Memorial Day calls up a mixture of emotions. On one hand, it’s the day Americans officially recognize those who gave their all for their country. They are the men and women in our military who were put in harms way and perished in the fight. It’s a solemn occasion. Memorial Day is also a time for family and friends to gather and enjoy the first blush of summer, perhaps with a barbecue or other outdoor activities.

All of this leaves an open question on how to tell kids about the meaning of Memorial Day. One small community has successfully done that. This morning Clark Lake held its annual Memorial Day parade, Michigan’s biggest little parade, as it is called. First part of the event is a parade, and kids are actually in it. At one point, the parade pauses in front of the cemetery where among those laid to rest are veterans going back to the Civil War. There is a moment of silence, prayers and recognition of the their sacrifice. From there the parade resumes and comes to an end in front of the Clarklake Community Church. More words are spoken about our military and its members. The National Anthem is played by the Columbia Central High School Band. Then there is one final touch for the kids. Those up to age 12 get a two-dollar bill as a keepsake.

Would you like to see how this works? First, the parade.

The pause at the cemetery includes the playing of Taps. Listen closely and you’ll hear the trumpet answered by another located at the back of the cemetery.

The parade moves again, this time to the church.

A Plus Electric calls Clark Lake home. A Plus Electric owner Carl Evanson and his family were part of the parade this morning. You can see them here on a golf cart.

At the end of the parade, his kids proudly displayed their commemoration of Memorial Day 2019 at Clark Lake.

As of 9:40 am today (Thursday, May 23), over 369 Consumers Energy customers are without power. A severe storm blew through parts of Michigan early this morning. It was preceded by a severe thunderstorm warning issued at 5:32 am by the National Weather Service (published shortly thereafter on this website). The forecasters predicted wind gusts of 60 mph.

If you are without power, you can go to the Consumers Energy outage map. By clicking on your location, you’ll see how many are affected and when CE thinks they can restore power. Below is the map from about 9:45 am.

If you need help, the A Plus Electric Storm Team is standing by.

The first concern is your safety and those around you. Consumers Energy says “stay at least 25 feet away from a downed wire.” They add “steer clear of water, trees, debris and fences” nearby and contact them as soon as possible (800-477-5050). Carl Evanson, A Plus Electric’s master electrician, adds another note of caution “a downed wire can electrify areas much farther away than you’d guess as electricity disburses in surprising ways. The results can be tragic.”

Consumers Energy is responsible to repair a downed wire up to the point where it touches your house. If any part of the lead-in to your house is damaged, you will need to call an electrician. That includes the mast.

You can reach A Plus Electric at 517-529-0000 or by using your smart phone to click the emergency button on this website.

The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning:

“…for Jackson County until 615 AM. At 532 AM EDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from 5 miles northeast of Litchfield to 7 miles northwest of Pioneer, moving northeast at 70 mph. HAZARD…60 mph wind gusts. IMPACT…Expect damage to roofs, siding, and trees. Locations impacted include Jackson, Vandercook Lake, Brooklyn, Grass Lake, Leoni, Spring Arbor, Napoleon, Sandstone, Norvell, Pulaski, Concord, Horton, Hanover, Oak Point, Sunset Beach, Michigan Center, Munith. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.”

For updates, you can access the forecast on the main page of this website.

Trees can be stressed under these conditions–limbs or the whole tree may come down taking power lines with them.

If you need help, A Plus Electric is standing by.

The first concern is your safety and those around you. Consumers Energy says “stay at least 25 feet away from a downed wire.” They add “steer clear of water, trees, debris and fences” nearby and contact them as soon as possible (800-477-5050). Carl Evanson, A Plus Electric’s master electrician, adds another note of caution “a downed wire can electrify areas much farther away than you’d guess as electricity disburses in surprising ways. The results can be tragic.”

Consumers Energy is responsible to repair a downed wire up to the point where it touches your house. If any part of the lead-in to your house is damaged, you will need to call an electrician. That includes the mast.

When you go to open up the cottage after a long winter, it’s first things first. At the top of the list is turning on the water. Open the valves, switch on the breaker…and then, nothing. That’s what happened to someone recently, and Carl Evanson’s team found out why.

There’s 110 volt current in your electrical outlets. It ups to 220 volts going to appliances like stoves, hot water heaters and dryers. When you get to commercial and industrial installations, you find even higher voltage.

Electricians dealing with very high voltage must take special precautions. In the photo, this A Plus Electric tech is hooking up a new machine drawing from a 480 volt circuit with the power on. There is risk beyond brushing up against the wrong wire. An arc can jump to the human body simply by being nearby. The result? Serious injury including severe burns or worse.

So, there are times when electricians look as if they just landed from a UFO. But it comes with the territory when they work intimately with high voltage situations.

Yes, it’s true. This isn’t April 1st. It’s April 26th. Along with with a wind advisory in effect to midnight, snow is on the way.

