News Archive

Prairie Central High School students have been visiting some fascinating places: cemeteries! Andrew Quain, a teacher at PCHS and his human geography classes are involved in a cemetery mapping project to provide future generations with a database of gravestones that can be accessed online and provide valuable information that serves as a way to honor those who are gone, so they won’t be forgotten. Quain was awarded an Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative 2018 Empowering Education Grant and he has used his grant funding to purchase supplies to continue the cemetery mapping that he began in the fall of 2015. Quain strives to meet classroom education standards. In his human geography classes, that entails having students collect data and upload the information into interactive online cemetery maps. The maps let people search for a location and information about the graves in any of the eight cemeteries they’ve mapped so far. The students have entered data for almost 15,000 gravestones and have plans to continue to map all 21 cemeteries located in the Prairie Central school district. Their mapping includes geographic analysis and research about the individuals buried in the cemetery. The students use GPS devices to digitally plot the location of the gravestones by using waypoints that automatically upload to the maps. The students really get into the mapping and are extremely engaged while researching the gravestones. They begin by looking for a name, determining the date of birth and death, figuring out if the gravestone is part of a family plot, and if they were a veteran who served in the military. From there they question the cause of death and observe inscriptions on the gravestones that denote beliefs, social class, occupation and other aspects of the life of the deceased. The students are extremely respectful of the cemetery and reverent towards the gravestones. They often adjust memorabilia placed at the gravestone by loved ones that has been blown over by the wind. They brush off the grass clippings that cover the site from the last time the lawn mower passed by and they straighten the military insignia that adorns the area. As a supplemental project related to cemetery mapping, Quain and his students identify veterans’ graves that are damaged. They are doing additional research regarding the veterans’ graves and making arrangements to replace the damaged gravestones with historically accurate new stones. Some of the students have found graves of family members. The student’s research has encouraged them to ask questions of their parents and grandparents regarding their family history to discover details about past generations. There’s a long-standing assumption that cemeteries are creepy and depressing places, but geography students at PCHS have a very different perspective. They see them as outdoor museums that provide a wealth of information about the past that can be shared with future generations and appreciated by members of the community. The ultimate goal of cemetery mapping is to preserve the history of the area and share it with generations to come. For more information visit http://www.prairiecentral.org/highschool/geography-class-cemetery-proje….

Success of any electric cooperative has a lot to do with a board of directors with a desire to do what is in the best interest of members and the entire co-op. Since 1992, Harold Loy has served as a member of the Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative Board of Directors. For 27 years, Harold has provided leadership to the cooperative. He has decided not to seek re-election at the 2019 Annual Meeting of members on June 6, 2019. Eastern Illini’s President/CEO Bob Hunzinger noted, “We are extremely grateful for Harold’s service on Eastern Illini’s Board of Directors. His contributions have been a great asset for all of the members of the cooperative.” Harold is from Beaverville in directorate district 1, which includes the townships of Milks Grove, Chebanse, Papineau, Beaverville, Ashkum, Martinton, and Beaver in northern Iroquois County. Harold graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture. He received the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Professional Directors Certificate in 1998 and became a NRECA Credentialed Cooperative Director in 1999. He received the NRECA Board of Leadership Certificate in 2009. Harold and his wife, Nancy, operated a grain and livestock farm and have been very involved in agriculture over the years, especially the Donovan Farmers Cooperative Elevator. Harold will complete his term as a member of the Eastern Illini board of directors which will expire in June. At that time a new directorate of district 1 will be elected. Interested candidates need to live in directorate district 1 and submit a nominating petition 60 days prior to the 2019 Annual Meeting. One of the many benefits of receiving electric service from EIEC is that the cooperative is governed by a board of directors who are members. There are nine members of the board of directors representing nine areas in the 10-county EIEC territory. Each year, three of the nine directors are elected to the board during the annual meeting. The 2019 EIEC Annual Meeting will be held June 6 at the Paxton Buckley Loda Junior/Senior High School. The board of directors is responsible for guiding how the cooperative’s money and assets are used to fulfill the co-op’s mission. They do so in such a way that protects the cooperative and the interests of all members. A member of the board of directors has five principal functions: legal, trusteeship, planning, resource management, and compliance. To be eligible to serve as a director, the person who is applying must be a member of the cooperative and their primary residence needs to be in the board district that is up for election. Candidates submit a nominating petition that includes collecting at least 25 signatures of other members. Nominating petitions will be available from the cooperative in the Spring. The applicant then returns the nominating petition to the cooperative not less than sixty days prior to the Annual Meeting. For more information about running for the Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative Board of Directors, feel free to call us at 800.824.5102.

Many of us have seen the movies Hunt for Red October and Crimson Tide, and other submarine films, but very few of us can say we’ve lived in a submarine. Eastern Illini electrical engineer, Paul Crutcher, spent six years in the Navy and he lived aboard the USS Charlotte, a 360-foot-long, 6,900-ton submarine. Paul was a nuclear field electrician who managed electrical aspects of the nuclear power plant on the USS Charlotte. His stint in the Navy had him stationed for most of the time in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Paul is from Fairbury, Illinois and graduated from Prairie Central High School. He joined the Navy right out of high school and followed in the footsteps of many family members who served in the military. After serving in the Navy, Paul graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in electrical engineering. These days, Paul spends his time as an electrical engineer for EIEC. He joined the cooperative in June of 2018 after spending seven years working for Ameren. Paul uses his technical abilities to enhance and maintain a well-designed, soundly constructed and reliable electrical system for EIEC members. He is responsible for overseeing long and short-range distribution system planning, design, inspection and reliability. Paul has oversight of the engineering services department personnel, managing mapping and system engineering software operations, and analyzing opportunities and new technology to improve overall system reliability and operations. Paul reports to Brad Smith, Vice President of Operations and Engineering and together they work to enhance and improve the electrical infrastructure of 4,500 miles of line in a ten-county service territory. Safe and reliable electricity 24/7 is the mantra in the operations and engineering department of Eastern Illini. Paul also works with Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and smart grid efficiencies including prioritization of electrical system improvements. He is just finishing updating an electronic mapping system that interacts with the technology used by linemen and servicemen and provides accurate, robust, and easy to use data that enhances the ability to predict outages. The electronic mapping data is updated monthly to keep information current. In his role at EIEC, Paul is involved in renewable energy. He works with policies, procedures, and processes regarding solar installations. He assists with savings estimations, service quality assurance, and third party installation crews. Paul really likes the hands-on aspects of his position and enjoys the ability to make a difference with members. He always strives to make a positive impact on their interaction with the engineering department. Paul and his wife, Rachel, reside in Paxton and have three children: Timothy, age 4; Joseph, age 2; and Lori, age 10 months.