35 girls recently took the day off from high school in order to find out what exactly is involved in being a lineman. The girls had on a hardhat, a security belt, and spikes attached to the inside of their ankles, which can be kicked into a utility pole, allowing them to climb. 17 year old Marielle Kern stated, “I feel like I’d be good until I got to the top, and then I’d freak out,” as she got ready to scale an electrical pole for the very first time. The belt ended up slipping and dropping her less than two feet before it locked her into place. Despite knowing she wasn’t in any danger her body reacted otherwise. Stating, “Going up is a little scary, but honestly coming down was the worst part, I don’t know if you saw me when I slipped and fell. I was just dangling. It was interesting.”
More appealing lessons in operating a bucket truck, using a chain saw safely and making repairs from a distance. Instructor, Blain Salmans stated, “Because of trees falling on the line or a squirrel’s gotten on a transformer, many things can cause a power outage, We may not be able to get to that with a bucket truck, and so we use these extendable sticks.”
Salmans has 28 years of experience on the job and still loves it. He added, “It’s different work every day. You’re out in the wonderful woods and countryside and the people that we work with in the coop world are just great people. It’s a family is what it is. I’d say utility is something I’m interested in, because it’s an essential part of pretty much anything that goes on these days.”
He also pointed out that, “It’s very dangerous work at times, because we’re up grabbing ahold of high-voltage power lines, and your weather and stuff is not good for you a lot of the time. A lot of people anymore don’t want to do that. They want to be behind a computer and stuff like that.”
Representatives of Southside Community College were also there in order to promote their 11 week training program and to show off six figure salaries for experienced line men and women.
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