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<br />Woman Member Protests Invasion of Her Co...op
<br />Hits !PirlJcy' 'I UnionR.E.A. Area Overrun North of Denver I
<br />Of PSC South .
<br />Of Broomfield
<br />
<br />ColoradQ's rural women uw 80
<br />pel:' cent of the poweJ:' sold by the
<br />Rural Eloohics In the statfl. Nor~
<br />malty they let their men run the
<br />co-ops 'and ,serve on the boards of
<br />_...
<br />However, when they get mad,
<br />they speak their piece and here
<br />below is an article written and
<br />submitted to ,the Broomfield Star
<br />by Mrs. Donald Chambers of Rt.
<br />1, Box ~5. Broomfield, a mem~
<br />ber-consumer of the Union Rural
<br />Electric Association of BrigMan.
<br />The baek;round for this l\rtlele Is
<br />this:
<br />A "gentleman's agreement" back In
<br />1945 amoll&: the Public Service Com-
<br />pany, Arvada Electric Company
<br />(since 'purchased by PSC) and. the
<br />Union Rural Electric Assoclatlon of
<br />Brighton !!lilt agI:eed'upon boundaries
<br />whel'i! each 'would operate In the area
<br />Just north ot the city limits ot Den-
<br />ver.
<br />ne Union :Rural E100trle AssocIa.
<br />Ikn, becaUQEI of ttJe REA Act of Con.
<br />gte!l8 of 1836, took over the worst,
<br />1Il0fl' Spilr841ly populated seetlons In
<br />order to bJ"lng eleeu-lelty to farmers.
<br />In the past two years, -several sub-
<br />divisions hllve sprung up, such as
<br />Western amI, BrClOmtleld Heights
<br />and others, 'The PuWc Service Com-
<br />pany, which also sells gas, built elec-
<br />tric linea duplicating the Union REA
<br />which had been seI:Ving these areas
<br />slnoo 1938..
<br />The PSC, In contracting to sell both.
<br />gas and -eleetrlcity to these sub-dlvl-
<br />stuns, has been saying that Union
<br />Rural Electric ll:I nett a public utility
<br />and has no legal standlni In the area,
<br />'I'hat's why, several months ago,
<br />Union REA went to the ,Colorado
<br />Public UtllItiea Commission and
<br />asked lor a rulJng on whether It
<br />could defend Its territory and whether
<br />it Is a public utility.
<br />The :Public UtlUttea Comllllssion
<br />has not yel; nUldo IUs ,uUng.
<br />Now. between Clu1stmas and New
<br />Year's, Public Service Company crews
<br />built poles and lines across the road
<br />westward 'at 1??oo N. Wsdsworth.
<br />, Avenue, justsoutholBroomfleld, into
<br />
<br />
<br />DOROTHY cHAMBERS
<br />She's Indlgnanl
<br />Union REA territory to serve 'Wal-
<br />lace Schoo.!, a private lnstf(ution that
<br />Is enlarging.
<br />These poles and lines went along a
<br />private ~d right through the prop-
<br />erty ,owned by Willard Springer, a
<br />carpenter, on the south and Donald
<br />Chambers, supervl&or of draftsmen of
<br />the Ptanl1ing an'd ResearCh Division
<br />of the Colorado Department of High.
<br />ways, on the north. Both have been
<br />member--consumera of UniOn REA lor
<br />a number of years.
<br />Ne(thel' 01 these tamlUeawere OOlJ,.
<br />Bolted or asked about putting these
<br />I'S(l poles and hne thrcmgh. .from
<br />WadsWorlh to tho school: In filet,
<br />Springer III reported w be partlcII_
<br />wi)' hot,tbat lIOI1le 8mbs of his cot;.
<br />tonwood tree were lopped oft with.
<br />out perndsslon by PSC crewmen l<IO
<br />the;v could IItrlng their lines,
<br />All 01 this background leads up to
<br />the !act that Mrs. Donald Chambers,
<br />who Went through the throes of get-
<br />ting electrlelty some years IIgo, sat
<br />down at her typewriter and spoke out
<br />tl.San Indlvldual.
<br />
<br />2 Co10. IIIRd tltdrk New5 Jan..- t9S7
<br />
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<br />
<br />Two miles fiOuth of ,Broom1teId, which lies betwoon Denver and Boulder, the Union Rural Electric AS$OdS.tion 01 ':;
<br />Brlgbton has served an Area slnee 19'ilS. Now, Publlc Set'Vice Company Is bnUdlng UneB oveN1Uurlng this a'tea In .
<br />order <<a reach 1\ school a mile weat of its l'egular aua. Union R.EA. already ~erve8 this schooL Tbls.view Jooks
<br />north at 1??oo N. Wadsworth Ave., and shows Public S&rvlce iJrews erecting poles and Jln6 in Union R.BA.. terrl.
<br />tory, The house belongs to WUlard Springer and_ the _ small pole and .transJ'ormEll' betwe$l the bouse and outbuilding
<br />at left' Is Union B.E.A!II and hIlS been Ihete 101' more than 10 yeal'8. Note partial view of Sprbtger's Iree M extreme
<br />left. I'SC crews lopped oft some of its 1ln1bs as they went by. Note In adjacent story how Springer Is hot about It.
<br />
<br />Here, followtng, is the article Doro.
