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CoNtENtS APRIL 2018 Vol. 53 • No. 4 4 KEEPING CURRENT EDITOR News from across Peter A. Fitzgerald the Commonwealth SENIOR EDITOR/WRITER Katherine Hackleman 6 SMART CIRCUITS Aim for quality when managing a ASSOCIATE EDITOR renovation contractor Michael T. Crawford LAYOUT & DESIGN 8 COVER: SUPERSTAR BARNS W. Douglas Shirk Barn star tour reveals rural history 8 PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Michelle M. Smith 14 TECH TRENDS CONTRIBUTING COLUMNISTS Robots and sensors Janette Hess Patrick Keegan 16 TIME LINES George Weigel Your newsmagazine Penn Lines (USPS 929-700), the newsmagazine through the years of Pennsylvania’s electric cooperatives, is published monthly by the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Associa- 16A COOPERATIVE tion, 212 Locust Street, P.O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1266. Penn Lines helps 166,000 house- CONNECTION holds of co-op consumer-members understand issues Information and advice from that affect the electric cooperative program, their local your local electric cooperative 20 co-ops, and their quality of life. Electric co-ops are not- for-profit, consumer-owned, locally directed, and tax- paying electric utilities. Penn Lines is not responsible 18 POWER PLANTS for unsolicited manuscripts. The opinions expressed About those plant sizes… in Penn Lines do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, or local electric distribution cooperatives. 20 COUNTRY KITCHEN Subscriptions: Electric co-op members, $5.42 per Out of hibernation year through their local electric distribution coopera- tive. Preferred Periodicals postage paid at Harrisburg, PA 17107 and additional mail ing offices. POST- 22 ENERGY MaTTERS MASTER: Send address changes with mailing label A (careful) day in the life of a to Penn Lines, 212 Locust Street, P.O. Box 1266, lineworker Harrisburg, PA 17108-1266. 24 Advertising: Display ad deadline is six weeks prior to 24 RURAL ReFLECTIONS month of issue. Ad rates upon request. Acceptance Looking forward to flowers of advertising by Penn Lines does not imply endorse- ment of the product or services by the publisher or any electric cooperative. If you encounter a problem 26 FEATURE: FaRMER FORCE with any product or service advertised in Penn Lines, Woman’s Land Army of America please contact: Advertising, Penn Lines, P.O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108. Penn Lines reserves marks 100th anniversary the right to refuse any advertising. 28 CLassIFIEDS 30 PUNCH LINes Don’t cheat me out of my fun 26 Board officers and staff, Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association: Chairman, Leroy Walls; Vice Chair man, Tim Burkett; Secretary, Barbara Miller; Treasurer, Rick Shope; President & CEO, Frank M. Betley © 2018 Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association. ON THE COVER All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. This wagon wheel star pattern used by barn builder Visit with us at Penn Lines Online, Josiah Werner is located located at: www.prea.com/Content/ at 1416 Pine Hill Road, pennlines.asp. Penn Lines Online provides Garrett, Pa. It is on one of 19 an email link to Penn Lines editorial staff, barns featured on a barn star information on advertising rates, and an tour in Somerset County. archive of past issues. Photo by Kathy Hackleman | APRIL 2018 3 KEEPINGCURRENT News from across the Commonwealth Another DMA established over 100,000 trees. implement recom- to counter spread of CWD The unique volunteer initiative is mendations related The Pennsylvania Game Commission a joint venture between the Nation- to prevention, edu- has established Disease Management al Park Service, the National Park cation, surveillance Area (DMA) 4 after a deer tested posi- Foundation and the Friends of Flight and awareness. tive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) 93 National Memorial. The trees are The Centers for Disease Control and at a captive deer farm in Lancaster planted as a living memorial to the 40 Prevention reports there were 8,988 County. The area covers 346 square passengers and crew members of Flight confirmed cases of Lyme disease in miles in parts of Lancaster, Lebanon 93 who died when the plane crashed Pennsylvania in 2016, with another and Berks counties, including State on Sept. 11, 2001, during a coordinated 2,455 probable cases (2017 statis- Game Lands 46, 220, 225, 274 and 425. terrorist attack on the United States. tics are not yet available). The next Special rules apply within DMAs in Walk-in volunteers are not accepted; highest state tally was in New Jersey an effort to slow the spread of the dis- interested persons must pre-register with 3,332 confirmed cases and 1,018 ease, which is always fatal to deer, elk probable cases. and other cervids. It was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2012 at a captive State works on pothole deer farm in Adams County. repairs on roadways DMA 1, covering portions of Adams Pennsylvania Department of Trans- and York counties, was eliminated due portation (PennDOT) crews are work- to no finding of CWD ing to address the growing number of in wild deer after potholes on state-maintained roads. several years. DMA 2 Officials said the winter’s dramatic covers 2,845 square LIVING MEMoRIAL: Volunteers are working to temperature swings have caused more miles in parts of Ad- plant 150,000 trees in memory of the victims of potholes than usual. ams, Bedford, Blair, the Flight 93 crash. Through the end of February, Cambria, Clearfield, Cumberland, PennDOT crews had used more than Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon and online at flight93friends.org. Registra- 9,627 tons of asphalt repairing pot- Somerset counties. DMA 3 includes tion is open and available on a first- holes statewide, equal to the weight of 350 square miles in parts of Clearfield, come, first-served basis and will close roughly 627 PennDOT dump trucks. Indiana and Jefferson counties. when all volunteer spots are filled. Vol- In comparison, by the same time in Information on CWD and Pennsyl- unteers must be at least 14 years old to 2017, PennDOT had used 6,133 tons vania’s DMAs, including maps of all participate in this rain-or-shine event. of asphalt, with 3,607 tons being used DMAs, is available at pgc.pa.gov. in the same time period in 2016. Governor seeks more PennDOT crews are responsible for Tree-planting program funding for Lyme disease maintaining nearly 40,000 miles of state- continues at Flight 93 battle in Pennsylvania owned roadways. Repairs are made National Memorial Governor Tom Wolf included first to areas with higher traffic levels. More than 400 volunteers will gath- $2.5 million in his proposed 2018-19 During the winter and early spring, er at the Flight 93 National Memorial state budget for a coordinated attack potholes are repaired using a temporary on April 27 and 28 for the annual on Lyme disease. Pennsylvania leads mixture, with permanent repairs com- “Plant a Tree at Flight 93” event. The the nation in cases of the tick-borne pleted when the weather is warmer. goal of the massive reforestation effort disease. Report potholes and other high- is to plant 150,000 new trees at the If approved by the legislature, the way-maintenance concerns on state memorial in Somerset County. In the funding would allow the Pennsylvania roads at customercare.penndot.gov or past six years, volunteers have planted Department of Health to hire staff to by calling 800-349-7623. l 4 | APRIL 2018 Looking for an easy way to ___________________________cover your property tax bill? 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