PennLinesPennLines

Yo u r C o o p e r a t i ve N ew s m ag a z i n e

FEBRUARY 2005 VOL. 40 NO. 2FEBRUARY 2005 VOL. 40 NO. 2

Old Turnpike TunnelsBack on the Map

FEBRUARY 2005 3

PennLines

ABOUT THE COVER: In 2001, theSouthern Alleghenies Conservancypurchased 8 miles of an abandonedstretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike,including the old Sideling Hill and RaysHill tunnels.The group hopes to turn theroad into a biking and hiking path calledthe Superhighway Trail. Photo by EricWise, PREA.

SURFINGT H E N E T ?

16

C O N T E N T S

F E B R U A R Y

Vol. 40 • No. 2

Visit with us at Penn Lines Online, located at www.prea.com/Pennlines/plonline.htm. Penn Lines Online provides an e-maillink to Penn Lines editorial staff, information on advertising rates, contributor’s guidelines, and an archive of past issues.

Board officers and staff, Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association:Chairman,David Wright; ViceChairman,Tim Burkett; Secretary, Owen Miller;Treasurer,S.Eugene Herritt;President & CEO,FrankM. Betley

© 2005 Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association.All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or inpart without written permission is prohibited.

Perry A. StambaughEditor/Director of Communications

Eric WiseAssistant Editor

James DulleyKitty Halke

Marcus SchneckContributing Columnists

Tricia DicksonLayout & Design

Vonnie KlossAdvertising & Circulation

Penn Lines (USPS 929-700),the newsmagazine of

Pennsylvania’s electric cooperatives, is published

monthly by the Pennsylvania Rural Electric

Association, 212 Locust Street, P.O. Box 1266,

Harrisburg, PA 17108-1266. Penn Lines helps

145,000 households of co-op consumer-members

understand issues that affect the electric

cooperative program,their local co-ops,and their

quality of life. Electric co-ops are not-for-profit,

consumer owned, locally directed and taxpaying

electric utilities. Penn Lines is not responsible for

unsolicited manuscripts.The opinions expressed

in Penn Lines do not necessarily reflect those of

the editors, the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Asso-

ciation,or local electric distribution cooperatives.

Subscriptions: Electric co-op members, $5.42

per year through their local electric distribution

cooperative.Preferred Periodicals postage paid at

Harrisburg, PA 17105 and additional mailing

offices.POSTMASTER:Send address changes with

mailing label to Penn Lines, 212 Locust Street,P.O.

Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1266.

Advertising: Display ad deadline is six weeks

prior to month of issue.Ad rates upon request.

Acceptance of advertising by Penn Lines does not

imply endorsement of the product or services

by the publisher or any electric cooperative.

If you encounter a problem with any product

or service advertised in Penn Lines, please

contact: Advertising, Penn Lines, P.O.Box 1266,

Harrisburg, PA 17108. Penn Lines reserves the

right to refuse any advertising.

8 Tunnel Vision

Nearly forgotten for a generation, an abandoned stretch of the original Pennsylvania Turnpike — including forgotten two tunnels —

may soon reopen to a slower type of traffic

12High-Tech Lighting

Once seen as too expensive, bulky, and not “reader friendly,” energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs may soon

overtake their mainstream incandescent cousins

12

4 Commentary

6 Outdoor Adventures

14 Energy Answers

14a News From Your Co-op

16 Country Kitchen

18 Classifieds

22 New Briefs

24 Humor

26 Rural Reflections

D E P A R T M E N T S

by Frank M. Betley

President & CEOPennsylvania RuralElectric Association(PREA) and Conti-nental CooperativeServices (CCS)

In drafting laws nearly 70 years agothat permitted rural residents toform consumer-owned and con-

trolled, not-for-profit electric cooper-atives (laws incidentally, which havebeen reviewed and re-enacted over theyears), state legislators determinedelectric cooperatives should regulatethemselves. By doing so, the Pennsyl-vania General Assembly joined mostother states in recognizing that theestablishment of rates and policies bya cooperative’s democratically electedboard of directors provides the sametype of regulatory oversight as Penn-sylvania Public Utility Commission(PUC) review does for stockholder-driven private power companies.

Today, electric cooperatives contin-ue to operate in a responsible, self-regulated fashion, basing decisions oneconomic, operational, and commu-nity impact. Our goal remains to pro-vide you with a reliable supply of pow-er at the lowest possible cost.

To keep costs as low as possible, elec-tric cooperatives work hard to maintainour non-jurisdictional — unregulated— status. The financial impact fromregulation would simply be staggering.

For example, if regulated by thePUC, electric cooperatives would be

PENN LINES 4

C O M M E N T A R Y

required — collectively — to pay $4.4 mil-lion per year into state-mandated low-income consumer assistance programs.In addition, funding the PUC itself(private power companies are assessedat a maximum of 0.3 percent of grossoperating revenues to cover PUC oper-ations — about $44 million last year)would cost Pennsylvania electric coop-eratives as a whole anywhere from$500,000 to $750,000 annually. Andthis assessment does not include anyattorney and filing fees arising fromPUC cases or factor in assessments tofund the state Office of ConsumerAdvocate and state Office of Small Busi-ness Advocate — expenses that privatepower companies must also pay.

