Communities benefit from employees’ gift of time

An initiative launched by employees in customer operations and customer services in 2011 is making life better for the communities served by We Energies. Through the initiative – Create a Day of Service – employees have opportunities to volunteer their personal time for a variety of projects.

A team of employees from the Waukesha and Delafield service centers recently helped to build a Born Learning Trail in Nettesheim Park in Pewaukee. The trail helps make a visit to the park fun and informational. Adults and caregivers walking with children along the trail encounter stopping points that invite them to play a game of hopscotch, listen to sounds along the trail or identify butterflies, among other activities.

The employees dug holes for posts, painted the instructional signs and laid down crushed gravel for the pathway.

“We had fun working together,” said Patty Galante, manager-customer service, Waukesha Service Center, who co-organized the event. The work was completed over two work sessions by a group of 14 employees. The trail will be dedicated today.

Dedication details

Create a Day of Service activities are being planned at least quarterly, according to Karin Poznanski, executive assistant, Waukesha Service Center, event coordinator. Each service center has a volunteer activity coordinator who invites employees to suggest ways they and their co-workers can get involved in the communities they serve. In addition to hands-on work, service centers may sponsor collections for those who need help. A drive to collect items such as soap, toothpaste and socks for homeless men served by the Salvation Army currently is under way at the Waukesha and Delafield service centers.

The Create a Day of Service initiative has the potential to increase company visibility in the community, boost the company’s reputation and improve employee morale through teamwork, according to Galante, who is co-chairing the initiative with Paul DeWolfe, manager customer service – Winnebago Service Center. Nine additional customer operations employees serve on the steering committee.

Born Learning is a national campaign that helps parents, grandparents and caregivers explore ways to turn everyday moments into learning opportunities. Born Learning is a focus area of United Way of Waukesha County.

Peregrine falcon chick naming, banding concludes

On June 9, two peregrine falcon chicks were named and banded at Presque Isle Power Plant in Marquette, Mich. The chicks were named Felco and Superman, bringing to 15 the number of We Energies peregrine banded and named this season.

The first naming and banding of the season was at Valley Power Plant in Milwaukee. Rosie, Brady and Honor were the names that Cub Scouts from Rose Glen Elementary School in Waukesha gave to three peregrine falcons. The scouts were present for the banding session with wildlife expert Greg Septon on May 17. The scouts selected Rosie after their school, Brady, for one of the scouts, and Honor.

On May 21, the four chicks at Port Washington Generating Station were banded and named -- Dr. J, Peeta, Edna and Patricia.

News story in Port Washington/Saukville Patch

On May 24, fifth grade students from Deerfield Elementary School in Oak Creek got to visit and name the peregrine falcons that recently hatched at our Oak Creek Power Plant. The students named the three male chicks Hawkeye, Lightning and Tony, which was chosen at the last minute when they decided to name one of the chicks after reporter Tony Clark who was covering the event for Fox 6 News’ Real Milwaukee show. Clark's story aired May 29 at 9 a.m. WISN-TV also covered the Oak Creek banding.

Fox6 Real Milwaukee video

Slide show on WISN.com

On May 29, a fifth grade class from Pleasant Prairie Elementary School attended the banding as part of a class field trip. Students also got to choose names for the chicks, all males: Rico, Lightning and Sky.

The chicks at Pleasant Prairie have attracted quite a following on our website. School groups from as far away as California have been monitoring the nesting activity, thanks to the live video stream from the nesting box webcam.

Peregrine population continues comeback with help of our power plant nest boxes

Photo courtesy of Greg Septon.

Peregrine falcons became an endangered species in many areas of the United States, including Wisconsin and Michigan, because of pesticides, but since the ban on DDT in the early 1970s, populations are recovering.

Known for their speed, reaching more than 200 mph during high-speed dives, peregrines are the fastest animals in the world. Their diet is almost entirely small to medium-sized birds. Peregrines typically mate for life and nest on cliff edges and tall structures, such as the nest boxes installed at our power plants.

We installed our first nest box at Pleasant Prairie Power Plant in Kenosha County, Wis., in 1992, when 15 captive-produced falcons were released. Our first successful clutch of eggs was produced at the Pleasant Prairie site in 1997. Successes soon followed at our other sites: Oak Creek (1998), Port Washington (2000), Milwaukee (2002) and Presque Isle, Mich., (2011). We also have a nest box at a plant in Wauwatosa that has had activity but not yet produced a clutch.

All the boxes were built by our own staff or contractors. Maintenance is handled by local falcon expert Greg Septon. He visits each site in the fall to clean the boxes and replace the gravel nesting substrate.

“We got involved early in the recovery program when potential sites were needed to release falcons,” according to Mike Grisar, senior consultant in our environmental department. “We were hoping that the falcons would survive and return to the nest sites.”

Grisar says that most of the best artificial nest sites are those located on tall structures along Lake Michigan or major rivers, which makes many of our power plants ideal locations for peregrines.

While peregrine falcons have been delisted as an endangered species in the United States, they remain listed as a state endangered species. The nest boxes remain a critical component to ongoing support of peregrine populations. In 2011, only six of 32 known nest sites were found on natural cliff nests – and two of those had nest boxes. Without the next boxes on structures, peregrines would have little opportunity to reproduce.

For nearly a decade, we have had cameras monitoring activity in our nest boxes, and we recently added live streaming video and upgraded several cameras.

“The new cameras help us remotely view the band numbers on the falcons and watch the activity and development,” says Grisar. “Previously, Greg [Septon] had to visit sites numerous times to get this information.”

We share hourly images of all our nest boxes along with the streaming video from Pleasant Prairie on our website.

