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Meter Readers:
Mike Gallagher & Joel Cary
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Have
you had the occasion to meet Salem Electric's contract meter readers, Mike
Gallagher and Joel Cary? Not often seen, they're tame and very friendly, and
you shouldn't be timid whatsoever about approaching them.
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Mike Gallagher (left) and Joel Cary.
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Mike Gallagher
Mike started working in the utility industry in
1966, not long after high school and a tour of duty as a paratrooper with the
U.S. Army's famous 82nd Airborne Division. What began as a meter reading job
with PGE ended 14 years later as the manager of operation services in Salem. By
then, Mike had a family and a farm. His wife Annette was a teaching principal
in an area school district. So when it became apparent Mike's next PGE move
would be to Portland, he said "No thanks."
After farming his 60 acres south of Salem for two
years, Mike decided to bag it as a full time farmer. "I almost starved to
death," he said of his attempt to turn sheep and hay into gold. So he started
part time under contract at Salem Electric in 1982, which included delivering
credit notices and reading meters as a backup. Six years later, Mike's company
assumed full responsibility for meter reading which today involves three people
and three trucks.
Never one to rest-on his laurels or anything
else-Mike continued to farm part time until this year. He also commercial
fished for 10 years. Meanwhile, Annette's allergies got so bad that she needed
sinus surgery and they decided to buy a house in Otis, north of Lincoln City.
That was four years ago and Annette is still teaching in the school district
there. Mike now commutes between Otis and Salem.
The Gallagher's children and grandchildren are now
scattered to three of the four winds. Shawn, 31, lives in Louisville, Kentucky
with his wife and two children. Daughter Shawna, 29, lives in Roberta, Georgia
and works for a law firm. Mark, 28, is a network computer consultant at
Providence Hospital in Portland. To make it easier for the family to get
together, Annette spends much of her spare time making and selling her
craftwork. The money she saves buys airline tickets for the children and
grandchildren to come visit each year.
Joel Cary
Speaking of artwork, Mike's co-worker Joel Cary, 20,
is a budding artist himself. A high school graduate, Joel has won awards for
his etchings and water colors and plans to enroll in college in the next few
years where he'll major in design. Even now, local businesses hire him to
design and paint logos and lettering in their retail store windows. "There's a
lot about this job that interests me," Joel said about Salem Electric. "Being
outdoors most of the time, having flexible hours, meeting people and getting to
see lots of interesting landscape designs around town." With his interest in
gardening and landscaping, Joel supposes that his college courses could take
him more toward landscaping, rather than fine art.
Joel and Elizabeth have a 15-month old daughter
named Midori. Elizabeth is also an artist and the couple met in high school.
With all the things these men have on their minds,
you think it would be easy to make meter reading errors. However, meter reading
errors are very rare occurrences with Mike and his crew. In fact they are
accurate 99.9997% of the time.
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Voluntary Contributions
Can Help Save Salmon
Salem Electric is starting a voluntary program in
October that will give you an opportunity to donate to local salmon recovery
efforts when you pay your bill. Sign-up forms for the Salmon-Friendly Program
are now available. Donations will be completely voluntary. For more information
call 362-3601.
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A New Spin on Ceiling Fans
Ceiling
fans are popular not only for aesthetics but also because they can help make
your home more comfortable during summer and winter. But it pays to take note
of a few facts that could make your ceiling fan an energy drain instead of an
energy saver.
For instance, if you keep those fans turning for
cooling power but don't turn up the temperature setting on your air
conditioning system, you can use more energy than you need to cool your home.
Although the fans aren't big energy users, if you keep them running at high
speed and keep the thermostat setting too low, you're wasting energy-as much as
15 percent. However, if you raise your thermostat setting by just three degrees
and use your fans, you can cut your energy use by about 15 percent.
Many fans come equipped with switches that change
the fan's direction. In the winter months, you can use that adjustment to make
your fan push warm air down from the ceiling (remember, hot air rises) and help
your home feel warmer. In the summer, reverse the switch so the fan brings cool
air up from the floor. Check the information on your fan to determine how your
model works. If you're running your fan the wrong way during the heating or
cooling season, you're wasting energy and not getting all the benefits of the
ceiling fan.
Would you like more information on how to reduce
your electric bills? Call our Member Services Department at 362-3601.
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