The Commonwealth’s new renew-able [energy] portfolio standard (RPS)law requires that private power com-panies and competitive electric gener-ation suppliers include increasingamounts of “green” energy in their gen-eration mix — up to 18 percent by2020. Because state legislators realizedthat imposing RPS on electric cooper-atives would go against the historic legislative intent of cooperative self-regulation and unnecessarily harm ruralresidents, electric cooperatives can meetRPS requirements by offering a “volun-tary program of energy efficiency anddemand-side management.” Pennsylva-nia electric cooperatives already do thisthrough the Coordinated Load Man-agement System.

Without the load management lan-guage, RPS would have burdened elec-tric cooperatives — and you — with atleast $30-$40 million in additional costsover the next 15 years.

Last July, Commonwealth Courtfound electric cooperatives generallyexempt from making state Public

Utility Realty Tax Act (PURTA) pay-ments — a decision based largely onlanguage in the state’s Public UtilityCode that excludes electric coopera-tives from PUC regulation. If this judgment stands, being freed fromPURTA tax obligations will allow Penn-sylvania electric cooperatives to onceagain pay property taxes locally, rein-vesting millions of tax dollars withinlocal communities to improve the ruralquality of life.

Even Penn Lines helps curb any reg-ulatory reach on electric cooperatives.In 1998, the PUC cited the magazine’semphasis on consumer education as areason why cooperatives did not needto contribute a “fair share” total of$576,000 to fund state-ordered elec-tricity customer choice awarenessadvertising, the bulk earmarked foruban markets.

Betley has served as president & CEO ofPREA and CCS since 1997. PREA is thestatewide service arm of electric cooperativesin Pennsylvania and New Jersey and PennLines publisher; CCS is the not-for-profitpower supply organization created from thestrategic alliance between Allegheny ElectricCooperative, the wholesale generationprovider to your local electric distributioncooperative, and Illinois’ Soyland PowerCooperative.

Regulatory Burden Would Squeeze Electric Cooperatives

RARE AS

HEN'S TEETH:

A century ago,

white-tailed deer

— Pennsylvania’s

state animal since

1959 — were

uncommon

residents of

Penn’s Woods.

PENN LINES 6

O U T D O O R A D V E N T U R E S

Marcus Schneck, out-doors editor at ThePatriot-News (Har-risburg, Pa.) and edi-tor of Destinationstravel-outdoor maga-zine in Berks County,is the author of morethan two dozen out-

doors books and a contributor to many stateand national publications. You can reachhim at mschneck@comcast.net.

by Marcus Schneck

C o n t r i b u t i n g C o l u m n i s t

A nyone coming of age as a huntertoday — an era noted for (supposedly) out-of-control deer

herds — might be shocked to find outthat at one time very few white-taileddeer existed in the Commonwealth.The situation was so dire that the then-infant Pennsylvania Game Commissionwas forced to launch a stocking pro-gram for the species.

According to “A History of White-Tailed Deer Restocking in the UnitedStates: 1878 to 2004,” released late lastyear by Bogart, Ga.-based Quality DeerManagement Association, the stateGame Commission stocked and/orrelocated at least 4,387 deer within thestate between1906 and 1961. More than668 were imported from Kentucky,Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey,North Carolina, and Ohio, with the first50 arriving from Michigan.

Six years ago, Calvin DuBrock, direc-tor of the state Game CommissionBureau of Wildlife Management,described the deer situation as it stooda century ago.

“In 1902 commission reports, deerwere barely mentioned,” he stated. Itis estimated only 200 deer were har-vested that year in the Keystone State.In 1906-07, just 10 years into theagency’s history, a deer stocking pro-gram was launched accompanied byprotection of antlerless deer. However,by the 1920s, with deer populationsdoubling every two or three years, webegan to see mass starvation of deer inmany areas of the state.”

In 1927, the state Game Commissiondeclared, “Unless action is taken,nature will bring about a drastic reduc-tion in the number of deer in the entireforest.” A year later, the commission

e s t a b l i s h e dPennsylvania’sfirst statewideantlerless season.Hunters, in turn,harvested moret h a n 2 5 , 0 0 0antlerless deer,although manyexpressed oppo-sition to bucks being protected.

In 1938, the commission moved toa one-week antlerless season andhunters harvested more than 170,000antlerless deer, a new record.

According to DuBrock, “Peopleviewed it as inconceivable that therecould be that many deer harvested inthe state. After the 1938 season, manyhunters concluded: ‘the deer herd isgone!’ ”

He continued, “Some sportsmeneven had doe mounted to show theirgrandkids what deer looked like, believ-ing they were never going to be seenagain.”

