LEE COUNTY, Texas – The Lincoln Volunteer Fire Department will soon be able to refill firefighter air tanks and bottles at the department rather than sending them out of town to be replenished, thanks to a $19,893 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative. 

This grant, combined with $4,973 in matching funds from the department, will enable the department to purchase and install the new self-contained breathing apparatus refill station to help ensure volunteer firefighters have access to clean, safe air while responding to emergencies. 

“Without our own system, we have to go to the Giddings Fire Department 12 miles away and fill up our large tanks there,” said Spencer Schneider, fire department chief. “When filled, it takes two people to lift them, and we have to transport them on the back of a truck. We have to do this on a regular basis.”

In addition to the improved efficiency of having a system in-house, the Lincoln VFD will be able to refill air bottles for nearby departments free of charge. 

“We are no better than any other department, but we are proud of the fact that we are in the center of the county, and with our experience and equipment, we are able to support other fire departments in our area,” Schneider said. “If it wasn’t for this grant, we wouldn’t have this opportunity.”

He said he and the volunteers in his department are dedicated to giving back to their community. 

“People from all over our county have been very good to us,” Schneider said. “Community fundraisers and grants like these help our volunteer department survive. We are very, very humbled that LCRA and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative would grant us this.”

The community grant is one of 28 grants awarded recently through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which provides economic development and community assistance grants to cities, counties, volunteer fire departments, regional development councils and other nonprofit organizations in LCRA’s wholesale electric and water 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 a partner in the grant program.

Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted July 1-31. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.

Bluebonnet celebrated several milestones in 2019. In addition to its 80th anniversary and surpassing 100,000 meters and 10,000 followers on Facebook, the cooperative added its 1,000th renewable energy member in November. 

Pandiyan Kaliyamoorthy of Austin, center, received a cooler full of goodies, including a solar-powered portable battery pack, from Bluebonnet’s Brittany Hardy, a member service representative, and Wesley Brinkmeyer, manager of energy services. Another milestone this year: The capacity of Bluebonnet members’ renewable power is expected to exceed 10 megawatts early this year.

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BY CLAYTON STROMBERGER

At the Luling Foundation, refining the production of the very best Angus cattle is done by combining detailed research and science’s latest tools. Here are a few interesting facts about the work:

• EPD, or Estimated Progeny Difference, is a detailed analysis of data about a sire and dam that is exact enough for breeders to place a dollar value on a calf destined to produce top-quality beef.
• At the foundation facility, tanks of liquid nitrogen can hold up to 600 “straws” of valuable semen.
• Ideally, a bull used to breed heifers should have a genetic trait to sire a low- to moderate-weight calf at birth.
• The foundation’s certified group scale can weigh 8 to 10 feeder-weight calves at a time (up to 10,000 pounds). Weight is important when cattle are loaded onto trucks, where a delicate balance of weight distribution is essential.
• The cattle pens were designed by Temple Grandin, a celebrated author and animal science expert who promotes humane, stress-reducing livestock handling and facility design.

A modern alternative: freeze branding

Rather than fire branding, the Luling Foundation has been marking its cattle with denatured alcohol and dry ice since starting its Angus herd in 2000. This method can reduce the risk of infection that can occur with fire branding. How it works:

• The technique is only used on cattle with dark hides.
• The area to be branded is shaved and sprayed with denatured alcohol until soaked.
• The brand is removed from coolant and placed on the animal for 50 seconds; holding the brand firmly in place is difficult but necessary.
• A few weeks after branding, the hair loses its pigmentation and hair follicles turn white, creating a distinctive, easily readable brand.