Andrea Melton:
Welcome to Live Wire, a podcast powered by Kosciusko REMC. We are a member-owned and locally operated cooperative that supplies electricity to portions of Kosciusko, Fulton, Wabash, and Whitley Counties here in Northern Indiana. Live Wire is a program where we come together to discuss co-op matters, energy, community topics, and to communicate with KREMC members. I'm your host, Andrea Melton. Welcome back to Live Wire. I'm really excited today. Joining us in the studio for the podcast are two of our exceptional lead linemen. I have Justin Jones and Shane Henderson. Justin and Shane are not just experts in their field, they are the backbone of our operations here at KREMC. They ensure that our community receives reliable and safe electric service every single day. Guys, thank you so much, both of you, for taking the time to be here today. We're excited to hear from you and learn more about the vital work you do.

Shane Henderson:
Thank you.

Justin Jones:
Yep, thank you.

Andrea Melton:
Let's start with Shane. Do you just want to tell me a little bit about yourself and maybe what led you to becoming a lineman at KREMC years ago?

Shane Henderson:
Well, I've been here 20 years, and so has Justin, and kind of fell into this job. Applied, was doing some things with some fields I didn't really want to do for my life, and then kind of fell into this. So 20 years kind of went pretty fast.

Andrea Melton:
So it was an accidental career, almost.

Shane Henderson:
Almost, yeah. I mean, you always hear about utilities being a very good, loyal job, so it was a good fit.

Andrea Melton:
Absolutely. And what about you, Justin?

Justin Jones:
Yeah, same thing, really. I did other things and it wasn't my path that I wanted. And applied here, and got in, and here I am 20, 21 years later.

Andrea Melton:
Awesome. So you both started around the same time then?

Justin Jones:
Yep.

Shane Henderson:
He's got me.

Justin Jones:
By a little bit.

Shane Henderson:
Yep. 10 months.

Justin Jones:
I think, yeah, something like that.

Andrea Melton:
Just barely. Got the edge. Walk us through a typical day as a lineman at KREMC. What time does your day start and what are the first tasks you tackle during the day?

Justin Jones:
Well, we start at 7:00 a.m. if there's no outages or anything, but then we come in and see what jobs we have, and look at them, and see if we need load poles or what kind of hardware for the poles, transformers. It could be a wide variety of things that we need for the day.

Andrea Melton:
I'm sure every day is very different.

Justin Jones:
Yep. It can be.

Andrea Melton:
I know that your job involves both routine tasks, but also unexpected challenges, of course. Would you like to share a more challenging or memorable moment you've experienced while out in the field? I know after a couple of decades, there have been many. What stands out maybe in your mind, as extra memorable?

Shane Henderson:
Well, the broken poles are always memorable because there could be people trapped or fatalities, and so not necessarily want to remember those, but those are the ones that stick out. But we've had a lot of good laughs. We've got a good bunch of guys that, over the past 20 years, we've had a lot of good times out in the field. There's a lot of things that you could say are memorable, some good, some bad.

Andrea Melton:
Right. So people maybe think of police officers, firefighters. They associate that automatically with the chance of encountering something like a horrible accident, a fatality, and when you think linemen, that might not be the first thought that comes to mind in that way, but you guys do encounter those serious situations and have to be ready for that at all times.

Shane Henderson:
Yeah, you just never know. I mean, when you get called out on call, you really never know. I mean, the way they word the calls that come into dispatch, it may not seem serious in the text that you get, but when you get there, it's extremely serious, and vice versa. It may be something you're trying to get to because you think it's pressing and it's really nothing. And you just never know.

Andrea Melton:
Tell me about some of the training that someone goes through and maybe a little bit ... I know we have lead linemen, and linemen, and apprentice linemen. What does that structure look like when it comes to your job, and the training, and how you got to where you were?

Justin Jones:
Well, we start off as a groundsman normally, and then they see if we're able to move on to be an apprentice, which is a four-year apprenticeship program. And then, if you graduate from there, then you become a lineman and then hope that you can become a lead lineman one day.

Andrea Melton:
And how long does it take to get to the point where you're considered a lineman and not an apprentice anymore? How long is that education, that training?

Justin Jones:
It's four years. The actual apprenticeship is. Then, when you graduate that fourth year, then you become a lineman.

Andrea Melton:
Okay.

Shane Henderson:
Yeah. You come out of it with a associate's degree through Ivy Tech as well, so that transfers as a block if you ever want to go back. So that's nice little addition to your journeyman's card.

Andrea Melton:
Absolutely. Very cool. Is there anything about your job as a lineman that maybe would surprise someone who was unfamiliar?

