I just talked to Keith Stapleton with Sam Houston Electric Coop. He shared some of the stats of the rebuild effort in the service territory in the Livingston Region — they had all 66,000 without power. As of today they, have 16,000 customers restored.

“Ike is easily twice as devastating as Rita, as it went straight up our system. We learned a lot from Rita and are getting our customers back at about the same speed even though the damage is much greater,” Keith said.

Sam Houston has 3,000 contractors working on their system. Keith provided me a map and wished me well . As I headed out to cover the crews, he suggested I post the Sam Houston website where they are updating twice a day so you can have the latest information: http://www.samhouston.net/storm_central/storm_central.html

On the way, I decided to push “shopping” on my Garmin NUVI, and was pleased to find there was a Walmart only one mile away. Understanding rain might be coming this way, I was hoping I could get umbrellas before they all got bought up. A sign out front said there were very few perishables, but I’m feeling pretty smug because I left with two bags of carrots and a bag of apples. I asked Nancy, the cashier, how it was going and if the customers were friendlier or grumpier than usual. She said, actually they are usually pretty nice and now even nicer. I told her I was looking for the prettiest cashier to take her picture and she was the one I picked. She wished me well and off I went.

Now I’m off to find Road FM62 off US route 59 where there is a lot of damage and a lot of crews.

Eddie Deen is an institution. And a person. Eddie Deen’s Ranch Ranch is in downtown Dallas where his guys put on two of the last four IEEE T&D World receptions. I’ve roped a mechanical steer there (or attempted to), downed awesome barbeque, danced to country music and watched an artist sketch women’s jeans from the backside – quite a distraction.

But I met Eddie Deen in the flesh here in Lufkin. Eddie was sautéing onions. Eddie is joined at the hip with Oncor, and he is the caterer providing the meals to the crews here as well as at the other Oncor staging areas. I mentioned his breakfast in an earlier blog.

Tuesday evening ,I made my way into the outdoor kitchen where the beef was being barbequed and the chicken was being grilled. Now, Eddie absolutely had to be ready because 40 or 50 line workers had already gathered for the 8:30 p.m. dinner that was to commence in 15 minutes. And of course, the food had to be plenty because these guys had just put in 14-hour days. And they weren’t disappointed. Good eats and hot!

Like I said, Eddie is an institution here in Texas. He told me that in addition to up to 1000 mouths in Lufkin, he was handling all the Red Cross. To give you an idea of the magnitude of his operations, Eddie Deen served 160,000 meals between Rita and Katrina.

I noticed in the kitchen that the Eddie Deen workers were polite and eager to serve. I mentioned it to Eddie, and he shared a little of his philosophy of sensing and serving. It got a little deep but suffice it to say we discussed quantum physics. I mentioned the Heisenberg Principle and Deen quoted the principle and even knew the year it was pronounced. To say I was flabbergasted is an understatement. Deen went on to break down the concept of perception to light waves, sound waves and touch. Deen believes that we would do well to understand that we have the capacity to decide what these incoming signals mean to us. In essence Eddie likes to serve. Yes he fills the body, but he also fills the mind and soul.

Photos:

Eddie Deen in his outdoor kitchen sauteeing onions and veggies.

Crews pack away a hearty breakfast.

Veronica

10:30 p.m.

Veronica has a quite-noticeable accent. A young and energetic lady, Veronica is in her element. “I’ve been working for the last five years for caterer Joy Wallace in Miami. I went to Pass Christian and to Gulfport to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner for Katrina. We like to feed people. It is our honor to serve these men. I’m still an Argentinian, but next year, I’ll become a U.S. citizen. Then I can vote. But it’s already my country, and I love to serve. I am ex-married, so that’s why I can travel. I wake up at 2:45 in the morning. I stretch my body. I wash my teeth. I sleep with my clothes on because at 3, I turn on the coffee. And we serve the breakfast from 5 to 7. Then we prepare the lunch to go for the next day and we prepare the dinner for that night. Because we work 20 hours a day, there are not too many women in this business. We come to feed the people and bring the smiles to their faces.”

David, a supervisor with Pike, walked up and asked for tea and Veronica made him a whole pitcher. He said to her, “Thank you so much. You guys are great.” Veronica smiled her great big smile, saying, “My pleasure.” She turned to me with those twinkling eyes and said, “Another day in paradise.”

