Rural Missouri - September 2017 - 4

| C O O P E R AT I O N

photo courtesy Josh King, New-Mac Electric Cooperative

New-Mac Electric Cooperative member Mike McClain, center, believes linemen Kyle Scott, left, and Bob Harris kept him from losing his foot when they rescued him following a tractor accident.

New-Mac to the rescue

Co-op linemen become lifesavers for trapped member

hen Mike McClain found himself stuck between a rock and a hard
place, two New-Mac Electric Cooperative lineworkers were more
than happy to help. And there's a good chance they saved his foot.
Mike was cleaning up his Creekside Campground in Powell following spring floods. "I was trying to pull a giant piece of concrete with my tractor and when I was securing it to my box blade with a chain, it shifted," he says.
"My leg wound up stuck tight between the box blade and the (concrete) slab."
The campground was deserted and nearby neighbors couldn't hear Mike's
cries for help over the noise from the idling tractor.
After 30 minutes, Mike heard the first sounds of engines coming up a nearby
road and saw several New-Mac Electric Cooperative vehicles coming down the
main road, about 75 yards away. The crews were replacing and straightening
poles damaged by the flooding.
"I yelled and yelled and waved my hands, and one truck stopped and turned
around," Mike says.
The campground entrance was blocked with railroad ties. As Mike continued
to call for help, line crew foreman Bob Harris and journeyman lineman Kyle
Scott moved the ties and drove across the small bridge onto the property.
"He was waving his arms and he was hollering, 'Hurry, hurry, help me,' "
says Bob. "When we got close we could see that he was pinned."
Kyle pulled the tractor forward, backing the box blade off Mike's leg, and Bob
pulled him away from the 6-by-6-foot concrete slab.
"We helped him over to a tree so he could get in the shade," says Bob. "His
leg started to bleed immediately and started swelling."
He called 911, but the victim, determined to get back to his house, refused
the ambulance.
"He was disoriented and wanted to get back on his tractor," Kyle recalls. "We

offered to drive him home, but he climbed up and drove back across the creek
himself."
The two lineworkers rejoined the crew, never mentioning the incident at work
or at home because both men consider it routine to help anyone in need. But
a letter sent to co-op headquarters in late June changed that. Mike recounted
what happened, adding that he learned his leg was broken when he went to a
hospital for treatment.
"The circulation had been cut off below the injury," wrote Mike.
"It is not their job to save people but I believe there was a higher power at
work and God brought them there at the right time," he added. "Had I been out
there three or four hours, I would have probably lost my foot."
Mike, 62, called both men his "personal heroes" and urged the co-op to find
a way to recognize them for their good character and willingness to go "above
and beyond" to help someone in need.
"I couldn't be any more proud of Bob and Kyle. They exemplified the very culture we strive for here at New-Mac of doing the right thing," says Mitch McCumber, CEO and general manager of the Neosho-based electric cooperative. "Good
deeds come from a willingness to serve, and I'm glad to have men like Bob and
Kyle on our team."
Bob and Kyle paid a visit to the still-healing member on June 27 to check
on his condition. He thanked them both for helping him out and talked about
lessons learned from his ordeal.
"I won't put myself in a position where I could get hurt like that again," Mike
says. "I'll remember to think about safety and not put a limb between a rock
and a hard place."
- Derrill Holly, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association

EDITORIAL STAFF: Jim McCarty, editor, jmccarty@ruralmissouri.coop | Paul Newton, managing editor, pnewton@
ruralmissouri.coop | Heather Berry, associate editor, hberry@ruralmissouri.coop | Megan Backes, creative director,
mbackes@ruralmissouri.coop | Zach Smith, field editor; zsmith@ruralmissouri.coop | Katie Cassidy, intern, kcassidy@
ruralmissouri.coop | Angie Jones-Wheeler, co-op page designer | Dusty Weter, co-op page designer
ADVERTISING: Mary Davis, production manager, mdavis@ruralmissouri.coop

"Devoted to the rural way of life"
Rural Missouri is published monthly by the Association of
Missouri Electric Cooperatives, Barry Hart, CEO/executive vice
president. Individual subscription rate: $10 per year or $22 for
three years, taxes and postage included. Group rate for members
of participating RECs $2.22, plus taxes and postage. Delivery
as specified by subscriber. If not specified, delivery will be by
periodical class mail at subscriber's expense. Periodical Class
postage paid at Jefferson City, MO, and additional mailing offices.
Copyright 2017, Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives.
Call for reprint rights.

RURAL MISSOURI | SEPTEMBER 2017

Postmasters: Send address changes to Rural Missouri, P.O. Box 1645, Jefferson City, MO 65102.
Subscribers: Report change of address to your local cooperative. Do not send change of address to Rural Missouri.
Advertising standards: Advertising published in Rural Missouri is accepted on the premise that the merchandise and services offered are
accurately described and sold to customers at the advertised price. Rural Missouri and Missouri's electric cooperatives do not endorse
any products or services advertised herein. Advertising that does not conform to these standards or that is deceptive or misleading is
never knowingly accepted by this publication.

Editorial: Rural Missouri, P.O. Box 1645, Jefferson City, MO 65102
573-659-3423 | info@ruralmissouri.coop | www.ruralmissouri.coop
Advertising: mdavis@ruralmissouri.coop | 573-659-3400
National Advertising Representative: National Country Market;
611 S. Congress St., Suite 504; Austin, TX 78704 | 573-659-3400

USPS 473-000 ISSN 0164-8578

http://www.ruralmissouri.coop http://www.youtube.com/RuralMOmag http://www.facebook.com/RuralMissouri http://www.pinterest.com/ruralmissouri

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - September 2017