Justin Jones:
I think a lot of people think that our wire is insulated and it's bare, so it's not.

Andrea Melton:
Right.

Justin Jones:
So I think that's a shock to some people that don't know anything different.

Shane Henderson:
Yeah. And a lot of people think the voltage is low up there on the power lines, and when you tell them that's thousands of volts, it's always a shock to some people.

Andrea Melton:
Yeah. No pun intended.

Shane Henderson:
No.

Justin Jones:
Yeah.

Andrea Melton:
Share with me, we've talked about the seriousness and some of the sad or negative crisis kind of situations you guys might encounter and have encountered, what are some of your maybe positive memories about your tenure here? A happy moment, a successful job, something that stands out in that way, in a good way?

Shane Henderson:
Well, we've been out on a lot of holidays and, Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day, when you go out and get a bunch of people back on, you usually hear the hoops and hollers.

Justin Jones:
Yeah. Like Jellystone especially.

Shane Henderson:
Yeah. It makes you feel like you've helped them people. And for the 99% of them, they're always very appreciative, and you feel like you're doing a community service because electricity is something can't live without.

Andrea Melton:
Absolutely. We might have some younger listeners or people who are interested in a career as a lineman. What advice would you give them or what would you tell them about the career or what their steps should be if that's something they might be interested in the future, if we're talking about high school or college dates, younger guys and girls?

Justin Jones:
Work ethic is a big one and you can't be afraid to get your hands a little dirty from time to time.

Andrea Melton:
And sometimes really dirty.

Justin Jones:
Yes.

Andrea Melton:
Probably.

Shane Henderson:
Yeah. You just never know when you may be working, storms, and car wrecks, and whatever. You just have to be knowing up front that you may not be to your kid's birthday or it's just one of those jobs that requires your time, and effort, and-

Andrea Melton:
Sacrifice.

Shane Henderson:
Sacrifice, for sure.

Andrea Melton:
And your families sacrifice as well.

Justin Jones:
Yes.

Shane Henderson:
That's right. But I mean, at the same time, it's a very rewarding job. And if you think about it, not very many people in the world can do what we do, other than the ones that chose this path.

Andrea Melton:
Absolutely. Have you seen any changes in your work when it comes to the transmission, distribution of electricity? Have there been changes over the past 20 years that are noticeable?

Shane Henderson:
Well, the system's been upgraded, for sure. And back in the day, when we started here, we had big four-by-four-foot paper maps, and we had a 50-page book with dots in it. That's how we'd find places. And now, we have a mapping system that is on the iPad or whatever, the tablets, and so that's a lot easier.

Justin Jones:
That part's changed the most, I would say.

Shane Henderson:
Yeah, big time. And then the automatic meter reading or the AMI system is really nice because you can really get a lot of information at your fingertips, whereas before, you had to go out on site to know what's going on. So yeah, the industry's changed a bunch. Tools have been improved, and trucks are better, and everything's better, seems like.

Andrea Melton:
It makes sense.

Shane Henderson:
Yep.

Andrea Melton:
Let's see. Is there anything else that you would like for our members or just the community in general to know? That you would like them to know about your job.

Justin Jones:
I mean, when we have power outages, I think some people also think that we just go turn a switch on and then their power's back on. But we have to drive all the wires out, and see where the problem actually was, and then repair it, and then go back to our breaker and turn that on.

Andrea Melton:
Yes, it takes time.

Justin Jones:
It does take time.

Shane Henderson:
Yeah. And then, just because you don't see the problem at your house, it doesn't mean there's not a problem down the road that you don't know about. There could be poles down, trees down. And if we don't run the line out to make sure everything's good, we don't want to hurt somebody. So it takes time and experience. So yeah, be patient with us because we work hard to get it back on, for sure.

Andrea Melton:
Absolutely. Well, guys, I think that covers everything I really wanted to touch upon, unless there's anything else you'd like to share?

Justin Jones:
I don't think I have anything else, no.

Andrea Melton:
Awesome. I really appreciate you taking a few minutes to come in and talk with us. I've been hoping to have a couple of our line workers on the podcast. I know rarely do we here in the office see you, and you're out in the field and busy, but I appreciate taking the time on the rainy day to be on Live Wire.

Justin Jones:
Thank you.

Shane Henderson:
Thanks for giving us the time.

Andrea Melton:
Thanks. Have a great day.

Shane Henderson:
You too.

Andrea Melton:
You've been listening to Live Wire, the official podcast of Kasiasko REMC. To learn more about KREMC, visit our website, kremc.com, and follow us on social media. Thanks for listening.