<br />they Chambers wrote and submitted
<br />to her local Broomrield newspaper:
<br />
<br />It JU.t I.n't Fair
<br />It this column meets with the edl.
<br />tor's apptoval, It will appear when.
<br />ever injustice is being done around
<br />Broomfield.
<br />In these dayJJ 01 expansion and de-
<br />velopment plenty of little toes are
<br />being stepped on by the hob-milled
<br />boots of b~-lndU8try and there's an
<br />example of that about two miles
<br />south of Broomrteld.
<br />You know where the underpaSs ll:I
<br />on Wadsworth, Well. just west 01 the
<br />railroad embankment Is a neW Public
<br />Service line of poles which was
<br />erecte(! during the last two weeks
<br />wlthtn the tertltory"of another -elec-
<br />tric -company (Union _ R.E,A.). The
<br />line goes to the Walta~e School lor
<br />braln.lnjured chtldren which hi a
<br />wonderful institution helping these
<br />chlldnm toward normal Uves, 'they
<br />are planning to build a very large
<br />cottage-type School with !arming and
<br />vocational facilities.
<br />Now I, suppose that to tll.e..~Wal-
<br />lace Senool' and to many other peo-
<br />ple in Colorado elecb1city Is just
<br />electricity and naturally yOU get, It
<br />Irom Public Service Company of
<br />Colorado. But that Isn't the truth of
<br />the matter. City people would _ be
<br />amaze(! to :learn hoW recently lIOme
<br />peepl!.! In rural areas have obtalned
<br />electricity. And dtd they get tt from
<br />PUblic Service Company? No. They
<br />were refused service because the
<br />lines would- cost more than the reve-
<br />nue they would bring In. Let the poor
<br />dumb farmers get along with kero-
<br />sene lamps and chic sales.
<br />But the poor dumb 1a.rmerfl or-
<br />ganized themselves into 8Jl1a11 el~trie
<br />companies. The Rural Electrification
<br />. Administration was set up in 1986 to
<br />lend money-notIee the word "lend"
<br />-and Isolated bunches of farmers all
<br />over Amerl<;a began enjoying the
<br />oomtorls ot elootrlclty.
<br />It wasn't until 1945 that this sec.
<br />tlon south ()f Broomfield' received
<br />electric power through thew own as.
<br />sociation; the Union Rural Electric
<br />Assoeiatlon with headquarters in
<br />Brighton,
<br />They organized It themselves, ,they
<br />own it, they run it, and, the govern.
<br />ment has notllJng to do with It. To
<br />
<br />
<br />Thlels another \'Iew along N. Wa(!sworth Ave., showIng how PubUe~.
<br />ice Compa.:qy 8SIIt Ol:l.t a crew to put poles and line_in the Jons-served area. 01
<br />Union Rural Electrlc A9&OClaUon of Brlgllton."No clearances or easements
<br />were asked in advance. For the reaction of the member-oonaunim-s 01 Union
<br />B..EA. who live there, see the adjacent atory.
<br />
<br />the American taxpayers the R_ E, A.
<br />I!'; a good investment. The loans are
<br />being paid back qul\)kly with tnterest.
<br />Some would have you believe that an,
<br />electric cooperative pays no taxes.
<br />Union R_ E. A. pays $1.eOO a month.
<br />ol'-$19,200ayearinprope:rty~es!
<br />Does that sound likE'! sponging oft ti\e
<br />lflxpayers? R. E_ A, is private enter.
<br />prlse in the htghest sell~.
<br />All right. All ovel' the. state Pub-
<br />lic Service Company Is trying to
<br />move in Oll R. E. A. tenitury. They
<br />find oIit where tb~e's going to be ,&
<br />blg 81,Ibdlvlslon or mdustr;y, sneak in
<br />and set up their poies, otter' the po-.
<br />tentlnl. blc user an Irreslstlble con.
<br />tnct and there they are.
<br />The R. E, A. is quite Capable of
<br />$upplylng ali the electrictty thUs
<br />school will need: While these poll'lli'
<br />were bcl.ng set the property owner$
<br />adjoining the prIvate road naturally
<br />thought the It; Eo A.-was putting a
<br />
<br />heavier line to the schOOl which they
<br />already serye. When they f1naJ!y
<br />learned thlit it WIIIl Public Service
<br />Co_ thllY prote!rted vigorously, along
<br />with the R. E, A.
<br />Tho result was thaI early one Frl-
<br />day ~orntng .. regular arnuuJa 01
<br />1'. S. C. trucks, men, snpervlsors, ~ .:
<br />what not appeared on the hill '- ,,'-,,"
<br />never. was a One strung with Wiril .
<br />so fast. They wanted 10 get it up be- "
<br />fore an InjuncUon could be sel'Ved. '
<br />They niay think they are there to :'
<br />stay but we're not so sure. The legal- "
<br />tty of their action Is being Investl.
<br />gated, And the Publlc Utilities Co~. .
<br />mission will be called on to rule on
<br />tt. Of course we oould go and saw '
<br />down the polel; but that would prove
<br />nothing, The pen Is mightier than the
<br />saw. And there are other effedlve
<br />weapons too. There may be some in.,:'
<br />teresttng thIngs going on down there.,
<br />soou, &0 watch when you drive by.
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