Rural Kansas
Wind Power For Schools
In light of the increasing utility costs, expanding schools needs, and deminishing revenues, schools across the country should consider (if possible) a new and forward-thinking solution with countless benefits: renewable energy from wind power. By harnessing the wind that blows across playgrounds, school buildings, and parking lots, the administrators and communities could realize the immediate rewards of a community-sized wind turbine brought to their facility.
From lower energy bills to hands-on energy education, schools win when they implement wind power.
- Educational opportunities: Having a turbine in your backyard – and even the process of planning for it – adds an experiential dimension to your school’s science, math, and civic classes. What better way to train the technicians, engineers, and leaders of tomorrow?
- Lower utility bills: Your electrical costs drop the second your blades start spinning.
- Taxpayer benefits: Lower facility costs for your public schools can help balance budgets and lower the tax burden on community residents.
- Stable cost of power: You’ll know what your wind-powered electricity will cost you for 20 years or more so you can safeguard your school’s budget against the volatile and increasing costs of energy. In a way, making your school financially independent from most of your energy costs, if planned out.
- Green economy: Your school-based wind turbine – and each new installation it fosters – will bring high-value jobs to your community.
Turbine considerations
When considering which turbine to purchase, schools should think about their setting, local permitting regulations, and economics. Here are some of the issues that schools consider in making their turbine choice.
- Load matching: All else being equal, schools will want to choose a turbine – or 2 or 3 – that can support as much of its electricity needs as possible so it can gain the greatest benefit from site-based generation.
- Aesthetic fit: The turbine’s height profile and operational sound levels will be a consideration if it will be located near neighbors and/or classrooms.
- Educational support: Educators will often create their own curriculum around their turbine, but it can be a big help if the turbine supplier can provide supporting materials and ideas.
- Technology: Not every wind turbine is created equal. A turbine’s technology and design can affect many things including energy capture, maintenance requirements, and sound performance.
- Proven operation: Like any major capital investment project, you will want to know that your wind turbine is not a concept waiting for a test site. Proven results are very important.
The first step of project is difficult. Wind projects take funding, and in today’s economy that can stop most decision makers in their tracks. Though, if nothing is done now to help, we will probably be dead in tracks in the future. Proactive thinking is the solution. Kansas now has a grant program provided through the Kansas Corporation Commission to assist with ONLY State agencies, counties, cities, and unified schools districts for upgrading to green energy, such as wind, solar, and geothermal. This grant has many requirements and will not pay for the entire project, but it definately is an avenue consider. More information can be found at KCC’s website.
Shopping Locally for Christmas !
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. This is the season of giving. There is nothing quite like shopping in a rural town with the perfect Christmas atmosphere. Local retail shops offering hot cider to people walking in the door. Music playing in the street. Local residents smiling and talking to you as they shop. Always a parking place nearby and never having to wait in line very long, if ever. There are many reasons for shopping in the small town and having a GREAT experience is definately the first thing that comes to mind.
Additionally, we need to keep in mind the economic support given to our small entrepreneurial businesses. By shopping local, we keep a larger portion of our money in the local economy and support jobs through these businesses. The business owners and the salaries toward their staff allow for those families to continue living and surviving in our area. It is understandable that from time to time, some items need to be purchased from stores out of town, BUT many of those goods we need or even want for Christmas (or during the year) can be found or ordered locally. Sometimes the item price will be same, higher or even (yes!) lower, than purchasing out-of-town goods. Also, when you figure gas and incidental spending (food, movies, other), more often than not, a trip for buying out-of-town goods can cost a resident more than shopping locally. Yes, there are exceptions. I will not list them all, but the primary reason used seems to be the “I just want to get out of town! ” . Although this is the most used reason, it usually equates to the most expensive trip for the resident and/or family (due to unexpected and unneeded goods/services) and also takes away critical, financial support from smaller local businesses.
Because of the economy and challenging times, many residents have been very frugal and pro-active in their shopping this year. Buying earlier in the year through payments at a local store. Utilizing some of the out-of-home entrepreneurial businesses, such as candles, home decor, quilts, or other items, for stocking stuffers has been more popular this year. Gift certificates toward local grocers, fuel, or essentials have been talked about a lot this year as well.
Christmas is definately the time for giving, as we are reminded by “the reason for the season!” As we all look at our neighbors across our towns, consider giving gifts acquired from those local and small town stores, which in turn support the local community and families. In these challenging times, we should also focus our attention toward supporting our local non-profit organizations, who work diligently toward improving our way of life and the basic needs those in need in our area.
Thank you all for supporting our local businesses! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
FREE COMMUNITY MURAL PROJECT:
Mid-America Arts Alliance, in partnership with the Kansas Arts Commission, seeks communities and artist-apprentices to apply for a community mural-making project led by Kansas artist David Loewenstein. One Kansas community and one-to-two artist-apprentices will be selected to participate in the July — September 2010 project. For more information and to apply, visit www.maaa.org/muralproject. This information was acquired through the Office of Rural Opportunities Director, James Foster.
Murals are a fantastic way to improve the atmosphere of your community, while at the same time encouraging youth and residential involvement. Walk through your town and see what walls are available for the posibility for painting a mural.
Kansas Sampler Foundation introduces song to promote Kansas Small Town's
The Kansas Department of Commerce Travel and Tourism division and the Kansas Sampler Foundation are partnering to bring the Explore Rural Kansas project to our small rural communities.
The Explore Rural Kansas Partnership is expected to rely heavily on rural tourism and heritage alliances throughout the state. The program is specifically aimed at attracting a particular kind of tourist who sets out to understand rural culture.
A catchy song with a driving beat will help launch this initiative promoting small Kansas towns. Click here to listen to “Come and Get It (Feed Your Heart)”.
Lyrics to this song are:
In the car – radio – windows down – hit the road!
Clean air – open space – small towns – I just gotta go
It’s calling me – what to see – enchantment around every turn
County fairs and the best chicken fried steak in the world!
Chorus:
Come and get it – Feed your heart
All for you! Come on – Come and Get It, Feed your heart …
Café – spend a day – the mem’ries and peace you can find
Simple ways and hardware stores, the old fashioned kind
No traffic mess – leave the stress – and see with new eyes
Explore Kansas anew – Hey! It’s waiting for you!
Come on, come and get it – Feed Your Heart
All for you! Come on – Come and Get It, Feed your heart …
Picture the faces welcoming you
Smiles and miles and miles of things to see and do, just for you –
(Repeat chorus)
About the musicians:
Song by Wichitan Jim Farrell
Vocals: Farrell and 17-year-old Wichitan Megan Boldea
Musicians: Farrell, Richard Crowson and Stu Stuart
Recorded at Jim Farrell Studios in Towanda
Copyright Kansas Sampler Foundation and Farrell and Music/BMI