Current Lines:  November 2003

Welcome to the November 2003 edition of Current Lines newsletter, a monthly publication of Tri-County EMC. Below are a few samples of the articles in this current newsletter. To read the full article, just click on the "Click here to read more" link.

A Message from the CEO    C. Hill Bentley  On your November bill, you will find a fuel cost adjustment factor of $.0034 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). This charge reflects recent increases in the prices of fuel, primarily natural gas, used in the generation of electricity.  Click here to read more...

Jamie was a six year old girl who loved spending time with her brother, mom and dad.  Upon arriving home from a long day at school one afternoon, she noticed several people at her home.  As Jamie approached the front door, a person whom she didn't know abruptly escorted her into a vehicle and drove her away. The child was confused and yearning to go back home. Instead, she had to stay with complete strangers in unfamiliar surroundings. Click here to read more...

The Hidden Cost of Underground Transmission Lines To meet Georgia's growing demand for electricity, expected to jump to 25 percent by 2010, new transmission lines must be built now. Although overhead transmission lines may not be aesthetically pleasing, they are more reliable than underground transmission lines. Click here to read more...

Discover Where Air Leaks Linger Ever wonder what goes on in your home that you can't see?  Probably air leaks. Chances are that you've learned to caulk small cracks and weatherstrip doors and windows in your home to help lower your energy costs.  Although you can reduce your power usage by doing this, the savings in your energy dollar will be more substantial if you focus on on the larger cracks located in the attic, around the foundation and where utilities such as electrical, penetrate the home's outer shell. You'll also find larger air leaks in bathrooms and kitchens where pipes and wires are installed. Click here to read more...

Community Blood Drive

Tri-County EMC will host a blood drive with the American Red Cross on Monday, December 8 from 2:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Members of the community are encouraged to give blood. The drive will be held at Tri-County's office in Gray. 

Give a Child Reason to be Thankful

When a child cannot go home, he or she can find comfort and refuge through foster or adoptive parents. The Model Approach to Partnership in Parenting classes for fostering and adoption certification will begin on January 10 at Tri-County EMC's headquarters' office in Gray.  The class will run for ten weeks. (1242-01)

Foster parents work together with birth families, case managers, therapists, attorneys, physicians, volunteers, juvenile court and special court appointed citizens, teachers and counselors to provide children in crisis an opportunity for a safe and healthy childhood. They try to minimize the number of moves children will make.

Unfortunately, as the number of licensed certified and approved family foster homes in the U.S. continues to decline, an increasing number of children need proper care. According to Judge Phil Spivey, juvenile court judge for the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit, "With a critical shortage in the number of foster homes throughout Georgia, children are often required to take out-of-home placement in places far from home." Studies indicate that only 25 percent of siblings in foster care remain together.

To see how you can help a child, call Rose Chambers of the Jones County Department of Family and Children Services at (478) 986-3126.  

Send your recipe entries for consideration of publication in Current Lines, and you could win $20! Please send your entries to:  Margaret Morris, Tri-County EMC, P.O. Box 487, Gray, GA 31032 or margaretm@tri-countyemc.com. Spice up your Thanksgiving morning with Tabitha Lee's Pumpkin Streusel Muffins.

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins 1 1/2 cups plain flour 1 cup rolled oats 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1 tblsp. baking  powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ground ginger 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp. ground allspice 1 cup canned pumpkin 3/4 cup milk 1/3 cup oil 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 egg (lightly beaten) Streusel Ingredients: 1/4 cup rolled oats 1 tbsp. packed brown sugar 1 tbsp. melted margarine 1/8 tsp. cinnamon Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease 12 medium muffin cups. Combine all dry ingredients (flour through allspice) mixing well. Make a well in the center of ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine remaining muffin ingredients (pumpkin through egg), mixing well. Add the mixture to the well in the dry ingredients. Stir just until dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened. The mixture will be lumpy.  Fill greased muffin cups.  Combine all streusel ingredients and sprinkle evenly over batter, patting gently. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 - 25 minutes, until muffins test done. Let muffins stand a few minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm.