i'm from northern lower michigan, and my husband has heard from someone at his work , who has been talking to a michcon employee (maijor gas company here)that around the first of the new year a maijor hub will shut down linking all maigor utillites for apprx. 2 weeks. i don,t know if this is true or not. i don,t know this person. my husband is starting to get alittle worried (about time) i,ve been storing things for awhile now,because i have 8 children to take care of.(no they are not all mine,4 birth 4 foster)my husband used to tell me i was making a mountain out of a mole hill. have you heard anything about this or know of any place on the web to get more info.if you could let me know this would help.

thankyou judy sandell

-- judy sandell (jasand72@hotmail.com), November 16, 1999

Answers

Hi Judy- You'll find tons of great info 'right here' at Countryside, if you look around. Also, there is the Red Cross web page for emergency preparedness. (www.redcross.com). Personally, as I've said before, here at Countryside, I'm preparing to get my family THRU the winter, at the least. I've stocked up on canned goods, water, and all that we'd need for at least 5 months. I've purchased all the things we normally use, so if NOTHING happens-GREAT! I won't have to shop for awhile! We have a wood burning stove. I have ordered propane to be delivered at the end of Dec., for the gas stove. I am the 'odd man out', in my circle of family and friends. Oh, well. I do not intend to be the local shelter, either! My supplies, at the risk of repeating myself, are for those persons who have my name on a birth certificate! (ie: my children and parents!) No one else is welcome! I pray to God, nothing happens, but if it does-I'm ready.

-- kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), November 16, 1999.

I just moved to northern lower MI, last year because of the Y2K. I'm glad I did because now I've got my own water supply, plenty of food stocked up, fresh and canned, and my own little power company (generator). I'm I worried anymore? Not really, but I'll still be watching for anything to happen.E-mail me if I can help you out anymore. STAN

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), November 17, 1999.

Here are a couple of websites that have discussion forums where Y2K preparation is the topic of discussions:

www.y2kwomen.com and www.y2kprep.com

The first is a website/discussion forum especially for women (but gentlemen are welcome too); the second is larger, with a lot more info to wade through, but lots of good info nonetheless. Both sites MOSTLY have polite, calm posters, and those who get unruly will be locked out.

-- J. E. Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), November 18, 1999.

As I understand the question, it is about the gas company, not about food storage. correct me if I am wrong, I thought what Judy was asking is, has anyone heard anything about a "natural gas shut down" or power shut down in Michigan?

-- Bob Henderson (redgate@echoweb.net), November 19, 1999.

Judy, Is it possible that the shutdown your husband heard about is NOT Y2K related? Are there any other reasons why the gas company might want to shut down the operation like; redundancy, replacement, modernization, unprofitability etc. etc.

I am doing what need to be done to get through the winter I am not worrying about Y2K. I believe there are going to be a lot of very red faces really big garage sales along about Feb.

Do I think there will be problems starting on New Years Eve? Yep, people in big cities riot if their home team wins the championship. Do I think it's going to be the end of the world as we know it? Nope. Do I think Bill Clinton will impose Martial Law. Nope, would you or any one you know put up with that for long. Nope

Like the book says, Pray to God but row towards shore.

-- Joseph F. Longshaw (deercreekfarm@juno.com), November 19, 1999.

Judy, maybe this link will help.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/991115/bh7.html

-- sandi (sandihere@mailcity.com), November 20, 1999.

[Fair Use: For Educational/Research Only]

Monday November 15, 8:06 pm Eastern Time

Explorer to shut pipe temporarily New Year's Eve NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters)

Explorer Pipeline Co. said on Monday it plans to idle its entire oil products pipeline system, which feeds the U.S. Midwest, for 20 hours starting on New Year's Eve to guard against any unexpected Y2K incidents.

``We will do the same thing as Colonial. We will shut our system temporarily,44 Explorer President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Van Dyke told Reuters by telephone.

The Houston-to-Chicago Explorer Pipeline, the second largest refined products pipeline in America and jointly owned by eight oil companies, can pump as much as 700,000 barrels per day of refined products like gasoline and distillates.

Colonial, the No.1 pipeline firm, has already announced an eight hour shutdown of its entire 8,480-km (5,300-miles) long oil products line from Houston to New York, starting before midnight December 31, to avoid any such disruptions.

Officials at Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Explorer said the Explorer line shutdown will last from 5:00 p.m. (CST) on December 31 until 1 p.m. January 1, 2000.

For Colonial, which has a capacity of some 2.1 million bpd, the shutdown is due to start at 6:30 p.m. (EST) and last for eight hours.

Experts fear potential problems to communications or power supply, for instance, due to the so-called Year 2000 computer bug, which may cause some older computers to malfunction after the date roll on December 31, 1999.

``We have excess capacity this time of year so the shutdown will not be a big problem...We should be able to compensate for the supply loss,44 Tom Jensen, Explorer4s manager of shipper relations and transportation services, told Reuters. He said although the Explorer system was Y2K-compliant, like Colonial's, the company was taking no chances.

``If we had any problems with communications or power supply we want to make sure that our line is down at that time so we have no unforeseen problems,44 Jensen told Reuters.

-- sandi (sandihere@mailcity.com), November 21, 1999.