Remembering Shoe

Donnie Shoemaker was a quiet man. He even laughed quietly. If he thought something was humorous, a slow smile would cross his face. His co-workers’ descriptions of him are similar: “slow and steady wins the race,” “easy going,” “soft spoken,” “laid-back,” and “a worker not a talker.” Getting in a hurry was not his style, and if he didn’t understand how something worked, he kept at it until he figured it out. He was a dedicated and hardworking employee, willing to learn new technologies. If you asked him a question and he did not have an immediate answer, you can bet he had an answer for you by the end of the day. He could southern engineer most anything and make it work. He was a natural at fixing stuff, and sometimes out of the blue, he would treat his co-workers to a tasty afternoon snack of ice cream drumsticks, just because. Donnie was an amazing cook. He could take any type of meat and turn it into a work of art. Donnie put family first. He was proud of his wife Linda and his daughters Jamie and Dana. Jamie is the mother of his three wonderful grandkids, and Dana proudly serves her country in the US Air Force. He even kept Dana’s combat boots from basic training in his cubicle. Donnie Shoemaker passed away on Wednesday, October 5, 2011. He will be missed as a husband, father, grandfather, co-worker, friend, and cook. Rest well, Shoe.

Tech Tip-How to Change Your Homepage

PTCI’s new community website go.ptci.net is a tailor-made homepage just for you. Changing your home page is a snap. Just follow the directions below for the four major browsers:

Internet Explorer Windows:
1. Click “Tools” and “Internet Options”
2. In the “Home Page” section of the “ Internet Options” screen, type in the address of the new PTCI web page, go.ptci.net in the “Address” box
3. Click the “Apply” button
4. Click “OK”

Safari:
1. In Safari, click the “Safari” menu, choose “Preferences.”
2. In the dialog box, click “General.”
3. Type in go.ptci.net in the “Home Page” box.
4. Click the red “Close” button in the upper right-hand corner of the window to save your changes

FireFox:
1. In FireFox, click the “Tools” menu, choose options
2. In the Dialog box that appears, click “General”
3. Type in go.ptci.net in the “Home Page” box
4. Click “Ok”

Google Chrome:
1. In Chrome, click the “Tools” menu
2. In the “Options” menu to the left, click “Basics”
3. In the Home page menu, click “open this page” and type go.ptci.net in the box
4. Click the red “Close” button in the upper right-hand corner of the window to save your changes

You can now explore PTCI’s new community website where it houses much of your favorite local information. By making go.ptci.net your homepage, you will be able to check out the classified ads, local weather, local news, and much more! Email, call or come by one of our offices if you have any questions about changing your homepage. We will be glad to help you!

Your LOCAL Calling Area is Bigger than EVER!

Local calling throughout the PTCI service area just got better! You can now call anywhere in the PTCI service area from your landline phone with NO LONG DISTANCE CHARGES! Effective July 1, 2011, you simply dial the last seven digits of any number that is local to the colored areas reflected on the map! That’s it!
“We appreciate our customers, and we are pleased to be able to expand our local calling area in such a way as to benefit so many people,” said Ron Strecker, CEO of PTCI. “We believe the newly expanded calling area will provide opportunities for economic development for our region.”

Send a TEXT in an Emergency

(Editors Note: Due to emergency situations throughout the State of Oklahoma
this article applies to help all cell phone users in any emergency.)

The recent fires in the Oklahoma Panhandle have caused many of us to sit back and evaluate a “plan-of-action” should we need to evacuate in the future. While we all pray it won’t be necessary again, we need to stop and think about communication in times of emergency.
Many area residents who live in the evacuated areas weren’t able to place or receive cellular phone calls during the emergency situation in Guymon this past April. Evacuees were trying to make calls, as were their friends and families trying to contact them. It’s human nature…we want to know if everyone is okay.
But what happened to communication was unavoidable due to the massive number of calls placed on the network. “Busy Circuits” and “Your Call Can’t Go Through” messages were common, frustrating callers beyond measure. Emergency agencies were utilizing the network as they worked to get control of the situation, while residents were desperately trying to reach loved ones.
Next time an incident like this happens and your cell call won’t go through, try sending a text message. Text messages don’t use the same bandwidth that voice calls do; so many times they’ll go through. There’s no guarantee in an emergency situation that your text message will be delivered, but a text message has a much better shot at making it through than a voice call does.