Dave enjoys his pitcher of tea.

Wednesday 11 p.m.

I was walking back to the tent after talking with the Veronica with the twinkly eyes. David, the guy who had asked Veronica for tea was sipping that very tea and called out to me, “Rick, come take my picture” But when I came over he had his shirt unbuttoned and said, “Naaah I was just teasing.” David, a supervisor with Pike, told me how his crews were essentially commandeered by ladies who somehow and without power had set up a luncheon feast at the firehouse in a town that might be called Thoms Spring. My handwriting is so poor I expect I might have gotten the name wrong and if so, sorry for that. Listen to this spread that was cooked on propane for a group of linemen who would really rather not work on a full stomach but would not think of hurting these kind ladies’ feelings:

Gumbo

Pork Tenderloin

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Fried Fish

Barbequed sausage

New potatoes

Green beans

The ladies got back to me later in the day and insisted that our Pike crews take the baked goods they prepared for us. I don’t know exactly how many different cakes and pies and cookies David had, but he set out six aluminum foil wrapped pie plates and he had more. He had no idea how they’d eat it all, but those ladies would not take no for an answer – they were so thankful that the linemen had come out to their community to get the power back on.

I was glad David knuckled under because he set out the most wonderful chocolate muffins that had this liquid dark chocolate center. I ate one. And I ate another one. And then another - and another. I’ve heard it rumored that it isn’t good to eat right before you go to bed. That person hadn’t tasted these muffins - and never will - because I ended up eating the whole plate.

Thank you ladies from the bottom of my heart (and stomach).

Mike, James, Steve and I were chewing the fat while sitting on a concrete slab at the Sam Houston Electric Cooperative Cold Springs staging area. Steve assists the mayor of this tent city. We got to talking about home and 16-hour day, and the conversation turned to wives. I admitted that I forgot that Alice’s birthday is today and I found out in the most uncomfortable way. When I called home, Alice mentioned that our son Jimmy took Alice out to breakfast, and I had the misfortune of asking her why. Steve shared his own forgetfulness story, sharing how neither he nor his wife remembered their anniversary until her dad called up to wish them a happy anniversary.

The topic turned to the camp and Steve got all enthused sharing how everyone pitched in, from the Osmose Services guy who pumped the gas to the tent crew to the ladies who cleaned the clothes and showers, to the hard-working linemen.

The mayor of tent city, Mike Beumel, walked up and gave us a rundown. “We knew exactly what we’d be doing but we pitched a lot of ideas back and forth and made a lot of phone calls and it all came together.”

Steve added that every single one of these people here has the heart of a servant. “They are not here for the money. They are here to make a difference in people’s lives.”

I am awaking from a remarkably good night’s sleep considering I spent the night in a massive 10,000 square foot tent that handles 300 people. Because I’ve slept in one of these tents before, I was prepared. With a sleeping bag and two pillows from home, along with ear plugs (linemen snore), I slept like a baby. I awoke before dawn to the sound of snoring. One lineman was wandering around with his blanket wrapped around his head and body. He looked like a nun – but I expect that looks were deceiving. Over at breakfast, Eddie Deen was serving bacon and eggs, sausage, pancakes, fruit, juice, coffee and just about anything you wanted. It was awesome. I think I love Eddie Deen.

I sat down with Jeremy Koffel who had come down from Austin to help work the Lufkin area. Jeremy had been working with Quanta for a year as a groundsman. I asked Jeremy what he did before and he said, “ I was laying bricks in Pennsylavania.” Turns out that Jeremy was raised in Bloomsberg,Pennsylvania, not a half hour from where my relatives from my mother’s side live. Small world. Jeremy was working Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana before being reassigned here. When asked his most memorable experience, he said, “ You take electricity for granted until you lose it. I guess the main thing is people are so grateful when you get their electricity back.

I walked over to the line trucks and ran into Quanta digger-operator Jeff Williams. He had been with Quanta for two months. Before that he had been moving oil drilling equipment. Williams, with a big mustache had his head wrapped in a bandanna, with a cigarette in one hand and what appeared to be a beer in the other. “No man, I don’t drink no more.” He showed me the can and it was a Starbucks Double Shot Energy and Coffee drink. Now I would take that over a beer in a heartbeat. When asked about line work, Jeff said, “I like the hours better except when we are working storms and I am looking forward to going home.”

By now dawn had not quite broken, but with ice in the cooler and a box lunch, Jeremy and his crewmates were headed out to meet the day.

Photos:

Jeremy Koffel, Quanta Groundsman (L) and Mitch Griffin finish off breakfast before heading out.

Jeff Williams, Quanta Digger-Operator, slips off reflective vest so I can take a flash photo as dawn begins to break

When I called to let Mike Miming know I was a half hour out, he said, “Whenever you get here is fine -I’m not going anywhere.” Mining oversees the Lufkin storm staging area. He started off showing me the RV and camping trailers they set up on Saturday evening just after the worst of Ike passed. He did catch the tail-end and found himself driving around trees in the roadway and fighting winds up to 40 miles an hour.

James provided a window into the first few days:

“We are the first ones here and the last ones to leave. That’s,why we have the bunk beds on the end of our personal supply trailer. We have to move fast. We had the first tent set up Saturday night and the second one set up on Sunday. We go at it those first few days. We worked 5 a.m. to midnight the first few days. By Monday we had everything working smoothly. That means we had water, diesel and food. We have to be pretty much self-contained as there were no gas stations open. We have two big 2000 gallon tanks, one with diesel and one with unleaded. We also have that refueler truck that fills up the line trucks at night.”

Mike and I walked over to the staging area where the crews could pick up transformers, insulators and cutouts along with all the connectors, wire and hardware needed. Mike told me that they hadn’t run out of any materials that kept the guys from working.

“We came close but when we’d get down to a handful we’d get a shipment in. We had to contact a few suppliers to get some materials in. S&C overnighted us some fuses and some connectors so we could keep going.”

Richard Young opened a box of Chance cutouts he said were a heavy-use item. When he’s not working storms, Young is a material specialist who kits materials for jobs, so this storm assignment is right down his alley.

Mike and I walked over to the transformer yard where maybe 50 ABB/Power Partners transformers were lined up.

Of the 184 poles delivered to Lufkin, the crews had set and dressed probably 125.

We walked around the staging area with separate locations designated for tree trimming crews, Oncor crews, and contract crews. Portable lighting was scattered about so those crews that rolled in after dark were not affected. Contract crews included Flowers, Quanta, Texas Electric and Diversified.

Watching the crews roll in Tuesday night and roll out Wednesday morning, everything went pretty much to plan. Showers, portable toilets, meals, ice stations, water stations, tents, cots, box lunches. With a properly running staging area the men can focus on putting the lights back and that, of course, is the plan.

Photos:

James Mining shows me around the yard, stopping to chat about their ABB-Power Partners Transformers.

Richard Young makes sure the equipment and hardware are there when the linemen need it.

Tina catches customer calls
at the Sam Houston Electric Coop
service center in Livingston, Texas

10:30 a.m.

“Good morning, this is Sam Houston Electric Cooperative. No ma’am, they are saying it could be two or three weeks. We’re still waiting for Entergy to bring lines up to the area.” Tina Montavo works the call center here at Sam Houston. Another call comes in. “No ma’am, I don’t. Are you there? What is the name your service is under? As of today, it’s not. They’re working on the main feeder. They are still saying in the more damaged areas, it could be two or three more weeks.”

The call reps answering the phones at Sam Houston seem unusually calm and collected, but their jobs are getting a little more difficult. A few homes and businesses in the area are getting power restored and now everyone wants to know, “When will I get my power?”

Boyd Green greeted me in Lufkin, and we headed off to chase some crews working the storm. We didn’t have to go far. A pine tree fell between two back lot poles and with the help of all telecom and cable attachments, along with a little utility secondary, both poles came down.

Boyd arrived from the Dallas Ft. Worth area to help in the rebuilding efforts. He’s led storm efforts before, working Katrina in both Florida and in New Orleans.

On the road to a job site, Boyd told me that crews were mostly local having to come in from as far away as Midland, Texas. Crews from local contractors including Flowers, Chatman and Texas Electric were working the area.

Boyd put in some calls to the field while fielding others. Boyd managed to work the phone while working the tobacco between cheek and gum. Here is a sampling of the rapid fire conversation I picked up.

