Generator—Summer 2022
In this edition: A Californian retraces Horatio's Drive and the Lincoln Highway in a 1964 Volkswagon Bus converted to run on electricity; an underwater inspection at the Monroe Powerhouse; summer safety tips; and more.
In this edition: A Californian retraces Horatio's Drive and the Lincoln Highway in a 1964 Volkswagon Bus converted to run on electricity; an underwater inspection at the Monroe Powerhouse; summer safety tips; and more.
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employee notes<br />
ZACH REICKS<br />
Meter, Relay & Equipment Technician<br />
Zach Reicks of Columbus<br />
joined Loup in<br />
2007 as an Apprentice<br />
Lineman in Columbus.<br />
Later that year he was<br />
promoted to Lineman.<br />
In 2011, he was promoted<br />
to Journeyman<br />
Lineman and transferred<br />
to Meter, Relay<br />
and Equipment Technician<br />
in 2019.<br />
In this role, Reicks is part of the team that<br />
is responsible for installation and maintenance<br />
of substation power equipment for<br />
the District. He operates the load control<br />
program, is the Supervisory Control and<br />
Data Acquisition (SCADA) administrator,<br />
and assists with metering.<br />
Reicks is a graduate of Lakeview High<br />
School and has an Associate of Applied<br />
Science Degree in Utility Line from Northeast<br />
Community College in Norfolk.<br />
He and his wife, Ashley, are the parents<br />
of three children: Leyton,<br />
Camden, and Lily.<br />
JARED HOEFELMAN<br />
Journey Line Technician<br />
Jared Hoefelman<br />
joined Loup in 2012<br />
as a Line Technician<br />
at Humphrey.<br />
He was promoted<br />
to Journey Line<br />
Technician in 2015.<br />
Hoefelman is member<br />
of the crew that<br />
is responsible for<br />
the construction,<br />
operation, and<br />
maintenance of electric transmission and<br />
distribution systems and substations in<br />
the Humphrey area.<br />
15 YEARS 10 YEARS<br />
He is a graduate of Lakeview High School<br />
and earned an Associate of Applied<br />
Science Degree in Utility Line from Northeast<br />
Community College.<br />
He also holds an Associate of Applied<br />
Science Degree in Electrical & Electromechanical<br />
Technology from Southeast<br />
Community College.<br />
Jared and his wife, Molly, have two<br />
daughters, Emryn and Calla.<br />
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Retiree Profile<br />
GARY<br />
PEARSON<br />
Gary Pearson doesn’t have time to be<br />
bored.<br />
He’s quick to answer when asked what’s<br />
keeping him so busy.<br />
“About 15 years of neglect on projects,” he<br />
replies with a grin.<br />
The Loup retiree has a long list to catch<br />
up on. He has a small acreage on the north<br />
side of Genoa and a farm he shares with his<br />
sister.<br />
He also has antique shops to visit. Not to<br />
mention trying to keep up with all the activities<br />
of his seven grandchildren.<br />
Even so, Pearson said he misses the<br />
Genoa Headworks — a second home for<br />
almost 36 years.<br />
* * *<br />
Pearson was building houses for the<br />
Genoa Lumberyard when the market tanked<br />
in the early 1980s and he was laid off after 10<br />
years. He went on to Lindsay Manufacturing.<br />
He worked there less than a year when he<br />
decided to apply for an opening at the Genoa<br />
Headworks.<br />
“And I’m so glad I did,” he said.<br />
Pearson got the job as Maintenance Man<br />
in 1983. He was promoted to Equipment<br />
Operator in 1986, and became Dredge Operator<br />
in 1990. He was promoted to Headworks<br />
Supervisor in 1997. He stayed in that position<br />
until his retirement in November 2018.<br />
He had a great team of coworkers and<br />
supervisors in his early years who took the<br />
time to teach him about the Headworks, the<br />
canal, the sand, the ice. They taught him<br />
how to read the river and adjust the gates<br />
accordingly.<br />
“Attention to detail meant everything to<br />
those guys,” he said.<br />
Pearson took those details to heart and it<br />
didn’t take long for him to realize that he did<br />
not want to leave the job.<br />
Working outside was one of the top<br />
job perks. “There could be some wicked<br />
weather, but there’s something about it. It<br />
was the perfect fit for me,” Pearson said. “I<br />
could see that this was going to be the last<br />
place I worked.”<br />
There were definitely challenges on the<br />
job, too, and he enjoyed finding solutions.<br />
“Everyday was a new challenge,” Pearson<br />
said. “But it got to the point where you just<br />
swept the challenges away and kept on<br />
going.”<br />
One of the biggest trials he faced may<br />
Above: Gary Pearson at his home in Genoa. Pearson worked at the Genoa Headworks for<br />
more than 35 years before retiring in 2018.<br />
Bottom left: Pearson works on the Pawnee dredge floating line ball joint in 1996.<br />
Bottom right: Pearson prepares for installation of a new rotating ball joint 90 in 1994.<br />
have been learning to use the computer.<br />
“It was challenging,” he said, but he soon<br />
began to enjoy it.<br />
* * *<br />
Even though he loved his job, Pearson<br />
knew it was time to retire and attack his<br />
to-do list at home.<br />
He and his wife, Betty, quickly realized<br />
how great retirement could be.<br />
“We do a lot together and we can just pick<br />
up and go,” she said.<br />
That freedom was put on hold just over a<br />
year later when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.<br />
But things are slowly getting back to normal.<br />
They can go to their grandchildren’s activities<br />
again. Shops are open. Travel is easier.<br />
One thing that’s not on his list is watching<br />
television — at least not anything from the<br />
last 50 years.<br />
“My TV watching is pretty much limited<br />
to Gunsmoke and I’ve probably seen them all<br />
now,” he joked.<br />
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