40 Years - Open House- 40 Years

A Monthly Newsletter for the Subscribers of

Golden Belt Telephone and GBT Communications

ConnectionConnectionRush Center OfficeP.O. Box 229 • 103 Lincoln

Rush Center, KS 67575800.432.7965 • 785.372.4236

Hours:7:30 am - 5:00 pm

Monday through Friday

Ness City Office114 W. Main

Ness City, KS 67560800.966.5186 • 785.798.3100

Hours:8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Monday through Friday

Ellis Office101 W. 9th

Ellis, KS 67637800.966.5183 • 785.726.3200

Hours:Noon - 6:00 pm

Monday through ThursdayNoon - 5:00 pm

Friday

Larned Office122 W. 5th

Larned, KS 67550800.432.7965 • 620.910.7676

Hours:9:00 am - 3:00 pm

Mon., Tues., Thurs., & Fri.Noon - 6:00 pm

Wednesday

www.gbta.netInternet Help Desk:

1-888-350-4357

October 2015Vol. 20, No. 10 Fall is in the air, leaves are changing, football is

finally here and Halloween is around the corner! This is a busy time of year for all, and we here at GBT hope you take time to enjoy this month’s Newsletter. We are working hard to provide our customers with information that is helpful to you and your family. Many new things can be found in this month’s Connection Newsletter, including some fun new contests and our “Go Green for Halloween” promo, so check it out and enjoy the month!

Since 1975 GBT has been head-quartered out of Rush Center, KS. With 40 years of business in Rush Center, there have been many changes, from the services we of-fer to the facilities where we op-erate. We at GBT have recently completed our office renovation and expanded our showroom in Rush Center. GBT wants to invite everyone to attend our open-house on October 16th, from 11 am to 1 pm, for refreshments, prize give-aways, and the chance to see all the latest products and services including our new line of Sony and Samsung televisions. Come check out the newest and most advanced features available with smart tv’s and the new Ultra HD 4K televi-sion. If a tv is not on your list, look no further than our great deals on laptops, desktops, cell phones, and accessories. We hope every-one can come celebrate our open house and 40th anniversary!

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ALBERTPapa’s Grill 923-4303

ALEXANDERJoel Reichel 343-2231Kerie Schwindt 343-2207

BAZINEMartha or Jose Avalos 398-2115Matt & Megan Malleck 398-2114

BISONAlexandra De Santiago 356-2524

BURDETTEdmund & Tama Moffitt 525-6218

GARFIELDTravis Feldman 569-2200

Mercedes Trollope 569-2405LACROSSE

Jim Gabel 514-5026Joyce Rogers 514-5028

LEWISLevi Burkhart 324-5142Nicholas Flick 324-5159Craig Russell 324-5158Abraham Wheaton 324-5160

NESS CITYLacie Bourne 798-2192Frances Casey 798-2159Stanley Hoss 798-3716Jon C Humburg 798-3802

Edna Jenkins 798-2894Shawn Starr 798-2403Amanda Walter 798-3393

OTISRita Ingram 387-2226

RANSOMDelven Kraft 731-2439Nathan McDaniel 731-2436Meagan Wilson 731-2342

RUSH CENTERTerry Conard 372-4027Talon Finnigan 372-4014C Summers 372-4040

Directory UpdatesOctober

Tired of increasing TV costs?

So are we.

Learn more at

Certain Exclusions apply: Must stay signed up for E-billing for 12 months.

Sign up today for e-billing statements and receive a $15.00 bill credit on your next month’s bill.

GBT is currently reviewing which television networks that we currently provide to you in your monthly television subscription and would love to hear from you. As always, we want to be able to bring you the best value for your entertainment dol-lar. As we continue to negotiate with various television networks, we would like to know which networks are important to you, and which ones might not be as important.

While we are negotiating with these programmers, it is helpful to us to tell them just what our customers think about their networks.

That’s where you come in. We need to hear from you so we can provide our pro-grammers with some honest feedback about what they are showing. Please take a few minutes and fill out this confidential survey online so we can negotiate on your behalf.

