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Doug Bechtel
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This summer I have been visiting the smaller non-ferry islands. Several years ago, there seemed to be many reasons for me to visit these islands, and I had a chance to get to most of them. I have not been to many of these islands in several years, so I am making a special effort to visit each one. I am finding the visits very illuminating. As with the ferry islands, each of our smaller islands has its own personality as well as its own issues and problems, and I am coming away from these visits with a far better appreciation for the issues facing each one.
Many of our smaller islands first received service nearly 30 years ago. The underground wires on these islands are reaching the end of their life, and it is time for us to start thinking about replacing them. For the most part, this means that the water and telephone systems were installed 30 years ago as well and are also approaching the need for replacement. By visiting these islands, we are able to talk about our future needs and hopefully be able to coordinate what we need to do with other efforts on these islands.
I am finding that people on the smaller islands are usually on a first name basis with the OPALCO linemen who service them when the need arises, and our linemen are far more likely to ask for and depend on assistance from these residents than happens on the larger islands. For the most part, those islands that I have visited have been very positive and supportive of OPALCO, but, in some ways, they feel like second cousins in the attention given to their problems.
On a more personal note, I really appreciate getting to meet the people on these islands as well as their efforts to accommodate our trips. In some cases, I have just knocked on the door, introduced myself and been invited in for coffee. In other cases, several people got together and we were able to chat in one social setting.
It is a different life for these people, and I have really grown to appreciate the challenges and the fun of living on a non-ferry island where going out for a quick bite to eat or to the grocery store is a major expedition. I have a real respect for the people on Obstruction Island who have 80 steps from the dock up to the beach and then have to carry their groceries up "Cardiac Hill". I got a new appreciation for the purpose of backpacks and large canvas tote bags that can be carried in each hand.
The sense of neighborhood on these smaller islands where the year round residents go out of their way to keep track of the homes of their absent neighbors leaves me with a sense of true caring. Too bad the rest of the world couldn't be like these smaller islands.
Doug Bechtel
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