes carry the virus, very few (usually less than one out of 500) are infected. Illnesses related to mosquito bites are rare, but you should see a doctor if you develop high fever, confusion, muscle weakness or severe headaches five-15 days after a bite. Patients with mild symptoms will likely recover completely without medication. Patients above the age of 50 are more at risk for serious infection.

The best way to prevent West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne illnesses is to prevent mosquito bites and reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home. Dr. John Lumpkin, State Public Health Director, suggests the following precautions:

• When outdoors between dusk and dawn, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Loose-fitting, light colored clothing is best.

• Use mosquito repellent containing 25 percent to 35 percent DEET when it is necessary to be outdoors, applied sparingly to exposed skin or clothing, as indicated on repellent label. Consult a physician before using repellents on young children.

• Check for and repair any tears in residential screens, including porches and patios.

• Eliminate stagnant water in birdbaths, ponds, flower pots, wading pools, old tires and any other receptacles in which mosquitoes might breed. Keep in mind that mosquitoes that breed as a result of flooding are not usually disease carriers, so the recent flooding in Illinois should not affect the spread of the virus.

West Nile virus can cause a serious disease that includes inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), muscle weakness, high fever, convulsions, paralysis, coma or death. In the past three years, 149 human cases of West Nile encephalitis have been reported in the United States, mostly in the New York area, including 18 deaths.

6 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING www.aiec.org

New Web site offers farm bill information

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has launched a Web site aimed at helping farmers and the public learn the latest information on the new farm bill. The site is at www.usda.gov/farmbill. It includes farm program details, questions and answers, program applications and sign-up forms as well as material from USDA agencies on farm bill implementation. It also will have a comparison of 1996 and 2002 farm bill provisions, fact sheets that cover changes in conservation programs, and instructions on how to calculate new yields.

Rural schools should matter in Illinois

Illinois' rural teachers earn nearly $10,500 less than teachers in the rest of the state, the largest gap in the nation. There are more than 1 million people living in rural Illinois, and the state ranks among the top ten states in the percentage of students attending small rural schools, one-fourth of which suffer declining enrollment. The sheer number of rural people makes it important for Illinois to address rural education policy, while the conditions in rural schools and communities make it critical lor the state to do so.

Fully one-quarter of America's school-age children attend public schools in rural areas or small towns. But if you listen to the education policy debate, chances are you will not hear much about them. In most of the 50 states, it is the education of urban children that gets nearly all of the attention. This report aims to adjust that picture by bringing rural schools and communities into focus. Rural kids, their schools, and their communities do matter. And in many states, action on behalf of rural schools needs to be an urgent priority.

One-fourth of U.S. schoolchildren go to schools in rural areas or small towns with a population of less than 25,000 people. Fourteen percent go to school in even smaller places with fewer than 2,500 people. But these children, and the communities and schools they live and study in, are largely unnoticed in the national debate over the direction of American education. While policymakers, advisors and scholars debate - and they should - the wisdom of alternative policies for urban schools, and for special education students or second language learners, or for poor and minority students, we rarely read serious analysis of the particular policy issues faced by students who live in rural areas.

This void is not a matter of indifference as much as it is a matter of constituency. Rural people are so widely dispersed that they are politically invisible. They are a demographic and political majority in only five states (Maine, Mississippi, South Dakota, Vermont and West Virginia) and a handful of congressional districts.

Schools throughout rural America tend to be numerous and small, both by necessity and by community preference. They tend to be close to the communities they serve. They are places where students, teachers, parents and administrators know each other. They are different from many schools in larger places.

Recruitment and retention of rural teachers, principals and administrators is strained by professional isolation and chronically lower salaries than larger schools in larger places.

Long bus rides eat away at children's time for study, play and family, while high transportation costs whittle away at funds for instruction.

Distance and a sparse population make these schools last to be connected to the digital world that might help solve the curricular problems associated with distance.

Source: The Rural School and Community Trust, www.ruraledu.org.

Co-ops test new generation beta fuel cells

In May, a new generation of beta test fuel cells were installed by electric co-ops across the country, including EnerStar Power Corp in Paris, Illinois. Fuel cells, used by NASA to power the space shuttle, provide electricity with only heat and water as the by products. Fuel cells could be used in the future by homeowners or businesses to provide off the grid power, or clean power for computers that require a perfect sine wave 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"I'm very pleased with the new fuel cell," says Mike Torres, General Manager of Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative in Kearney, Missouri. "It's functioning very efficiently and very reliably. Since we've turned it on, the fuel cell just runs."

In Lindsay, Oklahoma, the heat of summer is already kicking on the air conditioner at the home of Ed Bevers and his family of four. It's an all-electric home that is also now completely fuel cell-powered. Bevers, an employee of the Oklahoma electric co-op, says the unit is "in and running and couldn't be more perfect. We keep adding loads and it keeps working."

Compared to the alpha fuel cell that operated at the co-op headquarters two years ago, Bevers says, "I'm very impressed. H Power has made a quantum leap in the technology." Bevers recalls hovering over the balky alpha unit "tweaking things, watching valves, hitting switches." With the beta fuel cell at his house, he says, "We punched one button, waited until the light turned green and that was all. You can't get any simpler than that."

Bill Cetti, President/CEO of ECO helped demonstrate the new H Power fuel cell at a national co-op meeting in March.

AUGUST 2002 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 7

By Anna Scott

President Bush has suggested that the lack of new construction for power generators led to California's inability to supply enough electricity to consumers. What many people don't realize is there are also not enough large transmission lines, which transport electric energy between all electric utilities, even in our region of the country.