In response, antlerless hunting wasallowed in only four counties in 1939 —an overreaction that led to deer starv-ing by the thousands. The next year,Pennsylvania created a two-week seasonon bucks and doe. The harvest climbedto more than 186,500 deer — again arecord, and one established just twoyears after hunters feared deer hadbeen wiped out.

“After 1940, the antlerless season wasseverely limited for a decade,” notedDuBrock. “Hunters cried, ‘Enough isenough, save the deer.’ Of course,World War II had a bit to do with this.Deer management was put on hold anddeer numbers greatly increased.”

It is said that history repeats itself.That bit of wisdom certainly appliesto issues — and perceptions — involv-ing Pennsylvania’s deer herd.

Deer Déjà Vu

EIGHTH WONDER OF THE

WORLD:This map from 1941

shows the original route of the

Pennsylvania Turnpike, and promi-

nently features information about

the seven tunnels along America's

first “all-weather highway.”

ILLUSTRATION COURTESY PENN-

SYLVANIA TURNPIKE COMMISSION

PENN LINES 8

by Eric C.Wise

A s s i s t a n t E d i t o r

Nestled in the hills in Bedford andFulton counties lies a stretch ofroad once traveled by thousands

of cars and trucks a day — but not formore than 36 years.

Formerly part of the 64-year-old Penn-sylvania Turnpike (I-76), the broad swathof asphalt— cracked in spots and sport-ing sprigs of stubborn vegetation — lays hidden within the Buchanan StateForest. Most travelers on America’s firstsuperhighway (which cuts through theservice territories of five Pennsylvaniaelectric cooperatives) probably do noteven realize they have been routedaround a 13-mile stretch of the originalroad, which included two Turnpike tun-nels first bored in 1880s for the never-completed South Pennsylvania Railroad.

In 2001, the Pennsylvania TurnpikeCommission sold 8 miles of the aban-doned road, along with the two tunnels— Sideling Hill and Rays Hill — to theSouthern Alleghenies Conservancy for $1. Conservancy members hope,through a combination of state and fed-eral grants, to turn the area into a “bikeand hike pike” called the SuperhighwayTrail. As part of the project, the tunnels

would once again open for public use.“At this time, we don’t restrict access

for hiking or biking,” says Ryan Neman-ic of the Southern AllegheniesConservancy. “Use of the oldroad by cars, motorcycles, andATVs is prohibited and viola-tors are fined. Hunting isallowed, although huntersmust follow state hunting lawsand regulations.”

The proposed trail offersmore than scenery and history— notably, the intrigue of pass-ing through the two tunnels.

“The structure of the tunnelsis very sound,” explains Neman-ic. “However, water is seepinginto the Sideling Hill Tunnel,which must be addressed beforeit is officially reopened.”

Conservancy leaders have not decid-ed whether to light the tunnels again.

“Lighting would improve safety, but

Tunnel VisionNearly forgotten for a generation, an abandoned stretch of the original

Pennsylvania Turnpike — including forgotten two tunnels — may soon reopen to a slower type of traffic

Tunnel Vision

FEBRUARY 2005 9

it would also take away some of the tun-nels’ allure,” Nemanic comments.

Near the east end of the planned trailrests the former Cove Valley ServicePlaza, which was replaced by the modernSideling Hill Service Plaza when thebypass opened in 1968. While the gray-stone Howard Johnson’s restaurant andEsso gas pumps previously featured atCove Valley are long gone, the parkingarea remains remarkably unscathed.

“The Cove Plaza could be rebuilt asa museum, showing railroad and turn-pike history,” Nemanic adds. “The accessroad employees once used will probablybe refurbished as the east entrance to thetrail, regardless of whether the plaza han-dles parking only or contains a museum.”

The conservancy has entertainedideas of making parts of the tunnelsthemselves into a museum, even con-verting their mechanical rooms into a

theater for educational presentations.The future trail may also benefit fromlocal history and natural resources.Nemanic relates that a biologist recent-ly visited the site, suggesting ways thetrail could serve as an outdoor biologyclassroom.

Nearby Wooden Bridge Creekpromises to draw trout fishermen, whilewinter splendor could attract cross-country skiers. In addition, remnants ofthe never-finished South PennsylvaniaRailroad, including a stone-arch culvertconstructed for trains to pass over astream, can be easily reached along amarked path just east of the SidelingHill Tunnel’s west portal.

Nemanic emphasizes that since thePennsylvania Turnpike was designedwith gentle inclines, a wide range of peo-ple can enjoy the trail as envisioned, eventhose unable to hike hilly, demandingcourses. (The seven tunnels along theTurnpike’s original 160-mile stretchbetween Carlisle and Irwin — six ofwhich had been cut by the South Penn-sylvania Railroad — greatly reduced theneed for steep grades.)

“Our primary goal is a recreationaltrail that will bring economic develop-ment to the area,” Nemanic stresses.“The unique feature of the site is thediversity of opportunities that exist. Butdepending on the direction the projecttakes, it may cost millions.”

