your electrical connection - newton power station · pdf filetator mezzanine. with all of the...

Your Electrical Connection

November, 2015

Volume 13, Issue 11

Inside this issue:

Scrubber Update(continued)

2

Roger’s World 3

Jasper CountyHomefront

4

Welcome Back Retir-ees (continued)

6

Wellness Corner 8

Upcoming Events 8

December Birthdays 8

Congratulations 3

Lunch & Learn 7

Welcome Back Retir-ees

5

Safety Highlights 4

Number of Days Since Last...

First Aid 70

Recordable 31

Lost Time 297

· Numbers based onNovember 18, 2015.

Safety Stats:

Scrubber Update…Mike Walker

Construction continues on the Newton scrubber project with safety always in the forefront of anyactivities. In my last scrubber project update we had begun the excavation and installation of themake-up water line from the FGD site to the plant’s screen house. The line was completed to apoint west of the intake structure and south of the railroad tracks. At that point, the make-up wa-ter line will run above ground to the three new FGD make-up water pumps. In addition to themake-up water line installation, electrical work was started at the screen house. The new electri-cal equipment will be needed to power the three new MU (make-up) water pumps. Undergroundelectrical duct banks were installed along with concrete equipment pads. Arriving in the month ofSeptember were the transformers, switchgear, and transfer switch…all part of the make-up watersystem.

Electrical duct banks for newFGD make-up water pumps atscreen house.

New electrical equipment to pow-er the FGD make-up waterpumps.

Your Electrical Connection Volume 13, Issue 11

Scrubber Update (continued)

Project construction took place at several areas since the last update…one of those locations was inside the new FGD stack.Housed on the ground floor of the FGD chimney are the air compressors which will supply both instrumentation and processair to the many devices located throughout the project. The project’s pipefitters continue to make excellent progress through-out the site.

Ground floor of FGD chimney...air compres-sors have been set in place. Instrumentationand process air piping has started.

Another major component of the entire Newton scrubber project is the electrical system. Arriving in the month of October werethe two 345KV circuit breakers which will provide power to the FGD transformers and switchgear. These two circuit breakerswill eventually be tied back to the Newton switchyard. Tie-in is currently scheduled to take place during the next Newton Unit 2outage.

New FGD 345KV circuit breakers will connectback to the Newton switchyard.


Roger’s World...Roger Bass

even upsetting, but that happens no matter where you go.This power plant has provided a good living for my family. Iwas able to put both of my kids through college thanks inpart to my employment here. I have made many friendsworking at this power plant. Some moved on to differentjobs within the company and some left to pursue other en-deavors. Several have retired and a few have passed on,but we had good times here. There are good people here.The station recently had a luncheon for the retirees. Therewere around 50 that attended. I think every one of themcould say the same thing about this place. It was good tosee them and I hope the tradition continues. There is a web-site for retirees. Check out:www.newtonpowerstationretirees.com/Even during my summer adventure, I met and worked withsome really nice people and I am thankful for that. I probablywould not have met them if it wasn’t for this place. Thingshappen throughout life and you just have to make the best ofit. There are people here now that make this a fun place towork. I won’t mention names, but you know who you are.When I think about it, I shouldn’t just be thankful this time ofyear, I should be thankful every day for what I have in familyand friends.Till next time, please be safe.

Another year is coming to a close. It is the given time ofyear to count our blessings and be thankful for what wehave. We all know about the pilgrims and the first thanks-giving. All the men had the hats with the fancy buckles onthem. As it turns out, buckles didn’t come into fashion untilseveral years later. And from what I have read, the pilgrimscouldn’t even afford buckles on their belts. They used lac-es to hold their pants up.In September of 1789, a congressman from New Jerseyintroduced a resolution to request George Washington torecommend a public day of thanksgiving and prayer. Evenback in those days, congress couldn’t totally agree on any-thing. The resolution did pass and on October 3rd 1789George Washington proclaimed November 26 as the day ofthanksgiving and prayer.President Abraham Lincoln ordered all government depart-ments be closed on November 28th 1861 for a local day ofthanksgiving. Then on October 3rd 1863, Lincoln pro-claimed the last Thursday in the month of November a dayof thanksgiving and praise. Even during the middle of thecivil war, Lincoln still wanted people to be thankful for whatthey had and think of those that had lost family and friendsduring the war. That proclamation led to the holiday as weknow it today.I will end my history lesson for this month because Ithought I would mention a couple of things I am thankfulfor. In April of next year I will have been gainfully employedat this power station for 40 years; except for about 3months in 1993 which I now refer to as my summer adven-ture. There have been times that things were frustrating or

CONGRATULATIONS

Nathan Richardson completed his apprenticeship andbecame a Journeyman Welder Repairman