“Let me call Phillip. He sent me over here. Let me see what the name of this school is. It is Garrett Grade School. It’s not yours? Ok, then I got wrong information or misheard what he said.”

A few more calls and a few more turns and we found ourselves in a residential neighborhood where a big pine had fallen between two back lot power poles taking them both down.

Two Oncor crews were working together on this job. I was quite tickled to see an E Z Hauler 4100 located in the backyard. This is one slick device that is less than 36 inches wide and can be maneuvered in incredibly tight positions. We had done an article on what is essentially a backyard bucket truck before, but seeing one on the job site raises the goosebumps. Butch Douglas was in the bucket while Larry Mayfield was in hooks. They were working together on the same pole to put new primary and secondary up and to set the transformer. The smell of new creosote and the sound of a gas-powered drill bit brought back memories from my early days in the industry.



Over on the second pole Darryl Johnson was putting up insulators, tying on no. six copper, putting up triplex and nailing up the ground wire. Poetry in motion. I loved watching Darryl work.

I asked him how often he puts on his hooks. He said that sometimes he climbs two or three times a week, sometimes more. He had just come off a bucket job to do this pole job. Darryl has been a lineman for 11 years and by his countenance you could tell he loves what he does. The citizens of Lufkin love what he does too. Darryl told me “the customers have been real warm, thankful for what we’ve done.”

While the crews were putting the finishing touches on dressing out the poles, I went up to talk with the homeowners watching the work progress from their homes. I went up to the homeowner on her back porch and said, “I am writing about the power companies bringing your electricity back and want to know if you would ask a few questions.”

Not quite sure about me she said, “Maybe, maybe not!”

“How about if I ask a few questions and you don’t answer them if you don’t want to.”

So here is how the conversation went:

What’s your last name? “I’m not saying.”

How long have you been without power? “Since 7:00 Saturday morning.”

What was living through the storm like? “Not good. The big tree across the street fell down at 7:30 and it got really bad after that. I was totally scared to death.”

Would you like to meet Darryl, the lineman who is putting your power back on? “I’d love to.”

I quit taking notes right about here,but seeing the grin on Darryl’s face when Julie gave him a big hug was precious. Missing out I said, “Julie could you hug me like I’m your kin?” Now that was a hug!

As the power was being brought back on I asked Julie one last question:

Are you willing to tell me your last name? “It’s Wade.”

Photos:

Darryl Johnson ties in primary on new back lot pole.

I’m in love with you baby!

When I covered Katrina, the absolutely most frustrating thing wasn’t lack of ice or snoring men or muck and rain. It was the inability to get an internet connection to send my stories back. Now that was frustrating. I spent way too much of my time trying to talk someone into sending out my missives. I made do with a command center here and hotel there, a Starbucks here and a service center there, but it was a hassle, and I mean NOBODY would let me on their Intranets – I’m sure with good reason.

But now with Ike, I’m in love. The latest object of my affection is Bill Nelson, IT jockey extraordinaire. Bill is keeping up with three or four staging areas, and he comes and goes depending on the need. But he’s plopped me in the command center that has WIFI. I’m in love. Of course the love I’m describing is pure conditional love.

This command center is awesome - with WIFI, TV and phone connections. With a little prompting, like “Rick you need to turn your wireless card on” and “Rick, when using Yahoo Mail you can’t drop and click files, you need to attach them,” I am off and running, and I am determined to get all my blog bits out before I leave this center because I don’t know if I’ll run into heaven again.

With two satellites that combine to provide communications heaven, all sorts of work is going on in the command trailer.

Key cell numbers are up on the board:

-Anthony McMillan

-Skipper Hay

-Merrill Huckabee

-Skipper Hays

-Randy E

-Bill Nelson



TV screens are above one desk. I’ve managed to secure one workstation of the five here. Holly Maldonado and Elza Abzaletdinova are keeping time sheets while Phillip Hayes and Danny Rager are on the phone tracking progress, assigning circuits and re-deploying crews. This room can be an absolute beehive of activity and there are times when it goes eerily quiet. I feel the love here in a trailer parked so close to heaven.

Photos:

Phillip Hayes tracks progress and coordinates contractor resources.

Elza Abzadeltdinova (L) and Holly Maldonado keep up with crew hours.

One of two satellites that keeps communications humming.