Disappearing Act A trip across the Pennsylvania Turn-

pike today means driving through fourtunnels, three fewer than when the high-way opened October 1, 1940. For most ofthe first three decades of its operation,the turnpike’s four lanes merged into twoat tunnel entrances.

As more drivers used the limitedaccess highway, huge bottlenecks beganto develop at tunnel mouths. Pennsyl-vania Turnpike Commission officialsaddressed the problem by excavatingparallel tunnels in four locations (BlueMountain, Kittatinny Mountain, Tus-carora Mountain, and Allegheny) androuting traffic around the other three— Sideling Hill (the longest of the sev-en in length, at 6,782 feet, or 1.28

ONE LANE EACH WAY: Until the late

1960s, the Pennsylvania Turnpike narrowed

from four lanes to two at tunnel entrances.

PHOTO COURTESY PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE

COMMISSION

(continues on page 11)

FEBRUARY 2005 11

miles), Rays Hill (the shortest in length,at 3,532 feet, two-thirds of a mile), andthe three-quarters-of-a-mile-long Lau-rel Hill Tunnel, located near Donegalin Westmoreland County, once thehighest point on the Turnpike at 2,456feet.

Although abandoned, the four-milestretch of highway between the SidelingHill and Rays Hill tunnels has beenoccasionally used for roadway safetyprojects over the years, including oneinvolving cuts to warn drivers when tiresdrift off the road. Today, these shoulderrumble strips are standard on mostinterstates and U.S. highways.

The Federal Highway Administra-tion has also used the roadway for tri-als of new road signs, test crashes withlarge trucks, and guide rail experi-ments. Reflectivity of road signs was test-ed inside the Sideling Hill Tunnel.

The area also hosted tactical andfirearms training for Troop T of thePennsylvania State Police as well as mil-itary units prior to deployment in Iraq.The Sideling Hill Tunnel has even beenconsidered by film companies as amovie location and as a currency stor-age depot — another Fort Knox — bythe U.S. Mint.

Unlike the Sideling Hill and RaysHill tunnels, Laurel Hill (officiallyretired in 1964) is visible from the east-bound lanes of the current highway,near mile marker 99.2. The Pennsylva-nia Turnpike Commission sometimesstores concrete barriers on the old roadleading up the tunnel, and the tunnel’sentrance once housed salt, anti-skid,and other maintenance materials.

Carl DeFebo, public informationmanager for the Pennsylvania TurnpikeCommission, warns that visitors are pro-hibited at Laurel Hill, as the tunnel isleased to a private company.

In the late 1930s, engineers consid-ered two additional South PennsylvaniaRailroad tunnels when plotting thecourse of the Pennsylvania Turnpike,but bypassed them instead. Both are onprivate property and not consideredsafe.

The eastern end of QuemahoningTunnel, which was used by a differentrailroad in the early 1900s, is located

at mile marker 106.3 off the westboundlanes. The second “near miss” tunnel,Negro Mountain, rests about 400 feetfrom the westbound shoulder of theTurnpike near mile marker 116.

Another Tunnel Bites the Dust?Costs of upkeep have left the future

of the Allegheny Tunnel in SomersetCounty in question. At just more than

one mile in length, Allegheny is thelongest Turnpike tunnel in use and theonly one not begun as a railroad tunnel.Years of wear and maintenance needshave state Turnpike Commission offi-cials considering whether to bypass thelocation, upgrade the existing tunnels,or even add a third tunnel. However, nofinal decision has been reached.

(continued from page 9)

SUPER EFFICENT: Compact flu-

orescent light bulbs,such as these

from Sylvania,can replace just

about any standard incandescent

bulb.The bulbs come in three-

way twisted, flame-shaped,and

frosted models,and even include

one that will not attract insects.

PENN LINES 12

by Sharon O’Malley

C o n t r i b u t i n g W r i t e r

W hen it was time forKerry Campbell tochange a light bulb

in an 18-foot-high ceiling fix-ture above the landing of herPennsylvania Department ofEnvironmental Protection(DEP) office, she chose a bulbthat will last for the better partof a decade.

“I don’t want to be upthere changing that bulb any more than I have to,” sheremarks.

A few years ago, she might not havechosen such a long-lasting bulb — a com-pact fluorescent — because it did notemit the right color and carried a sky-high price tag.

Indeed, says Campbell, who works inthe state Office of Energy and Technol-ogy Development, consumers have shiedaway from this most energy efficient of allresidential lighting because the bulbswere seen as too expensive, bulky, andgave off “funky” hues that did not matchtraditional incandescent light.

Over the past two years, however,those concerns have all but vanished. Notonly are more manufacturers designingstylish covers for the twisted tubes thatpack up to 10,000 hours of light and onlyneed changing every five to seven years,but they have made the bulbs smaller andcloser in color to familiar — yet electric-ity-hogging — incandescent lights. Bestof all, today’s compact fluorescent bulbscome without the pesky flickering thatcharacterized prior generations of fluo-rescent lighting.

The price of screw-in spiral fluores-cent bulbs has dropped by about two-thirds over the last few years.