Lucas Emmerich became an OAAllison Rausch became an AOCorey Rauch became an OH


The Newton Power Station Safety Committee met on Novem-ber 4, for our regular monthly meeting. There were severalitems that were discussed that I want to make sure everyoneis aware of. The first is the ability to get material to the precipi-tator mezzanine. With all of the work being completed on theprecipitator power supplies, getting material up and down fromthis level has become a concern. Maintenance is working withEngineering to install davit arms and a hoist to be able to liftmaterial up and bring material down in a safe manner. Thesecond item discussed on the precipitator power supplies wasthe fact that these power supplies use ethylene glycol, com-mon anti-freeze, as a coolant. This material is toxic and aneye irritant. Doc Holliday asked if the supplier of the powersupplies would accept the use of a less toxic chemical anti-freeze, propylene glycol, in this application. Jim Marshall hasmentioned this to Stock, the company that supplied the powersupplies, and they have approved this change. Plans are be-ing made to change the existing coolant to propylene glycol inthe future.As we know, with the 1C mill out of service, the walkway inthat area has been changed and the routing is a challenge.There was a suggestion to hard pipe the turbine oil purifier inthis area and this will be completed in the future to remove thehoses from this area.Kent Schafer mentioned again that those of us who have au-tomatic head lights to make sure we turn on our lights when itis foggy. I have noticed that on my truck, the lights will go out

Safety Highlights...David Heath

when I come to a clear spot and may or may not comeback on when I reenter an area where the fog is thick. It isimportant to keep your headlights on when it is foggy tomake your vehicle as visible as possible under these con-ditions.Finally, it is time to start thinking about winter. Here we arenearing the middle of November and the ice and snow willbe here soon. Make sure your vehicle is ready for winterand make sure you leave yourself extra time to get towork. Also, make sure you slow down as you walk on po-tentially slick surfaces, as we all know slips and falls comewhen we least expect them. If you see ice on a walkway,make sure to apply salt to remove the ice, also make sureyour walkways at home are clear so nothing unexpectedhappens.The monthly safety slogan is, “Your Safety is Everyone’sResponsibility – Especially Yours.” Make sure you observeyour co-workers and let them know if they are puttingthemselves in harms way. Make sure you are conscious ofwhat you are doing so you can do your tasks safely; notonly at work but also at home.Newton Power Station has a good safety record thanks tothe efforts of all of us here. With our continued emphasison working safely every moment of everyday we can makesure we all go home in the same condition we came towork in.

Jasper County Homefront...Julie Matson

Q-tipsKleenexPuzzle booksMagazinesCanned fruitEye dropsIndividual wet wipesFacial cleansing clothsShoe insolesChapstick

This group meets the third Thursday of each month atThe American Legion in Newton.

Jasper County Homefront was the group chosen to collect mon-ey and items for this year. Please turn in items and/or monetarydonations by 3pm, Thursday, November 19, as this is the datethe group will meet to put together packages.This organization sends care packages on a monthly basis toour military men and women who are serving overseas. Theyalso send packages at Christmas to all local military not onlyserving overseas; but also to those who are stationed in theUnited States or who are serving in The Guard and Reserves.Money collected will be used to help cover the costs of postageand also allow them to purchase items that are sent out on amonthly basis.Here is a list of items they have requested:Single serving tea bagsCoffee bagsHot chocolateSlim JimsJerky


On Tuesday, November 3, NPS hosted a luncheon in honor of our retirees. We had a GREAT turn out and a great day of visit-ing with old friends!

Keith Strader won a price for being retired the longest (20 years) Randy Johnson for being retired the shortest amount of time(4 months), George Rice for working the longest (41 years), Charlie Kirby for driving the furthest to attend (Litchfield, IL) andPlant Engineer, Jim Grunloh, won the grand prize for guessing the combined number of service years of the retirees attending.Jim guessed 1,525 years and the answer was 1,526 years.

A great day was had by all!

Welcome Back Retirees...Twyla Harvey

L-R: Standing up—Retirees Mike Mugrage, Maintenance Supervisor,Rick Cochran, Planning Supervisor, seated, Scott Laugel, Shift Supervi-sor, across the table David Ash, Shift Supervisor, Dick Baltzell, Opera-tions Coordinator, Jim Napier, Shift Supervisor, and Jim Heflin, HumanResources.

L-R: David Ash, Shift Supervisor,George Rice, Unit Operator, JimHackett, I & E Coordinator, and HarryHopkins, I & E Computer Technician.

L-R: Tom Carr, Instrument Man, and BillMulvey, WTO.

L-R: Mark Coad, I & E Technician, Leroy Brooks, Janitor, andJack Brown, I & E Technician.