Capture the Moment!

Calling all photographers – amateurs and pros alike! PTCI wants to put one of your photographs on the cover of the next PTCI Regional Telephone Directory. All you have to do to participate is send us your best photograph, and keep your fingers crossed that we pick your photo as the winner!

Details to enter your photograph:

1) Only digital files are accepted

2) Photos must be a minimum of 300 dpi at 8 ½” x 11” (photos submitted with lower resolution are not judged)
a. Change camera settings to the largest file size for each photo
b. Do not use a cell phone camera as these files are too small for print

3) CD’s and DVD’s are accepted

4) Photos may be e-mailed to connie.hawkins@ptci.net

Entries may be mailed to:
PTCI
ATTN: Directory Contest
PO Box 1188
2222 NW Hwy 64
Guymon, OK 73942

Deadline: June 30, 2011. All images, whether e-mailed or sent by regular mail on CD or DVD, must be in the PTCI offices by 5:00 pm on Thursday, June 30. Please contact Connie Hawkins with your questions.

And the 10 PTCI Scholarships go to.........

PTCI has recently awarded $1,000 scholarships to 10 high school graduates from across the PTCI service area. Now in its 21st year, PTCI's scholarship program has provided worthy students over $160,000.

National DO NOT CALL Registry

Be Smarter Than a SmartPhone - Hangout with us and learn more!

BlackBerry® PTCI Q&A

April 19, 2011, 4 PM and 6 PM - PTCI, 2222 NW HWY 64, Guymon, OK (on the way to
Wal-Mart)

BlackBerry® smartphone hangout @ 4 PM. If this is your first BlackBerry®
smartphone or if you have upgraded; show up, relax, snack and get all of your
updates in one place! Send us any questions you might have about your smartphone.
comments@ptsi.net


BlackBerry® smartphone hangout @ 6 PM. If this is your first BlackBerry®
smartphone or if you have upgraded; show up, relax, snack and get all of your
updates in one place! Send us any questions you might have about your smartphone.

comments@ptsi.net

Android™ PTCI Q&A

April 21, 2011, 4 PM and 6 PM - PTCI, 2222 NW HWY 64, Guymon, OK (on the way to
Wal-Mart)

Android (HTC, LG, Motorola & Samsung) smartphone hangout @ 4 PM If this is your
first Android smartphone or if you have upgraded; show up, relax, snack and open
your world!. Send us any questions you might have about your smartphone.
comments@ptsi.net


Android (HTC, LG, Motorola & Samsung) smartphone hangout @ 6 PM If this is your
first Android smartphone or if you have upgraded; show up, relax, snack and open
your world!. Send us any questions you might have about your smartphone..
comments@ptsi.net

Congratulations Rowdy McBee...Farewell Kelly Kilgore

After serving 25 years on the PTCI Board of Trustees, H. A. “Kelly” Kilgore of Hooker made the decision to retire. An election was held at the Hooker District Meeting, where Rowdy McBee was elected to represent the Hooker exchange for a three-year term. At other District Meetings held in Hardesty and Plainview Schools last month, Charles Russell was re-elected to serve as trustee for the Texhoma/Keyes/Griggs exchanges; while Scott Martin will continue to represent the Hardesty/Bryans Corner/Balko exchanges. Kelly served as trustee during the acquisition of the GTE exchanges. We will miss you Kelly!

FREE Parental Control on PTCI Digital TV!

