News
Swisher Electric Crew Recognized for Life-Saving Awareness
Two linemen from Swisher Electric Cooperative were recognized
on November 7th for their life-saving awareness and the
assistance they provided regarding an auto accident they came
upon earlier this year. The reward, a national award of
recognition administered by participating local Touchstone
Energy Cooperatives, is called the Touchstone Energy Power and
Hope award. It was presented to SEC crew chief Santos Basaldua
and lineman Joe McDowell by SEC general manager Charles
Castleberry for the assistance they provided to Glenda
Birkenfeld on March 31st of this year.
On that day, Basaldua and McDowell were east of Tulia, traveling south on FM 1424 south of Lakeview Gin when they came upon a piece of angle iron in the middle of the road. Realizing the potential danger this posed to motorists, they turned their service truck around to retrieve it. In retrieving the angle iron, they noticed a suburban in the middle of some CRP, some 200-250 off the road. They hadn't given much thought to it at first because it's not unusual to see vehicles in CRP. Upon having turned around, they were looking at the Suburban from a slightly rear angle and McDowell mentioned to Basaldua that something didn't seem right, because the emergency flashers were on. Rather than driving through the CRP and potentially starting a fire witht heir vehicle, they got their binoculars out to get a better look. That's when they decided they needed to investigate further.
Glenda Birkenfeld was inside the vehicle, bleeding badly from a nasty cut to her face. She was disoriented, with a possible concussion, and wasn’t aware of her surroundings or what had happened. A large piece of steel, approximately two feet long, eight inches wide, and three-quarters of an inch thick, had come flying through the vehicle’s windshield like an arrow, bending the steering wheel, tearing up dash and ripping the electronics out of the dash, striking Mrs. Birkenfeld in the face, and slashing a gash in the headliner before coming to rest in the storage pocket of the driver’s door – almost as if someone had placed it there. Before going through the windshield, the steel had also sliced a long hole through the hood of the Suburban. The Swisher Electic crew called SEC line superintendent Kenny McCaslin and told him to call 911 while they stayed with Mrs. Birkenfeld until emergency help arrived.
Mrs. Birkenfeld still doesn’t remember anything about the accident. The last thing she remembers was being at the grocery store in Plainview getting some groceries. The next thing she remembers is waking up in the emergency room, not knowing how or why she was there.
At the awards presentation, Swisher County Sheriff Larry Stewart praised Basaldua and McDowell for their actions. He noted it’s all too easy to go on in situations like this, not stopping to pick-up a road hazard, and not checking something out that looks out of the ordinary. “We’ve all done it,” Stewart said, adding “we’re all busy and have our own schedules.” Choking up with emotion, Mrs. Birkenfeld thanked Basaldua and McDowell for their actions, giving them each a big hug.
SEC safety coordinator Zac Perkins described how and why the Touchstone Energy Power and Hope award came about. He said it is designed to recognize employees who go above and beyond to help their fellow employees, cooperative members, or fellow cooperatives when major challenges or events arise. Perkins said, “This is an excellent example of the dedication we have for our members and our members’ safety. They (Basaldua and McDowell) have provided an excellent example of our dedication to safety.”
Manager Castleberry concluded the awards recognition by giving each employee a custom-made pocket knife with the Power and Hope logo and personalized with each employee’s initials. He said he wanted each employee to feel like they were part of the program and hoped the knife served to remind them of the program’s ideals.