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The Dale Volunteer Fire Department will purchase new battery-operated rescue tools, thanks to a $16,476 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative.
The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $6,899 in matching funds from the department, will allow Dale VFD to purchase two sets of cordless, waterproof rescue tools that include a spreader to pry apart a wrecked vehicle, a ram to free a trapped victim and a cutting tool.
“We start the life-saving process,” said James Lewey, Dale VFD vice president. “As a combination fire and emergency medical services assist team, we often arrive at locations before the ambulance.”
The rescue tools will replace the department’s current tools that are heavy and often malfunction. Having battery-operated tools will allow first responders to move freely and quickly, without being hampered by tangled cords or hoses.
“We really need tools that allow us to be further away from the rescue truck,” Lewey said. “There have been times we’ve had to use our hand tools to cut through debris or wait for mutual aid to respond, which can take up to an hour. Having the right tools can make all the difference between life and death.”
Lewey also looks forward to the waterproof features of the new equipment.
“Our area has several low water crossings that are marked but not always visible during bad weather,” he said. “Having tools that are waterproof ensures they won’t short out when we’re in or near water.”
The community grant is one of six grants being awarded by Bluebonnet and the LCRA through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.
Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in July. More information is available here.
For decades, on the second Tuesday of every May, hundreds of Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative members have gathered to attend the co-op’s Annual Meeting.
“I moved here [to Bluebonnet’s service area] in 2002,” said Debra Irvin, a Bluebonnet member in Lee County. “I still enjoy coming to the Annual Meeting. It’s fun.”
The 2022 Annual Meeting, on Tuesday, May 10, in Giddings, was another opportunity for members to register, chat with employees and cooperative leaders, get a bag full of useful information, ask questions and be entered to win door prizes.
In the parking lot of The Silos on 77 event facility, nearly 200 members were guided through two white tents, each wide enough for several lanes of vehicles. Attendees even received ready-to-go snack bags stuffed with kolaches.
“I love how connected to the community Bluebonnet is and the effort to keep everyone safe,” said Kathy Ray Mack, a Bluebonnet member in Caldwell County.
During the Annual Meeting, three incumbent members of the Bluebonnet Board of Directors were re-elected: Milton Shaw, District 1, Caldwell, Hays, Guadalupe, Gonzales counties; Debbi Goertz, District 3, Bastrop County; and Ben Flencher, District 5, Burleson County.
Flencher has been chairman of the Board since 2014 and a Board member since 1987. “Congratulations to Directors Milton Shaw and Debbi Goertz, who, with me, were re-elected to the Board,” he said.
Milton Shaw has been on the Bluebonnet Board since 2010. “It is a great honor to serve as your Director and represent your interests,” he said.
Debbi Goertz joined the co-op’s Board in 2017. “I am honored to be re-elected to serve as one of your Directors from Bastrop County, and greatly appreciate the confidence you have in me and my fellow Directors,” she said.
Before the event, more than 6,100 Bluebonnet members participated in the Annual Meeting by submitting proxy voting forms. Those, along with members who registered at the event, constituted a quorum of member representation for the meeting.
Members who submitted proxy voting forms or registered at the drive-through were also entered to win door prizes. Those prize drawings took place the next day, May 11. Three members — Corrine Randall of Dale in Caldwell County, Earl Hodges of Cedar Creek in Bastrop County and Herbert Beerwinkel of Chappell Hill in Washington County — won the grand prizes, Cub Cadet riding lawnmowers.
Greeting members at the Annual Meeting is always a highlight for Bluebonnet employees and Directors. “We had an opportunity to meet a lot of our members, share thoughts with them and answer their questions,” Flencher said. “We hope you’ll join us for our next Annual Meeting in 2023.”
Get a video peek of the Annual Meeting here and find the information given to members at the event at bluebonnet.coop/annualmeeting.
“Any chance that we have to match our employees up with our wonderful members is a great day,” said Matt Bentke, Bluebonnet’s general manager. “Annual Meeting is that one day we cherish, and is an incredibly special day for Bluebonnet.”
