Bell Ringer
Volume 49, No 3 Clear Lake, South Dakota 57226
July 2015
Congratulations to the seniors from the class of 2015 who were recently awarded ITC and Dean E. Anderson scholarships!
ITC is proud to award 22 - $600 scholarships to graduating seniors from our service area. Each year, ITC awards one scholarship to each school
district and one to an open enrollment student. Since the first scholarship was awarded in 1997, ITC has awarded a total of $206,300 to local students
to continue their education.
Scholarship recipients must live in the ITC territory and plan to attend a post-secondary institution located in South Dakota or Minnesota.
Selection is based on activities, honors and awards, citizenship, community involvement, academic achievement, and effort in application completion.
Scholarship awards are determined by the respective high school officials from each district. Photos are continued on page three.
Colleen Hieb
Brookings
Cody Fairchild
Canby
Connor Kirwan
Castlewood
Cole Acheson
Chester
Kandace Kolden
Clark
Erica Koenig
Deubrook
Nicholas Cook
Deuel
Shelby Kampmann
Elkton
Abigail Benning
Estelline
Taylor Knudson
Florence
Class of 2015
FRS
Scholarship
Simple, Honest, Clear
By Jerry Heiberger, General Manager
ITC Board President, Penny Krause (left)
and General Manager, Jerry Heiberger
present FRS scholarship to Carter Kasuske.
This year the Foundation for
Rural Service (FRS) scholarship
program awarded 53 scholarships
ranging from $1,500-$5,000 to
rural youth across the U.S. to
further higher education. There
were more than 1,400 applicants.
Each student is sponsored
by a National Telephone
Coop Assoc. (NTCA) member
company. FRS funded $2,000
of the scholarship and ITC, as
the NTCA member company,
sponsored the remaining $500.
ITC is proud to present
this FRS scholarship to Carter
Kasuske of Wentworth, South
Dakota. Carter is an open
enrollment student at Madison
Central. This fall, he plans to
major in Electrical Engineering
at the School Of Mines and
Technology in Rapid City.
Bell
Ringer
As we enter the summer months, various projects we have been planning are really ‘heating
up’! ITC’s construction crews and contractors are very busy plowing and installing new
services throughout our service territory. Our main fiber-to-the-home project that involves
the placement of new fiber cable in the towns of Bryant, Florence, Willow Lake, Hendricks, and around Lake
Hendricks is underway. We were pleased to award this contract to Anderson Underground again this year. If
you are a resident or business owner in one of these communities and have a question about the construction
project, please feel free to contact us. We will have one of our resident engineers who are on-site with the crews
stop by and visit with you and answer any questions you may have.
While crews are busy outside, many of the “office staff” are already developing plans for the construction
seasons of 2016 and beyond. We normally attempt to look five years into the future and set our goals and budgets
accordingly. If all of our plans materialize as we hope, 2016 will be an extremely busy construction season. We are
planning to have two major outside plant contracts completed next year. The first of these two projects will include
replacing the old copper cables in the towns of Astoria, Brandt, Chester, Nunda, Sinai, Toronto, and Wentworth.
The second project would include Goodwin town and rural, and Willow Lake rural.
In addition to the two outside plant contracts, we are also planning major improvements to the intracompany
transport and data networks. These upgrades are necessary to meet the ever increasing growth of our members’
voice, video, and data communications needs. If the final plans are approved by the ITC Board of Directors, this
would be the first time we would have two major outside plant construction projects and transport/data projects
ongoing during the same year!
The projects mentioned above are primarily being funded by what we refer to as our Rural Utilities Service
(RUS) “D” loan. This loan was initially intended to include the majority of the projects we have done within the past
couple years, and those mentioned above. Our conservative approach and favorable pricing on earlier contracts
will allow us to replace the cables in both Goodwin and Willow Lake rural areas with these loan dollars – definitely
an added bonus! Plus, we will complete all of these projects one year ahead of our original schedule!
Once these projects are complete, and the “D” loan monies are exhausted, you might ask what is next.
As I stated earlier, we are constantly anticipating our future needs and planning for the next five years. This
continual planning process requires us to start the process of applying for another RUS loan. One aspect of
this planning process involves the financial analysis and projection that must be considered. Simply put, can
we afford the additional debt to complete the fiber build out to the remaining members of ITC? Although we
may have upgraded the majority of our members’ cables with fiber, it is our ultimate goal to have 100% fiber
connectivity to all of our members within the foreseeable future. We will continue to strive to meet that goal
and meet all of our members’ needs now and in the years to come.
I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable summer! Please remember to drive carefully through all
construction zones this season.
New Faces At ITC
(USPS # 155-720)
312 Fourth St W
PO Box 920
Clear Lake, SD 57226-0920
http://itc-web.com
1-800-417-8667
* Published monthly for $.25 * Periodicals postage paid at
Clear Lake, SD
Kathy Weitala, Editor
Postmaster: Send address
changes to:
Interstate Telecommunications
Cooperative, Inc.
P.O. Box 920
Clear Lake, SD 57226-0920
Carl Schoeman
ITC would like to welcome Carl
Schoeman. Carl is an Internet
Systems Technician. He grew up
in South Africa but currently lives
in Watertown, SD. Carl has an AAS
Cisco Networking degree from Lake
Area Tech in Watertown, SD.
Carl and his wife Shari have two
kids. In his spare time, Carl enjoys
working on the house and gardening.
Quade Slovek
ITC also welcomes Quade
Slovek. Quade is our newest
Construction Technician. He is
currently living in Clear Lake, but
is originally from Wanblee, SD.
