Ninestar Gets Into the Water and Sewer Business See Page 4
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February-March 2016 v o l u M e 5 i s s u e 1 AnnuAl meeting Ninestar’s 63rd annual event will include dinner, entertainment and the chance to vote for directors PAGEs 6-7 A nAturAl scholArshiP oPPortunity Ninestar connect is looking for 15 talented students INSIDE Progression ninestAr gets into the Water And sewer business For more inFormAtion PleAse visit www.ninestArconnect.com And click on the tAb For more inFormAtion concerning wAter & sewer. SEE PAGE 4 NiNestar NeWs MaPPiNG coNNectioNs Free 2016 ned the ninestAr nerd your current ninestAr boArd oF directors cAlendAr now Director District 1 AvAilAble! ew this year, Ninestar, is offering the 2016 Ned the Nerd calendar to our customers. the calen- n dars are free and available at all four Ninestar local offices while supplies last. the calendar offers dArrell h. thomAs (A) stePhen vAil (b) special information on products and services as well as information on reserving our conference center for your event. however, what makes our calendar truly special is the artwork in the calendar was Director District 2 drawn by local elementary school artists from our community. each month is a different drawing with their take on what makes each month different. so cover story PAges 4-5 AnnuAl visit one of our local offices today and get your very NineStar Connect is embarking on an expansion in own calendar. remember supplies are limited. utility services. meeting new AreA code coming PAge 8 beverly gArd (A) dAvid g. heller (b) Get ready to change the way you dial your local calls! On April 1, To ensure a continuing supply of telephone numbers, NineStar will the new 463 area code is coming. be celebrating Director District 3 emPloyees honored PAge 9 its 63rd annual Two longtime NineStar Connect employees, who meeting and our emPloyees mAke the have a combined 76 years of service, were recently celebration at recognized by Indiana Electric Cooperatives at their diFFerence. here's A customer annual dinner. Greenfi eld- review For steve o'connor. Central High youth tour uPcoming PAge 11 School. NineStar will sponsor 2 students on the annual josePh PAxton Indiana Electric Cooperative Youth Tour to Washington, “steve did A greAt D.C. The 2016 Indiana Youth Tour is June 9-16. PAge 6 job! APPreciAted the service And looks Director District 4 ForwArd to being A NineStar Connection Director District 4 ninestAr customer Don Shaw (A) AgAin" EDITOR Kim Cronk (B) CONNECTION David Spencer Director District 5 Ronnie Mohr (A) - jAred m. BOARD OF Mark Evans (B) The NineStar Connection Volume 5 No. 1 ADDRESS: don shAw (A) kim cronk (b) is a publication of NineStar NineStar North Campus DIRECTORS Connect servicing retail Published Bi-monthly. 2331 E. CR 600N Director District 6 Greenfi eld, IN 46140 and residential customers. Postage Paid at Director District 1 Richard Walker (A) Nearly 15,000 families Greenfi eld, IN. NineStar South Campus Darrell H. Thomas (A) Philip M. Hayes (B) Customer service is at the tips of and businesses receive 2243 E. Main St. Stephen Vail (B) Director District 5 Director District 6 Director District 7 your fi ngers. NineStar Connect's this newspaper as part of POSTMASTER: Send Greenfi eld, IN 46140 Director District 7 their membership. NineStar tech support call center is open address changes to: James E. Cherry (A) Connection provides news, Director District 2 around the clock. 317-326-help 2243 E. Main St. PHONE: information and features Beverly Gard (A) James Gillett (B) ninestarconnect.com Greenfi eld, IN 46140 (317) 326-3131 about people, places and (765) 533-4303 David G. Heller (B) issues related to readers. Annual subscription price EMAIL: Director District 3 is $3; available to members dspencer@ NineStar Connection, Joseph Paxton story ideA? of NineStar Connect ninestarconnect.com USPS co-operative. www.ninestarconnect.com contact David Spencer at ronnie mohr (A) mArk evAns (b) richArd wAlker (A) PhiliP m. hAyes (b) jAmes e. cherry (A) jAmes gillett (b) [email protected] 2 February-March 2016 NiNestar coNNectioN NiNestar coNNectioN February-March 2016 3 “becAuse i’ve cover story seen sePtic systems fail, i worry About them. Ninestar officials stress thAt. i’ve lived hurts our ability to attract “we hAve just that no households or busi- quality growth from indi- continued nesses would be forced to hook in my house 20 viduals and businesses that “i would like to hAve good, drinkAble wAter up to its systems. yeArs. do the are drawn to communities that being ForwArd- the vast majority of the offer better amenities.” without worrying About hAving to get it roughly 2,700 properties in the mAth. sePtic Mary arthur, who, with her thinking As An proposed territory now depend husband, brad, lives in the tested All the time.” on