In an assessment of the Illinois' present power-grid, Richard Mathias, chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission, found transmission bottlenecks in the state that have the potential to cause blackouts during the summer months when air conditioners are running at high levels. What's more, it seems that no state is safe from this transmission line accessibility problem.

With the onset of deregulation, transmission lines are being asked to transport electricity anywhere in the nation, almost like an electricity interstate highway system or pipeline. But that is not what they were built to do.

The transmission lines were built for local/regional needs. They were improved to allow the transfer of energy between utilities to increase reliability, but not "ship" vast amounts of power that is expected in a totally deregulated energy market.

According to Richard Myott, planning and environmental department manager for Southern Illinois Power Cooperative, Marion, the most common scenario for widespread blackouts develops when a utility cannot sell or receive energy due to transmission constraints.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association has suggested banding together at local and national levels to build an "interstate highway" to facilitate the flow of electricity across the nation and solve the problem of transmission constraints. The outcome could be the construction of many new transmission structures and their corresponding lines.

Or, maybe not. The creation of such an "electric highway" assumes someone would take the risk of building the necessary lines. With the uncertainty of deregulation and tremendous cost of obtaining permits and building transmission lines, investors are unsure they will receive a return on their contribution to the construction of a national transmission grid. "There is not much incentive to build if you are doing it for your competitors," says Myott.

Also, according to Bob Harbour, vice president, generation and operations at Continental Cooperative Services, Harrisburg, Pa., "There is no guarantee that the necessary right of way can be obtained within a reasonable period of years for such a line, even with the right of eminent domain, which can be granted by each state." The right of eminent domain gives the government the right to appropriate private property for public use, usually with compensation to the owner.

Without dependable electricity other infrastructures including transportation, telecommunications, oil and gas, and financial systems shut down. The bottom line is, more transmission lines are necessary to maintain the flow of electricity, prevent blackouts and spare transmission-dependant utilities and customers the domino effects of a faulty transmission grid and the high cost of energy bottlenecks. A truly competitive and open market for electricity will not evolve unless new transmission lines, as well as new generating plants, are built. Increasing demand without a plentiful new supply will mean higher prices.

8 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING www.aiec.org

Adults receiving more support to go bock to school

by April Kramer

With work, home life and family to consider, it may seem impossible to think about going back to school. But, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 45 percent of adults went back to school in the 1990s and the numbers are steadily increasing.

Seeking a college degree

Many companies encourage their employees to seek degrees in their professional field. Compensation and rewards for higher education increase performance in employees and the success of companies. Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative (EIEC) is just one co-op that encourages the improvement and development of employees. EIEC offers to reimburse 100 percent tuition to their employees, up to a fixed amount, upon the successful completion of a course. Employees have earned associates degrees, completed MBA programs, as well as individual courses to improve their professional skills.

Marcellus J. Leonard, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield, went back to school at the age of 41 to Illinois State University to earn a bachelor's degree followed by a master's and then a doctorate. "I had always wanted to be a writer of poetry and fiction, but I was too busy raising a family," said Professor Leonard. When his three children were essentially adults he took advantage of his desires to succeed in education. "I thought, 'I'm not going to waste this time,'" he said.

If you have considered going back to school to complete or earn a degree, here are some tips to get you started:

• Decide what you want out of your college experience. Talk to school advisors about the steps you can take to complete your goal. Explore different universities/community colleges and pick the one that agrees most with your goals.

• Decide how much time you can devote to your education. Communicate to your family your intentions of going back to school. Explore the options of day, night, weekend and Internet classes.

• Decide on a means of financing. Take advantage of tuition reimbursement opportunities if your company offers them. Apply for financial aid, grants and scholarships. If needed, research loan options.

Taking courses to enhance your professional knowledge

Maintaining current professional knowledge can lead to advancement in the work place and open doors to business opportunities. Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative (WWCEC) offers incentives to increasing professional knowledge. In addition to offering group classes in Windows and Microsoft Access through Frontier Community College, Tamara Ruhl, Manager of Administration and Human Resources at WWCEC, said, "On an individual basis, we reimburse employees who take courses through the community college system if the class will enhance skills relative to their job."

Find out if your present company offers tuition reimbursements for enhancing your career skills or if they offer training courses on technology or communication skills. Taking advantage of these classes not only shows the company that you take your job seriously, it also helps you feel confident as you keep up with the demands of your position.

Taking courses that save time

Living in a rural area and working full time can make going back to school difficult. The Internet can help by solving time and distance obstacles. Most college classes offer a section taught via the Internet. "This is available at the student's convenience. They can study from anywhere in the world at any time of night or day and so these courses are adaptable," said Professor Leonard, who has taught expository writing, poetry, fiction and drama writing online. Professor Leonard continues to teach online classes and said, "It has been my experience that students respond very well to this form of learning if they are highly motivated and disciplined." If you are interested in taking Internet courses here are a few hints for success:

• Keep in touch with other students and your instructor through e-mail, or postings if your course offers an interactive Web site.

• Read all instructions carefully from installation of programs to guidelines on assignments.

• Allow yourself time to study and work on assignments.

With the convenience of online courses you can often create your own schedule and allow yourself time with your family between assignments.

For more information on colleges in Illinois, log onto www.isacl.org/ilcol/ilcol.html. This Web site contains general college information including the current yearly cost of education for schools along with a program to help you calculate the cost and savings for school as well as loan repayments. It also provides advice on career preparation, school selection and the admission process.

AUGUST 2002 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 9