As always, we appreciate your feedback on programming matters. We work hard to get the best programming deal with all of our network programmers to provide you with a valuable entertainment package. For more information about how ne-gotiations affect your monthly bill and to take the online survey, please visit www.TVonMySide.com.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

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Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3

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October Larned & St. JohnHomecoming

*Pizza Plus eventin Ness City, 11am-1pm

Customer Service Week (10/5 to 10/9)

It’s time to count... throughout this issue of the Connection there are many ghosts. Can you

count them? When you find them all, e-mail us at custservice@gbta.net with the total number of ghosts and you will be entered into a drawing to

win a $10 gift certificate from GBT redeemable towards any retail item or bill credit at any of our four locations. Be sure to stop in and see what we have to offer!

We are pleased to serve our local communities and would like to include your community event in our newsletter.Submission for this section is due by the 10th of the previous month. Please mail items to:

GBT-Attn: Marketing • PO Box 229 Rush Center, KS 67575

800.432.7965 • kbaalmann@GBTlive.com

Be sure to look through the newsletter each month starting in October for two phone numbers in parenthesis. If it’s your number, call our office to claim your prize!

Find Your Digits

Halloween

Stafford Oktoberfest

LaCrosse, Ness City,& Stafford Homecoming

Happy Boss’ DayRush Center Office 40-year Celebration, 11am-1pm

*Sweets-n-Eatsevent in Larned, 11am-1pm

McCracken FallFest

Ghost Hunting

*GBT will have a table set up at this location for customers to stop by and visit with us and receive a coupon for a FREE slice of pie/pizza.

HALLOWEEN

Age groups judged are:

2-7 years old8-13 years old14+ years old

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911 Fees Changing

Once again this October GBT will be hosting a pumpkin carving contest for all our GBT customers. So get ready to gut your pumpkin, carve its new face and snap a picture. Send all carved pumpkin pictures to custservice@gbta.net to be entered into our contest; (923-4349) we will post all entries on our Social Media pages for customers to vote on. Prizes for each age group will be given. Pictures can be submitted until October 31st, but please only 2 entries per household.

Back in 2011, the Kansas legislature enacted the 911 Act which changed what fees may be assessed on telecommunications services for 911 purposes. The 911 Act established a state-wide 911 fee of $0.53 per month per subscriber and a prepaid wireless 911 fee of 1.06% per retail transaction. Beginning October 1, 2015, the state-wide 911 fee is $0.60 per month per subscriber and the prepaid wireless 911 fee is 1.20%.The State of Kansas has recently increased the required tax fee for 911 only telephone service in Kansas. Due to the adjustment, you will see an increase effective Oct. 1, 2015; the current fee is at .53 and is increasing to $0.60.

GBT Directory Cover Photo Winner

We would like to congratulate our 2016 Directory cover photo winner: Brandi Johnson of Burdett! Her photo captured one of the many beautiful lightning storms here in our area, and it will look great on our new directory cover. Brandi received a $100 check for her winning photo which will be featured on the 2015-2016 GBT Directory. Thank you to all our customers that sent in photos for the contest; it was a tough choice for sure!

Pumpking Carving Contest

Happy Carving!

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Don’t Be an Online PirateAre you illegally downloading music and video from the web?

If you are uploading, downloading, and/or sharing copyrighted files without the owner’s permission, you are! This is referred to as online piracy, and you could be charged with and possibly convicted of a felony called copyright infringement resulting in big fines.

Things you should know:

Online content such as Movies, Music or Software downloaded without purchasing is considered a violation of The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Most content found online that claims to be a “Free” download is more than likely a hacker hoping you will push the download button which will then infect your computer with possible viruses and malware causing you long-term issues.

Having a secured wireless router is important to help protect yourself from DMCA violations. When a router is unsecured, you have no control over who used your service. You should also monitor everyone in the household that uses your home Internet connection; the most frequent offenders are teenagers.

There are more than a few sites that allow consumers to purchase copyrighted material including Netflix, Hulu, Cinema Now, iTunes, Amazon and Google Play store (356-2425) just to name a few. When looking for content, search these sites to ensure you are on a legitimate site that is legal and virus free.

Not all online content is copyrighted if used for things such as teaching, news reporting, research, scholarships or just comments.

If a violation has been noted using your Internet connection, you will only be contacted by your Internet provider. Details will be given including the date, time and title of the material that was illegally downloaded. Your service provider will help educate your family to ensure the violation does not continue. If repeat violations occur, your provided services could be terminated and you could be fined.