Welcome Back Retirees (continued)

L-R—on the floor: Rick Cochran, Harry Hopkins, Mark Coad; Second Row: Glenda Bunton, Tom Carr, Randall Weck,Albert Fitzmaurice, Larry Winterowd, Mike Guldenzopf, Leroy Brooks, George Roth, Lindell Wenthe, Tom Hemrich,Dan Quick; Third Row: Mike Hall, Randy Johnson, Paul Cummins, Jim Heflin, Larry (Frog) Collins, Jim Napier, JimHackett, Bruce Hill, David Ash, Jack Brown, Larry Galloway, Keith Strader, Loretta Maddox, Len Meinhart, Cecil Piper,Ron Maxon; Back Row: Steve Fear, Bill Williams, Bill Mulvey, Gene Ochs, Ed Minor, Fred Miller, Scott Laugel, GeorgeRice, Roger (Boomer) Bowen, Dick Baltzell, Kenny Tate, Glen Glapp, Bob Gunn, Mike Mugrage, Dale Davidson, TimAddis, Dan Ritz and Charlie Kirby.


First Lunch & Learn: Did you drinkthe green kool-aid?

If you did, we hope the only adverse reaction you hadwas only a mild intestinal cleansing. Our goal as agroup is to bring different points of views on health relat-ed issues and help keep our work force healthy. Sometopics may be outside the box thinking but hope all willtake away something useful.

Lunch and Learn...Wellness Committee

Our second Lunch and Learn was held November 17, withMichelle Smith as our speaker. Michelle is a Health Edu-cator at the Wellness Center at Sarah Bush Hospital.Michelle talked about Mindful Eating and eating throughthe holidays.Some of the tips she suggested we try at home are:

· Always try to sit down at a table to eat.· Before you sit, clear any clutter that may be on the

table.· Set a place for yourself even if you are eating alone.· Use tableware and utensils that appeal to you.· Eat slowly and chew every bite.· Try to minimize multitasking while eating.

Hopefully everyone took away some helpful hints from herpresentation.

L-R—Speakers: Todd Hoagland, D.C., Hunter Hout, D.C.,Dennis Hout (Hunter’s father) and host of our first Lunchand Learn, Dean Edrington, I & E Computer Tech.

L-R: Speaker, Michelle Smith and hostof our Lunch and Learn, Twyla Harvey,Payroll Clerk.


* Any omissions in this section areentirely unintentional.

12/3 Bob Rohr12/16 Brian Reich12/16 Steve Fox12/18 Randy Ebeling12/24 Chris Collins12/29 Shannon Baker12/31 Kirk Hutchings

Upcoming Events December Birthdays & Anniversaries

Nov. 24 Going Away Party for Paul Hardiek

Nov. 25 Quarterly Business ReviewNov. 26 ThanksgivingDec. 11 Blood DriveDec. 17 Christmas Lunch

Wellness Corner

Oh Christmas Treats, Oh Christmas Treats, how tasty you can be!

Oh Christmas Treats, Oh Christmas Treats, please don’t add 10 pounds to me!If you were at our Lunch and Learn this week, you heard about the “No Gain December” challenge; and, for those that werenot able to attend I want to tell you about it.

The Wellness Committee is putting a challenge out for all NPS employees to not gain any weight during the month of Decem-ber. For anyone that wants to participate, go see Jenny (our plant nurse) between now and the end of the month and she willweigh you and enter your weight on a spreadsheet (for her eyes only) and then you have her weigh you again between Janu-ary 1 and January 7 and she will calculate the difference. The goal is for there not to be a difference.

In case you need an incentive other than your health, Dean Edrington has negotiated a deal with Garmin to be able to pur-chase the ViVoFit 2 for $60.00 and the ViVoSmart HR for $105.00. If you do not gain any weight during the month of Decem-ber, the plant will pay $30.00 towards either the ViVoFit 2 or the ViVoSmart HR. If you gain between 1-5 pounds, the plant willpay $20.00 towards either. If you gain more than 5 pounds, no harm and no one is going to embarrass you or know anythingabout it; at least you participated and tried. Anyone will be able to buy either of these ViVo Fits for the $60.00 or the $105.00even if you don’t participate in the challenge.

If you have any questions about the challenge, talk to Dean, Julie or myself (Twyla). If you have any questions about the ViVoFit 2 or ViVoSmart HR, talk to Dean.

Come join the fun and be a part of “No Gain December”. Remember to see Jenny before December 1.

Your safety is everyone’s responsibility—especially yours!

12/1 35 Yrs. Hal Stansfield12/20 5 Yrs. Jim Grunloh

your electrical connection - newton power station · pdf filetator mezzanine. with all of the...

Documents