Parental Controls are a free service to PTCI Digital TV customers. Concerned parents can prevent their children from accessing adult-oriented or other inappropriate programming by following these easy steps on your remote control.
To access Parental Controls:
• Press Menu
• Scroll down to Settings
• Highlight Parental Controls and press Select
• It will ask you for a Pin Number. Default is set at 9999, unless you have changed it.
• This will give you the option of controlling the programming by rating or to actually hide channels.
To Hide Channels:
• Scroll down to Edit, and press select
• Scroll and highlight the channels you want to “Hide”
• Press the Select key on each channel you want to remove. The highlighted button will now say “Off”.
• After selecting channels to be hidden, highlight the “Save & Exit” and press select.
• The channels you have chosen (changed to Off) will no longer be shown on the Guide and can not be seen until you go back into the Parental Controls and turn them ON.
A tutorial is available on online at http://www.ptci.net/digitaltv_support.php. If you have questions about any of our features, most of them can be found under the Help menu. Just press the Help key and scroll down to the feature you are looking for.

You Wouldn't Leave Your House Unlocked - Would You?

You can apply easy down to earth common sense to your computer and Internet with Common Sense Security

Be Smarter Than a Smartphone Workshops

BlackBerry® PTCI Workshop Q&A Sheet



March 22, 2011, 4 PM and 6 PM - PTCI, 2222 NW HWY 64, Guymon, OK (on the way to Wal-Mart)
BlackBerry® smartphone workshop. 4 PM Beginning and 4 PM Advanced sessions. If this is your first BlackBerry® smartphone or if you have upgraded; these workshops are for you. Send us any questions you might have about your smartphone. mailto:comments@ptsi.net    
BlackBerry® smartphone workshop. 6 PM Beginning and 6 PM Advanced sessions. If this is your first BlackBerry® smartphone or if you have upgraded; these workshops are for you. Send us any questions you might have about your smartphone. mailto:comments@ptsi.net
Android™Q&A Sheet
March 24, 2011, 4 PM and 6 PM -  PTCI, 2222 NW HWY 64, Guymon, OK (on the way to Wal-Mart)
Android (HTC, LG, Motorola & Samsung) smartphone workshop. 4 PM Beginning and 4 PM Advanced sessions. If this is your first Android smartphone or if you have upgraded; these workshops are for you. Send us any questions you might have about your smartphone. mailto:comments@ptsi.net
Android (HTC, LG, Motorola & Samsung) smartphone workshop. 6 PM Beginning and 6 PM Advanced sessions. If this is your first Android smartphone or if you have upgraded; these workshops are for you. Send us any questions you might have about your smartphone. mailto:comments@ptsi.net

Don't Be a Thumbskull - Don't Text & Drive

Kevin Ottinger and his BlackBerry®Tour™ Adventure

"My PTCI cell phone works great everywhere." ~ Kevin Ottinger

Kevin Ottinger drives a truck for a living. Like most of us, he listens to the radio while driving. Unlike most of us, he also does impersonations, while driving. One typical-truck driving, radio-listening day, he heard about an impersonation contest that was being offered on “The Howard Stern Show”. Thinking he might try his luck and enter, Kevin recorded his impersonation on BlackBerry® Voice Notes and sent it to Howard Stern on his PTCI BlackBerry® Tour™ cell phone. Howard liked what he heard and invited Kevin to New York to be one of five finalists on the show. Kevin’s travel arrangements to New York were also made with his BlackBerry Tour. He said, “My BlackBerry Tour worked great in New York.” In fact, he stated, “My PTCI cell phone works great everywhere.” Kevin has been interested in doing impersonations for several years, but never suspected his hobby would turn into such an unexpected adventure. He didn’t win, but had a great time. He stated, “None of this would have ever happened without my BlackBerry Tour cell phone from PTCI.”