Quade was previously an
Outside Plant Intern with Golden
West in Martin, SD. He enjoys
hunting and fishing in his spare
time. Welcome Quade!
Scholarship Winners Continued...
Cooperatively
Speaking
By Holly Stormo,
Marketing Communications Specialist
By Holly Stormo
Marketing
Communications
Specialist
itc-web.com
Katey Roggenbuck
Grant-Deuel
Malorie Anderson
Hamlin
Anna Digre
Hendricks
Andrea Kramer
Henry
Carter Kasuske
Madison Central
Mikayla Wendland
Milbank
Karee Wicks
Rutland
Siri Tvedt
Sioux Valley
Gregory Althoff
Waubay
Skyler Carlson
Waverly/SShore
Kyle Johnson
Webster
Mikayla Prouty
Willow Lake
Part 1
Have you checked out the ITC
website lately? There is a lot of
information there waiting for you
to check out. Today we will talk
a little about TV.
First of all, click the ‘Services
and Products’ tab at the top of
the home page to find all the
services ITC offers. Then click
‘Television’. If you are looking for
remote programming, click on
the ‘Best Seat TV Support’ box
on the right side of the Television
page. From there you can click
on your remote. You will also
find some additional information
regarding your remote and TV
set-top box.
Besides support, there is also
information on the Community
Access Channels, ITC Sports
& Events Network, and Watch
TV Everywhere. One of the
coolest things about the website
is the ‘Find Services’ drop down
menu. When you select this, you
can choose the town you live in
and whether you are in town or
rural. You will also have a list of
the primary services offered to
you. For those who are looking
for an updated channel card,
you will find one for your area
here as well!
These are some TV highlights
from our website. Look for some
Internet insights next month!
ITC offices will be closed on
July 3 for the holiday. Have a
wonderful 4th of July!
Periodical Postage Paid At Clear Lake, South Dakota 57226
Internet 911
By Lonny Dockendorf, Internet Systems Technician
It doesn’t matter what profession you’re
in; you’re often faced with a challenge that
you just can’t seem to remain on top of
consistently. As an Email provider, one of
the biggest challenges we face at ITC is
the ongoing strife against the omnipresent
evil doers that continually try to bombard
our Inboxes with unsolicited email.
We deploy some of the most aggressive and advanced SPAM filtering
technologies that exist. There are thousands of junk emails that are
intercepted and discarded by our filters every day. However, every now
and then, bogus messages make it through the filter.
Fraudsters often disguise themselves as an authentic company or
organization that the intended recipient already knows. An example
might be a bank, an Internet service provider, or even a government
agency. Because they look familiar, they can potentially lure personal
information out of targeted individuals. Messages of this variety are
called phishing messages. Let’s take a look at some of the telltale
signs of a phishing message.
-One of the most common signs is if the message contains poor spelling
and/or grammar. If a company does send out a message, it is usually
reviewed and edited by multiple persons to ensure proper grammar. If a
message is filled with poor grammar or spelling mistakes, it likely didn’t
originate from the supposed company.
- Beware of embedded URLs. Never click on any of the links within a
suspect email. Often the URL in a scamming message will appear to be
perfectly valid on the surface; however, they can direct an unsuspecting
victim to an unsafe website.
- Check the email address from which you received the email. Phishing
messages are regularly sent from an email address that you’re unlikely
to know. If you do not recognize the address or the affiliated name, it’s
probably best just to delete the message.
- No matter how official an email message looks, it’s always a bad sign if
it asks you to divulge personal information such as credit card numbers,
passwords, SSN’s, etc. For example, your bank doesn’t need you to email
them your account number. They already know what it is.
- Scammers regularly use phrases and keywords designed to prey on
human emotion. Phrases such as “Urgent Action Required” or “Your
Account has been Compromised” tend to grab our attention and induce
us into making quick decisions. Beware of this type of message!
If you find yourself questioning the legitimacy of an email, chances
are, it’s a scam. If the message is from someone you do know, follow
up with them directly via telephone to verify whether or not it is real.
Remember, always proceed with caution. If you are ever in need of
help with verifying the validity of a message, feel free to call our Internet
Help Desk any time at 1.888.217.5718.
Remit Top Portion Of Bill With Payment

When sending payment to ITC , customers should return the TOP portion of the bill
that says, “PLEASE TEAR ALONG PERFORATION AND REMIT WITH PAYMENT.”
Important Dates
Bills are mailed on the first of each month, and payment is due on the 19th of that month, unless otherwise
indicated on the “Due Date” portion of your statement. Prompt payment is required.
NO PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS WILL BE GRANTED. June 30-------------------Bills mailed from ITC
July 17 --------------------------Payment due
July 17 ------------------ Final notices mailed
Aug 11------------------------ Disconnect day
for the following prefixes: 272, 275,
277, 368, 479, 483, 489, 542, 548,
586, 629, 693, 794,795, 826, 832,
873,874, 876.
Aug 13 ---------------------- Disconnect day
for the following prefixes: 345, 432, 438,
532, 623, 625, 628, 676, 756, 758, 783,
784, 785, 793, 947.
If you are a Coop member and an amateur
photographer, send us your photos! ITC’s Directory
Cover Contest, for the 2016 Phone Book, begins
July 1 and runs through September 4.
The winner receives a $50 credit on their bill and their photo
on the cover. The second place receives a $25 credit on their bill.
Some things to remember: You can submit up to six photos
that print at least a 300 resolution or dpi. The pics must be recent
and taken in the ITC territory - no people, no pets. Please include
your name, phone number, and description. Email to photo@
itctel.com. For more info call 1.800.417.8667 and ask for Kathy.