October is National Co-op Month, and to mark the occasion, we at GBT just wanted to say a big thank you to all of our members. Without our customers, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Since our founding more than 62 years ago, our mission has been to provide state-of-the-art communication and information technology products and services at an affordable cost, administer the allocation and distribution of members’ capital credits, provide prompt and satisfying service, and promote local community development efforts to residents of Rural Kansas. We started out bringing basic Telephone service to farmers in Rural Kansas, and now we are over 4,000 member-owners strong across 12 counties. We’re proud to be a cooperative, and even prouder to be the kind of cooperative that actively participates in our community and engages members on so many levels.

Thank You to all the other Cooperative businesses that serve our area!

Our winner was Terry Keenan (Ness City) with a great picture of a Kansas storm cloud rolling in.

August Photo Contest

Celebrate Cooperative Businesses

After bringing this dip to work to share, it was a huge hit and I was asked to share my recipe!

Ingredients:2 Cans Mexi Cali Corn (drained) 8oz. Shredded Cheddar Cheese1 Small can diced Green Chilies (drained) 1 C. Sour Cream1 C. Mayonnaise ½ Jar Jalapenos (chopped)

Directions:Mix together and chill, serve with Frito Scoops.

If you have questions or comments about this newsletter or any of our services, please email us at custservice@gbta.net.

Kelly Baalmann, Editor Kyle Bahr, EditorVerda Flinn, Graphic Designer

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GBT is committed to the success and longevity of the communities we serve. Since we are a utility, we have access to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Loan and Grant Program (REDLG) which makes 0% loans available for rural economic development, job creation, and community facilities. Business start-ups and business expansions can apply for up to $1 million in loans; and community development projects can apply for up to $300,000 in loans. For more information on this, contact Kara Jecha at 800-432-7965, kjecha@GBTLive.com, or stop by our Rush Center office and visit with her about your project!

Other Assistance Tools Available to GBT Businesses and Communities include:

USDA Rural Development offers programs directly to small business owners and ag producers, including Rural Energy Grants, Business and Industry Guaranteed Loans, and Value-Added Producer Grants. They also have programs for Community Development which cities can utilize. Their office is at 2715 Canterbury Drive, Hays, telephone 785-628-3081, website www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services.

The Kansas Small Business Development Center helps entrepreneurs and small business owners start and grow their businesses through professional consulting, training, and resources. Part of a nation-wide network, KSBDC assists established firms, growth companies, and start-up enterprises. Their office is at FHSU, 600 Park Street, Custer Hall 105, Hays, telephone 785-628-5615, email ksbdc@fhsu.edu, website www.fhsu.edu/ksbdc.

NetWork Kansas is a state-wide network of over 500 resource partners which offer all kinds of business assistance to help entrepreneurs and small business owners start up and grow successful businesses. NetWork Kansas also works with communities through its Entrepreneurship (E-) Community Partnership to create local, sustainable funding programs, as well as creating a virtual network of expertise and educational resources for entrepreneurs at the local level. Their office is at Andover, telephone 877-521-8600, website www.networkkansas.com.

Great Plains Development, Inc. is a regional planning organization which provides professional leadership and technical assistance in financing, loan packaging, and business planning to individuals, businesses, financial institutions, cities, and counties. Their office is at 100 Military Plaza, Dodge City, telephone 620-227-6406, email gpdi@gpdi.kscoxmailcom, website www.gpdionline.com.

Kansas Department of Commerce is a division of the State of Kansas, with programs to assist business owners, business start-ups, and communities with financing and development opportunities. Regional Project Manager Dan Steffen is at 205 E. 7th Street, Hays, telephone 785-217-3252, email dsteffem@kansascommverce.com, website www.kansascommerce.com.

Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center is a not-for-profit corporation founded to help make American businesses more innovative at home and more competitive abroad. MAMTC offers manufacturing consulting services such as Innovation Engineering, LEAN Transformation, Safety and Risk Management, Sustainability/Energy Management, and Lean Innovation. Regional Project Manager Scott Gardner is at 300 S 9th Street, Salina, telephone 785-787-0378, email sgardner@mamtc.com, website www.mamtc.com.

Business Assistance Programs and Funding Opportunities

Submitted by Kelly Baalmann from La CrosseMexican Corn Dip “AKA Cowboy Caviar”