“Now you don’t have to compromiseenergy savings for design or looks,” saysCampbell, who notes that improvementsin compact fluorescent light bulbs are arelief for energy-conscious consumers.

Consumer Resistance RemainsCompact fluorescents, which con-

sume about 75 percent less energy thanstandard incandescent bulbs, can save ahomeowner up to $2,000 in utility billsover their long life if used throughout ahome.

But the price of a store-bought com-pact fluorescent bulb still packs somesticker shock. The bare-bones compactfluorescent equivalent of America’shousehold staple — the 60-watt, softwhite incandescent bulb, which gener-ally lasts for 750 to 1,000 hours — costsaround $6.

Even at that price, notes Campbell,compact fluorescent bulbs “have madegreat strides.”

Fluorescent lighting boasts greaterenergy efficiency, in part, because thebulbs give off far more light — lumens —than heat energy (watts). Since fluores-cent bulbs create a negligible amountof heat as they burn, they can producebetween 50 and 100 lumens per watt.

Incandescent lights, on the otherhand, emit only about 15 lumens perwatt. And since they waste most of theirenergy producing heat, incandescentbulbs tend to burn out more quickly.

The end result — a 15-watt compactfluorescent bulb generates the sameamount of light as a 60-watt incandescentbulb; a 20-watt bulb becomes equivalent

to a 75-watt incandescent; athree-way 12-, 18- and 29-wattbulb outperforms a 30-, 70-and 100-watt incandescentvariety.

Still, Pennsylvanians lovethe soft yellow glow (and low-

er cost) of familiar incandescent lightingand have resisted more expensive fluo-rescent replacements since they first hitthe market in 1939. Early versions,installed mainly in office buildings andnotorious for hesitating and blinkingbefore offering a steady stream of over-head light, once came only in long, thintubes that cast a harsh, bluish glareinstead of warm candle-like radiance.

Eventually, some homeowners wel-comed fluorescent tubes into their base-ments, laundry rooms, and kitchens, butnot into the main living areas of thehome.

Year by year, lighting manufacturershave responded by shrinking and twist-ing those fluorescent tubes into the A-likeshape of a typical incandescent bulb andthreading their bases so they can screwinto table lamps and overhead sockets. Inaddition, they have manipulated the col-or of fluorescent bulbs so they mimicpopular incandescents.

“In the past I would say, ‘Don’t changethe bulb in your favorite reading lamp for a compact fluorescent,’ ” commentsCampbell. “But today, you may want totry it.”

She concludes, “If you replace onebulb, you’re probably not going to noticeany savings on your electric bill. But if youreplace a whole lot of them over time, youwill see the results.”

(Compact) Fluorescent FancyOnce seen as too expensive, bulky, and not “reader friendly,”

energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs may soon overtake their mainstream incandescent cousins

PENN LINES 14

E N E R G Y A N S W E R S

by James Dulley

C o n t r i b u t i n g C o l u m n i s t

If you hate waking up to a coldbedroom after you turnedthe heat down for the night,

you might want to considerinstalling a “smart” thermostat.With these devices, you can goto bed and wake up to a com-fortable house — and realize low-er utility bills in the process.

Setting your thermostat lowerat night during winter (and higher during summer) producestremendous savings. The reason— less heat is gained or lost whenindoor temperatures move closerto outdoor temperatures, meaningyour furnace or air conditioner doesnot have to run as often.

Most new smart thermostats allowyou to set different temperatures dur-ing four periods each day — perfect forfitting into your lifestyle. A typical week-day winter schedule for a family mightresult in the thermostat being set at 70 degrees from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., thenlowered to 58 degrees when everyoneleaves for school or work. By the timekids arrive home around 3 p.m., thethermostat will have the house backup to a toasty 68 degrees. At 11 p.m.,when everyone goes to bed, tempera-tures kick back 60 degrees.

Big BrainsSome smart thermostats sense both

indoor and outdoor temperatures andhumidity levels. This data, along withmemory of how long it takes to warmup your house, lets the thermostat deter-mine the precise time to start your fur-nace to meet the programmed schedule.As a result, your bedroom should bewarm when your alarm goes off in themorning no matter how cold it is outside.

Smart thermostats come with sever-al simple programming methods thateven the most digitally challenged per-son can handle, including a genericpreprogrammed time/temperatureschedule. This way, you can use the unitimmediately and figure out how to pro-gram your personal schedule at a lat-er time.

For additional convenience, somemodels boast internal power storage soyou can snap them off the wall base andprogram settings from your easy chair.A few smart thermostat designs evenresemble a tiny touch screen comput-er display — the entire programmingprocess, menu-driven by touching thescreen, eliminates the need for a com-plicated owner’s manual.

When shopping for a smart ther-mostat, you will see a designation of 7,5+2, or 5+1+1 on the packaging. Thesenumbers refer to programming flexi-bility. With a 7-day thermostat, you canprogram a different temperatureschedule for every day of the week.These are ideal if your at-home sched-ule varies.