wells and septic systems for systems generAlly lAst 25 yeArs…” Wildwood estates neighbor- orgAnizAtion, water and sewage treatment. hood in buck creek township, For Ninestar, the expansion said Ninestar’s influence seeing - betty silcox, whose well wAter recently tested Positive For is a natural progression in – bob vowell, who hAs his sePtic system will be important. “Knowing the growth of utility services Ninestar and their track opportunities coliForm bActeriA provided by the co-op, whose cleAned every two yeArs record for all of these years to tAke the roots extend to an era when certainly gives us a better “If you trAce our rural residents formed coop- comfort level,” arthur said. strength oF our eratives to establish basic “When there is an issue, we cooPerAtive's services – such as electricity know we can call Ninestar and cooPerAtive history, the and telephone – that otherwise report concluded. telecommunications network, we will get a response. that model And the were out of reach. For Ninestar Michael burrow, Ninestar’s which allows it to provide the isn't always the case with other core PrinciPle in members with aging wells and president and ceo, says the fastest-available internet con- companies.” strength oF septic systems, the new ser- availability of public water and nection speeds. like vowell and the silcoxes, terms oF where vices could be a godsend. sewer services are important “availability of water and the arthurs are Ninestar humAn capitAl ninestAr wAs “because i’ve seen septic sys- to development – just as elec- sewer is the foundation to members who also depend on a tems fail, i worry about that,” tricity and telephone services economic growth,” vail said. well and septic system. having we hAve here Founded is the said bob vowell, who has lived were a century ago, when the “combine that with fiber- watched neighbors endure the in the twin oaks subdivi- cooperative’s forefathers joined optics, and we think that’s ordeal of repairing or replac- At ninestAr Ability to hAve sion in Maxwell for 20 years. to provide those vital utili- going to be a key to quality ing failing systems, they are A nAturAl vowell, who has his septic ties to rural hancock county growth in some of our non- looking forward to the day that connect A community- tank cleaned every couple of residents. burrow likes to urban areas. We know growth public water and sewer service And looking bAsed solution years, is watching the Ninestar talk about “quality of place” is going to happen in hancock becomes available. “there is a initiative with interest: “Do when discussing the move county, and so how can we sense that we are living on bor- For other to Providing the math,” he said of his aging to so-called “wet” utilities: assist the management of that rowed time with our current criticAl services infrastructure. “septic systems Dependable public water and growth?” septic system,” Mary arthur opportunities generally last 25 years. i may sewer service, the thinking Not everyone supports aggres- said. “We won't know how long to serve our in AreAs be coming to the end of its life.” goes, improves property val- sive growth, of course, and it will last, and if something vowell isn’t alone. according ues and residents’ quality of protecting the county’s rural catastrophic goes wrong, it members And thAt lArger to a report by the Purdue life. it also helps government lifestyle is important. Ninestar could be very costly.” Progression university Department of and developers better manage officials are keeping that in the silcoxes have a sense of companies customers agronomy, nearly a quarter growth and makes the com- mind. the potential economic toll of chose not to of indiana’s 800,000 septic sys- munity more attractive for “residential and business a problem well or septic sys- And creAte tems “are inadequate and have businesses that want to bring growth is going to happen and tem. their well-water test was ninestAr gets into the Water And sewer business serve becAuse failed or are failing to protect good-paying jobs to the county, is inevitable no matter how a condition of approval for a vAlue For the human and environmental burrow said. badly some want to stop it,” new loan to refinance their oF A lAck oF health.” Nearly a third of all Maxwell home. Without clean community At etty silcox was the silcoxes, who are Ninestar Ninestar connect is embark- steve vail, chairman of burrow said. “so, the question written by septic systems built from 1950 well water, that lower-interest connect members, are among ing on an expansion in utility PoPulAtion Ninestar’s board, said is whether we want to have surprised when the to 2001 required repairs, the loan would be in doubt. after lArge.” thousands of hancock county services. the company, which Ninestar wants to be a leader some influence over it and not DaviD density.