Peregrine falcon webcams

Since 1997, our sites have produced 169 peregrine falcons, which is about 20 percent of the entire peregrine population produced in the wild in Wisconsin since their reintroduction. In addition, some of our falcons have been observed in neighboring states, helping to sustain and grow peregrine populations in those locations.

Vacationing employee at right place, right time to assist after natural gas explosion

Mark Lochner, one of our senior safety consultants who works out of our Marshfield Gas Office, was visiting his sister in Waukee, Iowa, near Des Moines, when an explosion on May 22 caused the house across the street to lift off its foundation and burst into flames.

Before emergency rescue crews could respond, Lochner ran to his sister’s garage, grabbed a crescent wrench and cut off the natural gas supply at the meter. His quick response reduced the risk of further explosions or a larger fire. Lochner's decisive action allowed police to enter the building and rescue an elderly woman and her dog.

News coverage from TV13 Des Moines 

Forestry workers rescue, relocate owls

Sometimes solutions to problems aren't what you expect. Such was the case recently when the Wildlife in Need Center (WINC) of Oconomowoc contacted us for help.

WINC needed help getting to a great horned owl's nest in a tall oak tree in New Berlin. A wind storm blew one of two owlets (baby owls) out of the nest, and some of the nest came down with the bird.

The homeowners noticed the owlet on the ground and called WINC. WINC looked into placing the owlet back into the nest, but it was too difficult for their volunteers to climb the tree. WINC staff wanted to move the nest and the pair of owlets to a lower height so they could monitor the fallen owlet’s progress and reunite it with its sibling.

At first, a bucket truck was thought to be the answer for the rescue, and WINC gave us a call. However, when our operations supervisor from Delafield Service Center visited the site, the supervisor knew immediately that a heavy bucket truck would break up the aging asphalt driveway due to the wet conditions and softened soil beneath the surface. So, forestry crews stepped in. Two employees from Asplundh, our forestry contractor, climbed the tree and installed a new wicker laundry basket, held in place with bungee cords. They placed both owlets in the nest for the adult owls to raise.

“It’s great to have help in cases like these that are unsafe for our staff to free climb,” said Mandy Feavel, wildlife rehabilitator at WINC.

And we were glad to help.

Phantom energy users proliferate

Nearly everyone has more appliances, more rechargers and more electronics than ever. That means more phantom energy users. About 10 percent of your power use could be attributed to things you aren’t using.

The average home has about 40 phantom energy users: TVs, stereos, modems, sound bars, DVD players, game consoles, satellite dishes, cable boxes, automatic coffee makers and more. And then there are chargers used for shavers, laptops, tablets, cameras, cell phones, cordless power tools, digital music players and more. Even when not charging anything, they continue to use power when plugged in.

To save power (and money), you should unplug the devices or control them with a power strip or timer. Controlling the power to such devices could save the equivalent of a month of free electricity each year.

You can find the primary phantom users by plugging an appliance or device into an energy monitor. Search online or check local hardware stores to find models starting as low as $25. You plug the monitor between a device and outlet to check the reading for energy use when the device is “off.”

Remember that all appliances and electronics with remote control use standby power to receive commands from the remote. Others use standby power to keep programming and settings in place and provide “instant” on. But the convenience comes at a price. As a consumer, you need to decide if it’s worth it.

If you want to get rid of phantom energy users, locate and control them.

More money-saving tips

Veterans return from Honor Flight sponsored by Wisconsin Energy Foundation

Every Stars and Stripes Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., for World War II veterans is special for those who get to visit their memorial. The flight on April 28 for 112 veterans also was special for our company because it was sponsored by the Wisconsin Energy Foundation and attended by two of our executives.

The executives, who were privileged to join the flight as guardians, were Kevin Fletcher, senior vice president – customer operations, and Charles Matthews, senior vice president – wholesale energy and fuels. 

Matthews described the veterans this way: “Sacrifice. Being surrounded by these veterans and hearing their firsthand accounts of where they served, you fully understand what those guys gave during the war. Throughout the day, you could see the memories on their faces.”

Honor Flight participants included, left to right,
Kevin Fletcher; Harvey Kurz, WWII veteran
and retired employee of Wisconsin Gas Co.;
and Charles Matthews.

Fletcher agreed: “Bob Cutter, a 92-year-old Marine, told me that this was the most memorable day of his life. The most impressive sight for me that day was when these veterans would shake hands with younger people who had lined the aisles in airports and at the memorials. They were keeping the memory alive through this contact. As a relatively new employee of We Energies, I am extremely proud of my company. It was an honor to participate.”

Matthews and Fletcher both said that during orientation to serve as a guardian, they were told to expect to hear stories from the veterans – stories that the veterans had never shared with their families. They heard stories of brave men who were in their late teens or early 20s engaged in conflict and dealing with the aftermath of battles. 

Wisconsin Energy Foundation has been a Stars and Stripes Honor Flight sponsor from the beginning. Looking ahead, the foundation is sponsoring the Field of Honor event Aug. 11 at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Highlights of the event include:

• The Pillars of Honor. This display is the architect’s model that was crafted for the WWII memorial in Washington, D.C. The model is headed to the Smithsonian after it visits Milwaukee.

• Honor Flight documentary. The premiere of a documentary about the Stars and Stripes Honor Flights will be shown on the stadium video scoreboard.

The public is invited to attend The Field of Honor: A Salute to the Greatest Generation. Tickets are $11 (plus a service charge) and may be purchased through the Milwaukee Brewers website, which also includes a schedule of events for the day. Proceeds support future Honor Flights. So far, more than 1,900 veterans from southeast Wisconsin have participated in the program since it began in 2008. The next flight is scheduled June 2.