A 5+2-day thermostat allows you toprogram one schedule for every week-day and another schedule for the week-end. A 5+1+1-day model permits you tocreate different Saturday and Sundayschedules.

You can find smart thermostats atmost home center and hardwarestores. With safe low-voltage and color-coded wiring, they are ideal for do-it-yourselfers.

James Dulley is a nationally syndicated energy management expert. For more infor-mation on this subject, request Dulley’s “Util-ity Bills Update No. 425,” which includesa buyer’s guide on 11 smart thermostat man-ufacturers (25 models), listing tempera-ture/time schedules, programming options,comfort/convenience features, and a savingschart. Send your request to: James Dulley, c/oPenn Lines magazine, 6906 RoyalgreenDrive, Cincinnati, OH 45244. Pleaseinclude $3 and a business-size self-addressedstamped envelope. Or for quicker turn-around, check out www.dulley.com via theWorld Wide Web.

Get Smart

PENN LINES 16

1 cup sliced almonds 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar3/4 cup shredded sweetened 3 tablespoons water

coconut 1 tablespoon corn syrup1/2 cup butter 1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine almonds and coconut and spread evenly on thebottom of a slightly greased 9” x 13” pan. In asaucepan,melt butter and then add sugar,water,corn syrup, and salt and cook until a candy thermome-ter show mixture has reached 290 degrees.Remove mixturefrom heat and pour over almond and coconut mixture.Cool.Break into small pieces.

C O U N T R Y K I T C H E N

16-oz. package semisweet 2 tablespoons melted butterchocolate chips 1-1/2 cups chopped salted peanuts

2 tablespoons butter 8-oz. package caramels1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 1 tablespoon whipping 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons cream

confectioner’s sugar

Melt chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons butter over lowheat, stirring constantly.Pour mixture into a non-stick 8” x8” baking pan.Mix peanut butter, all of the confectioner’s sugar and 2tablespoons of melted butter until well blended.Drop mixture over meltedchocolate in the baking pan.Top with 1 cup of the chopped, salted peanuts,pressing lightly into the peanut butter-chocolate layers.Melt caramels withwhipping cream in a saucepan and spread over the peanut butter-chocolate-peanut mixture. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of chopped peanuts on top andpress lightly.When cooled, cut into 1-inch squares and store in refrigerator.

NUT CHEWS

by Kitty Halke

C o n t r i b u t i n g C o l u m n i s t

Nothing says “Happy Valentine’s Day” likehomemade sweets. They are perfect for your sweet-ie, or as a gift for the neighbors, the letter carri-er, or anyone who deserves a special little “thankyou.” (For an added touch, present your plate ofkitchen creations covered in pink- or lavender-tint-ed plastic wrap tied up with a bright red ribbon.)

Made with ingredients commonly found inyour pantry, refrigerator, or freezer (even those leftover from holiday baking), these three recipesare easy to make but look elegant. Sweet eating!

Kitty Halke is a cooking professional and freelance writerfrom rural Pennsylvania. Send recipes and commentsto her in care of: Penn Lines, P.O. Box 1266, Harris-burg, PA 17108-1266.

2/3 cup butter1-1/2 tablespoons grated

8-oz. package semi-sweet orange rind

chocolate morsels2 tablespoons ground pecans

4 egg yolks

additional ground pecans or

4 tablespoons sugarsprinkles for garnish

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan; add chocolate morsels and melt

over low heat, stirring until all of the chocolate chips are melted

and mixture is smooth.Cool slightly. In a separate bowl,beat egg

yolks until light-colored.Add sugar and continue beating until

creamy.Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs and sugar; stir in orange

rind and ground pecans.Put the complete mixture in the refrigerator and chill

several hours until set or overnight.Place sprinkles or crushed pecans on plate

that has been lined with wax paper. Roll refrigerated chocolate-orange mix-

ture into small balls and then roll the balls in crushed pecans or sprinkles until

covered.Place in refrigerator until firm (and continue to store in refrigerator.)

ALMOND CRACKED CANDY

CHOCOLATE ORANGE BITES

Ah, Sweet ValentineAh, Sweet Valentine

PENN LINES 18

N E W S B R I E F S

compiled by Perry Stambaugh

E d i t o r

H igh-level negotiations describedas “frank, technical, and some-times tense” between the nation’s

electric cooperatives and the BushAdministration resulted in a “remarkablebreakthrough” late last year. That iswhen the U.S. Department of Agricul-ture (USDA) — finally — issued newregulations enabling the creation of abeefed up Rural Economic Develop-ment Loan and Grant (REDL&G) Program.

REDL&G — using electric cooper-atives as intermediaries — provideszero-interest loans and grants that helprural areas create jobs and boost busi-nesses. The program has a record ofleveraging private sector investment ata rate of 5-to-1.

