Nearly 90% of wildfires were human caused in recent years. What can our communities do to help decrease the risk of wildfires? On this episode, Paige and Shane are joined by Eric Wirfs, director of operations at OTEC, to discuss best practices in preventing wildfires, both by the cooperative and the entire community.

Tuition can be a financial burden to those who wish to pursue higher education. That’s one reason OTEC created a scholarship program with its unused capital credits. On this episode, you’ll learn about OTEC’s scholarship program and hear from two of OTEC’s scholarship recipients as they join Paige and Shane to discuss how the financial assistance helped them pursue their dream degrees, earn valuable intern experiences and power their future for success!

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was founded to inspire a love of reading in children. The program gives books to children free of charge from birth until age 5. OTEC is proud to fund half of the cost of the program for children living in Baker, Grant, Harney and Union counties, while the James and Shirley Rippey Family Foundation pays the other half. Hear more about this incredible partnership and program on this podcast episode.

In this inaugural episode of “The Power Eastern Oregon Podcast,” hosts Shane Stequist and Paige Witham sit down with Lea Hoover to discuss the cooperative model, safety trivia and expectations for the podcast’s future episodes.

“The Power Easter Oregon Podcast” is produced by Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative in Baker City, Oregon. If you have any ideas for future episodes, please contact us at communications@otec.com.