EQUINOX SUN OUTAGES:

EQUINOX SUN OUTAGES: Many readers reported an intermittent loss of satellite TV reception over the weekend. Was the sun to blame? Yes and no. Senior forecaster Bill Murtagh of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center explains: "It is likely that the sun caused the problem, but not because of solar flares. Now is the time of year for the 'equinox conjunction,' when the sun lines up with the satellite and the receiving satellite dish. When this happens, radio interference from the sun competes with signals from the satellite and can create noise levels several decibels higher than normal. The problem, which typically persists for 5 to 15 minutes, is referred to as a 'sun outage' and is often confused with sunspot or solar flare activity."

Channeling Networks

From time to time we receive TV network requests from our customers. When that happens, if it’s feasible, we attempt to add them to our lineup. We always want to keep our customers happy and satisfied with their Digital TV service. Over the last year PTCI has added these channels because of customer requests:

• Sportsman Channel
• Speed HD
• FX HD
• Fox Sports Southwest HD and Fox Sports Plus
• The CW
• CNBC and CNBC HD
• SyFy HD
• Oxygen HD
• Oklahoma City networks in HD

Television content providers control access to their networks. Many of them package a group of networks together and require television providers to purchase all of them or none, increasing the cost. (An example of this would be the ESPN Networks which include ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN Classic.) Sometimes these networks are not popular and have limited viewership.

PTCI still wants to hear your requests! Whenever you have a special network you would like to have on your PTCI Digital TV, call your local customer service representative or e-mail comments@ptsi.net. We will investigate the possibility of providing them.

Win an All-Expense Paid Trip to Washington, D.C.

You could win an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. June 4 – 8 in a contest sponsored by PTCI. If you are a high school junior in the PTCI service area, all you have to do is write a short winning essay. The topic is:


“Looking toward the future, tell us how technology will influence your career and personal life choices. What kinds of technology will you count on to function in your adult life?”


This is a program developed by the Foundation for Rural Service and sponsored by telephone cooperatives. All arrangements for travel, room, and meals will be taken care of and paid for by PTCI, as well as pocket money for incidental expenses. For more information about essay subject and deadlines contact Carol Grider at 580-338-2556 or e-mail: Carol.Grider@ptci.net

Above and Beyond…Travis Clark and PTCI Helping the Youth Shelter

Travis Clark, PTCI Project Manager/Call Center Supervisor, donates his expertise in wiring for the telephone, Internet, and television services for the new Youth Shelter. Travis enjoys helping, especially when it has anything to do with kids. Believing that we all need help sometime, Travis said, “I guess my idea is to just keep the belief that people still care.”

The Youth Shelter provides emergency short-term placement for children birth to 18 years. The next fund raiser for the shelter will be a murder mystery dinner theatre at Pickle Creek February 11, 12, 13. Donations should be made to Guymon Community Enrichment Foundation and earmarked for Panhandle Services for Children in Crisis.

Stay Connected During Winter Storms

Because electrical outages are common during blizzards and ice storms, PTCI installed permanent backup generators in critical locations, along with portable generators for emergency power at secondary sites. In the event equipment is damaged, we keep materials on hand so our crews can quickly restore service where needed.


Here are some tips to help keep you connected during a winter storm.


• Have at least one simple, corded phone at home. Landline phone service is typically available during a power outage. Remember that a cordless telephone will not function without electricity.


• If a storm is approaching, keep your cellular phone and backup batteries charged. Be aware that cell phone towers typically run on commercial and battery power. When that power is interrupted or exhausted, cellular phone service can be disrupted.


• Have a car charger adapter for your cellular phone so you can recharge the phone’s battery from your car.


PTCI is committed to the communities we serve, and we are prepared to respond quickly and strategically to any outage so that our customers can stay connected with friends and family.

Your Programming Requests are Fulfilled!

PTCI has added new channels to their line-up! Because of the numerous requests we have received, our Digital TV now includes CNBC on channel 92 and Syfy HD on channel 546. CNBC HD on channel 592 is now available in some communities. Tell us what channels you want…we’re listening.