Friday morning ten employees of Lamar Electric departed Paris heading to the area near Jasper Texas, served by the Jasper-Newton Electric Cooperative.  They will be helping restore power to more than 15,000 homes after the area was ravaged by Hurricane Laura.

Lamar Electric is part of a nationwide mutual aid agreement with over 800 other non-profit Rural Electric Cooperatives.  All rural electric cooperatives use the exact same construction specifications, which allow crews to be very comfortable rebuilding line in an unfamiliar area.  The crew took several four wheel drive trucks as well as off road equipment.  The off road track mounted equipment will allow them to set poles in wet areas that is not accessible to a regular digger truck.

These crews have been trained on how to safely work on unfamiliar power lines after a disaster.  The crews will be using heavy duty grounding cables and special pole wrap warning signs.

Cooperative General Manager Jerry Williams had prayer with the group of men before they departed.

The counties affected by Hurricane Laura have already been declared a federal disaster area.  This designation will allow FEMA to reimburse the damaged cooperative at least 75% to pay for crews assisting in the recovery effort.

Lamar Electric disaster recovery employees on this assignment are; Scott Sansom, Drew Conder, Corey May, David Roberts, Dustin Dale, Jessup Crutchfield, Ryan Dean, Colby Pace, Jose Recendiz and Michael Sorensen.

Briana Bridges Avery	Jaden Franklin North Lamar	Kiley Miller Detroit
Emily Mouser Prairiland	Corbin Strain Prairiland	Eric Williams Detroit

Lamar Electric Cooperative awarded six $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors whose parents or legal guardians are active co-op members.  The names were drawn at the Cooperative headquarters on Facebook Live July 31^st.

The winners are Brianna Bridges of Avery High School, daughter of Margie Larzelere of Avery and Roger Bridges of Paris; Jaden Franklin of North Lamar High School, son of Joshua and Sharmila Franklin of Paris; Kiley Miller of Detroit High School, daughter of Jimmy and Courtney Miller of Bagwell; Emily Mouser of Prairiland High School, daughter of Greg and Amy Mouser of Paris; Corbin Strain of Prairiland High School, son of James and Tina Strain of Blossom; and Eric Williams of Detroit High School, son of Mike and Ginger Williams of Detroit. Readmore..

Our lobby in now open Monday-Friday 8-5pm. Our customer service team and drive-through lane is staffed. If you are having trouble paying your bill due to Covid-19 please call 903-784-4303 or come by the office.     

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Allow 6 feet for safety. We are asking members and employees to practice social distancing.

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