The POWER to Kill

Part of our job at Dawson PPD is to educate people about electrical safety.  Sounds simple enough, but that’s the sort of thing that nags at you late at night when you can’t sleep.  It is a fine line… Do too much educating and you become the dreaded hall monitor with your pointer finger waving in the air.  On the other hand, if you don’t push safety education enough, someone may lose their life.

The other day I read an article about two high school students in Illinois who lost their lives trying to save a raccoon that had crawled into a piece of irrigation pipe.  They raised the pipe in hopes of freeing the rodent, but when it came into contact with a power line they were electrocuted.  In that instant, life changed.  Two families lost their sons.  Classmates lost their friends and had to face the harsh reality that “it COULD actually happen to them.”  Had the young men not heard about safety near power lines or was it a momentary lapse in judgment with a catastrophic consequence?  We (the employees of Dawson PPD) don’t want a similar accident to happen here.

We love to be able to teach electrical safety to people of all ages.  We’ve talked to county roads department employees and students all across ‘Dawsonland.’  Perhaps one of our favorite opportunities is the Farm Safety Day Camp in North Platte where we can teach 400 kids about electrical safety.  As we explain electrical safety, we tell the kids to pass the message on to their friends and families.

Several years ago, I talked to a young man who had heard the electrical safety message at a farm safety event.  His name was Patrick.  While doing spring field work, Patrick got a little too close to a power line with the farm equipment he was using.  He knew that he was safe in the tractor that he was driving.  He stayed in the tractor until a lineman came and made sure the line was no longer energized. We know that Patrick got the message.  He shared his story with others in hopes that it would keep them safe too.  Although we would rather that people didn’t run into power lines or our poles, we need more people like Patrick that know what to do if it does happen.   

So, please don’t “tune out” when Dawson PPD promotes electrical safety.  We’ll try not to nag… but this stuff is important.  It can be the difference between life and death.

Marsha Banzhaf, Public Relations Coordinator
Dawson Public Power District