“The release of the REDL&G rulesends two years of foot-dragging by USDA,the White House Office of Managementand Budget [OMB] and U.S. TreasuryDepartment on the issue,” explains RussBiggica, director of government & reg-ulatory affairs for the Pennsylvania Rur-al Electric Association — the statewideservice arm of your local electric coop-erative. “The hold-up was unfortunatebecause zero-interest loans and grantshelp entire rural communities, not justareas or facilities served by electric coop-eratives. Millions of dollars worth of elec-tric cooperative-supported economicdevelopment projects across the U.S.were left hanging in limbo.”

The bureaucratic wrangling stemmedfrom the 2002 Farm Bill, which author-ized “REDL&G enhancements.” The lawpermitted private lenders — envisionedas Herndon, Va.-based National RuralUtilities Cooperative Finance Corpora-tion — to issue government-backedbonds which, in turn, would form thebasis for making additional REDL&Gloans through eligible electric distribu-tion and telephone cooperatives.Because the lender must pay an annualfee of 30 basis points (three-tenths of

1 percent) into the REDL&G fund forthe 20-year life of the bond, total fundingavailable for the program could effec-tively top $300 million at no cost to thefederal government.

“In essence, the lender program wasto become like Fannie Mae or FreddieMac — sort of a quasi-private operation,pumping millions into the rural econo-my,” Biggica comments. “But fierceopposition by anti-cooperative forceswith close ties to the Administration —such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce— led to proposed rules that wouldhave killed the concept. The NationalPropane Gas Association even braggedthat this ‘REC bailout,’ as they called it,was going to be thwarted through theregulatory process.”

While the Farm Bill required thatREDL&G enhancement regulations beissued within 180 days, USDA took twoyears to do so. The rules then underwentreview by OMB, which should have takenabout 90 days. However, as of last July, theyhad not even been officially logged in.

“Treasury also had to sign off on theregulations,” Biggica adds. “But thatdepartment stonewalled as well. Report-edly, officials there were not too keenabout approving another governmentloan guarantee and mistrusted the wholeidea. The big stumbling block was thatTreasury had virtually no model at thefederal level to compare it to.”

Throughout the process, PREAworked closely with strong electric co-operative supporters — U.S. Sen. ArlenSpecter (R-Pa.), a member of the Sen-ate Agriculture Appropriations Sub-committee, and U.S. Rep. Tim Holden(D-17th), a member of the House Agri-culture Committee — to put pressure onTreasury and OMB. Specter even sent aletter to President Bush demandingaction.

Meanwhile, Congress authorized $1 bil-lion in guarantee underwriting for theREDL&G Program in the 2003, 2004,and 2005 federal budgets.

“Electric cooperatives across thecountry contacted their state congres-sional delegations, who made it clear tothe Administration that they wantedthis no-risk, bipartisan, rural econom-ic development tool implemented,” Biggica stresses. “These efforts reallyhelped hasten a resolution and let elec-tric cooperatives develop a new levelof understanding and trust with theBush Administration.”

Since 1991, 25 Pennsylvania projectshave now received financing fromREDL&G zero-interest loans, totaling$7.6 million. The projects funded havecreated or retained more than 1,400permanent, well-paying jobs and lever-aged more than $26.7 million in addi-tional outside capital. Nationwide,REDL&G loans and grants have sup-ported nearly 1,000 projects that havecreated or retained more than 29,000jobs and pumped $1.5 billion into therural economy.

“REDL&G is simply an extension ofthe original rural electrification mission— to ensure a quality of life for all citi-zens, no matter where they may live,”Biggica concludes.

Electric Cooperatives Give Rural Economic Development A Boost

Zero-interest loans assist electric cooperative

economic development efforts aimed at pro-

viding employment opportunities for skilled

workers, like this mechanic refurbishing an

emergency vehicle at the New Lexington Fire

Equipment Company in Somerset County.

H U M O R

Money to most of us means onething — a paycheck. An’ eco-nomical activity? Well, that

means stretchin’ that paycheck to yournext paycheck. Most of us will agree thatis a lot harder than it sounds.

But I’m here to tell you that moneyis a lot more’n just your paycheck. I foundthat out by watchin’ CNBC. I know whatyou’re thinkin’ — me watchin’ CNBC islike a hamburger without French — ‘er,freedom — fries. That’s why I say I’mwatchin’ it — not understandin’ it.

You get these four-eyed economy geekstogther an’ they’re not even speakin’English. Oh, I understand most ‘emwords — I just can’t figger out what theheck they’re sayin.’

We got a Consumer Price Index, your long-term interest rates, your ordersfor durable goods. You got a plungin’ dollar, inflation, gubbermint spending,’unemployment, the price a’ oil, an’ con-sumer confidence.

I watch this channel for 15 minutesan’ my brain starts thompin’ onaccount I’m crammin’ too much stuffup there. I didn’t know money was thatcomplicated.

Wake up, America! Sorry CNBC, butthis experiment is over. I’m goin’ backto basic economical indicators — acheckbook, a wallet, an’ a jar a’ pennies.

By now, you know ‘bout me an’ doc-tors. Yeah, I’d rather dance the hula bare-foot on broken glass than step foot insidea doctor’s office. That’s why I thank theAlmighty every day that I am as healthyas I have been, for as long as I have been.I know plenty of people who take a fist-ful of pills three or four times a day.

I mean, I seen this soap commercialthat ‘splained we had 2,000 body parts.

I probably know’d somebody who had anoperation on every one of ‘em.

An’ this is weird. I was tellin’ you I washealthy. Me an’ Pearl figgered it out. Iain’t had the flu, I ain’t had a cold, an’ Iain’t even had a sniffle in maybe sevenor eight years. Pearl says it’s cause I gotso much hatred bottled up inside a’ me,it probably kills any virus that tries to get in there. I go, “Well, I guess there’s a health benefit to bein’ ornery, ain’tthere.”

I got buddies fightin’ cancer, arthritis,heart disease, diabetes, you name it. Butnot me. Earl Pitts has turned out to bebulletproof.

That was, until 2 a.m. the other morn-ing. I woke up in a flop-sweat. My bellywas cramped up somethin’ fierce, myhead was poundin,’ and I could hardly situp. I was delirious — I was hallucinatin.’I may have seen a bright light.

Wake up, America! Turns out Ishouldn’t have eaten those pickled eggsand pizza right before bedtime. But theylooked so temptin’ in the fridge! Anyrate, a walk through the house, a glassa’ water, an’ I was fine. Pearl wasn’t toohappy, though — woke her up outta areal sound sleep. Like I said, I may be bulletproof, but now I better appreciatewhat sick people is goin’ through.

I’m comin’ to you this month with thegreatest piece of advice I could ever give.Do not — I repeat, do not — pick a fightwith your garbage men. That right thereis a war you don’t want and can’t possi-bly win.

See the thing was, I wanted to throwaway an ol’ garbage can. I mean, we hadthis ol’ can, one a’ ‘em metal ones. Rust-ed through on one side, beat to deathevery time my wife Pearl pulled outta the

driveway. So I put it out by the street withthe garbage, an’ put a sign on it that read“take this.” I get up the next mornin’ an’the trash is gone. But the garbage can isstill there.

Pearl says to me, “Earl, maybe that signblowed off overnight an’ they didn’t seeit.” I says, “That’s probably what hap-pened, no problem.” Next week, samesign. Next morning,’ same garbage can.

Well, this goes on for about fourweeks. Finally, I crushed that can into atwisted heap of metal. Next morning,’it was a twisted heap of metal left in mydriveway. I’m thinkin’ — now, these boysis messin’ with me.

I go, “that’s it, I’m callin’ the trashcompany.” I called ‘em people up an’ Icalled ‘em people out. I called ‘em byevery name in the book. I says, “Yourgarbage guys better straighten up an’ flyright. I’m watchin’ you an’ I’ll report youto all my listeners and readers.”

An’ guess what. I got up this mornin’an’ that ol’ twisted, rusted garbage canwas gone! But the garbage men did leavetwo ripped open Hefty bags with trashblowin’ around in its place. Apparently,they think that makes us even.

Wake up, America! We’ll see aboutthat next week, when I believe I’ll bethrowin’ away 10 Hefty bags full a’ cinderblocks. Bring it on, trash boys!

I’m Earl Pitts, American.

Daily social com-mentary from EarlPitts — a.k.a.Gary Burbank, anationally syndi-cated radio per-sonality — can beheard on the fol-lowing radio sta-tions that cover

electric cooperative service territories in Pennsylvania: WARM-AM 590 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton; WIOO-AM 1000 Carlisle;WMTZ-FM 96.5 Johnstown; WQBR-FM99.9/92.7 McElhattan; and WVNW-FM96.7 Burnham-Lewistown.

Thoughts from Earl Pitts, Uhmerikun!

PENN LINES 20

PENN LINES 22

R U R A L R E F L E C T I O N S

More 2004 FavoritesLast month, we published winners of our 2004 “Rural

Reflections” contest. With thousands of photos sent in,we could easily fill several issues with the excellent shotsof families, friends, landscapes, and pets that crossed ourdesks.

This issue, we highlight additional favorites from the past year.Beginning in March, we will begin publishing 2005 contest sub-missions. So unwrap the camera, digital or otherwise, you got forthe holidays, put in some film (or memory card)and start snapping away. By sharing your photoswith other Penn Lines readers, you may find your-self a winner of one of our five, $75 year-endprizes.

To be eligible for this year’s “Rural Reflections”contest, send your snapshots (no digital scans,please) to: Penn Lines Photos, P.O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1266.On the back of each photo,please include your name,address, phone number, andthe name of the electriccooperative that serves yourhome, business, or seasonal residence.

Sharon Stockholm

Montrose, Pa.

Claverack REC

Sharon Champaign

Bentley Creek, Pa.

Tri-County Rural Electric

Denise Garraffa

Strasburg, Pa.

Valley REC

Becky Cooke

Gettysburg, Pa.

Adams Electric