Here’s a snippet from the National Weather Service forecast as of Friday at 5 pm.

Saturday Night
Rain showers and snow, becoming all snow after 3am. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 31. East northeast wind 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of around 4 inches.

Sunday
Snow showers likely before 8am. Sunny, with a high near 52. North wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

You can always get an updated forecast from the main page of this website. Just scroll down. It’s always there, even though you may not like what you see.

If wind or snowy weather cause an outage, know the A Plus Electric Storm Team is ready for action. Click here for helpful hints on what is Consumers Energy’s responsibility and what is the responsibility of the homeowner.

Using a smart phone, you can reach A Plus Electric via the emergency button at the top of each page on this website.

Now celebrating birthday number 13, A Plus Electric has come a long way. 

It was a chilly 43 degrees on Wednesday, April 19, 2006.  That was the day Carl Evanson launched his new company.  How did he feel?  “Nervous, but excited.  I drove to Bob Evans, sat down with a cup of coffee and a blank notebook, and began to sketch out a proposed client list.” 

Carl likes to say his business began out of closet. “That’s where I stored my equipment.  For a while, I was the entire company.”   It didn’t stay that way for long.  A year later, he hired his first employee.  Now there are thirteen A Plus electricians in the field, and four people in the office.

Working out of a closet didn’t last long either. In 2012 he acquired the former OSB Bank building located on the corner of Hyde and Jefferson Roads at Clark Lake.  “That served as our headquarters for several years.” 

It was time to grow again in 2018.  “Not only were we servicing residential, commercial and industrial electrical needs, but we had entered what’s known as the low-voltage world.”  The company moved to its present location at 9036 South Meridian Road (US 127).  “We converted what was once a restaurant to meet our needs for space.”  There were plenty of other reasons to do this.  “It allowed our electricians to hit the road on a major highway, reducing travel time.”  It also provided more space for the growing company for a new venture that specifically serves the low-voltage world.

That new venture is E-Connect Technology.  The, company also owned by Carl Evanson, serves up the exciting innovations of today’s tech—video surveillance, digital signage, home/office automation, network integration, home theater, and speaker installation.  “We have a great team, and it includes Ed Cross who brings with him 20 years of experience in video surveillance.”

The two companies are located side-by-side and share some of the same infrastructure.  Carl observes “our mission is to provide quick, quality and affordable service—this arrangement helps us do that.”

In celebrating this anniversary, Carl acknowledges how A Plus Electric succeeded.  “We’re tremendously grateful to our customers.  Our success is really due to word-of-mouth.  One satisfied customer told another about us, and our passion is always to exceed their expectations.”

So, what’s ahead for A Plus Electric Carl and his team?  “The skies the limit, and we’re happy to be on this great ride as we celebrate this anniversary.”  

Along with tonight’s severe thunderstorm warning (3/14), the National Weather Service comments some of the “storms could be severe with damaging winds and large hail possible. Isolated tornadoes could occur. Even without the storms some winds gusts in the 45 to 55 mph range are possible into this evening. Water levels will be rising on area streams and rivers.”

The A Plus Electric Storm Team is on high alert and ready to help if you have an outage that requires an electrician. Click here for helpful information. If you lose power because of downed wire, you will need to know what Consumers Energy will do, and what is required of the home owner. This link explores this topic.

It’s good to know that you can now go the main page of the website to have an up to date local forecast from the National Weather Service. When you have time to explore, you’ll find a wealth of information there.

A change in the weather is on the way. It will warm up, but rain and gusty winds will accompany the boost in temperature (Saturday/Sunday, March 9-10). If you have an outage due to downed wires, A Plus Electric is ready to serve. Click here for useful information.

The A Plus Electric website is introducing a new feature. Scroll to the bottom of the main page, and you’ll find the latest official 5-day National Weather Service forecast. Dig deeper and there is wealth of information. In Michigan, our lives revolve around changing weather. So, this handy click through can be a good “go-to” place.

Just in case you’ve been wondering if nicer weather will ever return, check out just how summer-like Michigan can be in this short video recorded last summer at Clark Lake.

Our team is ready to serve your needs.

Amidst these summer-like looks, here’s a reminder that Daylight Savings Time returns this weekend. Clocks go forward one-hour Sunday 2 am.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for a large portion of Michigan, including Jackson County. As of 7:30 am Saturday, they state that it remains in effect from Sunday morning through late Sunday night:

“WHAT…Damaging wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph possible Sunday. Rain showers change to snow showers Sunday afternoon and continue Sunday night. Temperatures drop into the 20s Sunday afternoon and into the teens Sunday night. Snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches, locally 4 across Central Lower Michigan. An inch or less in other areas of Southwest Lower Michigan.

“WHERE…Portions of central, south central, southwest and west central Michigan.

“ADDITIONAL DETAILS…An increased risk for downed trees and tree limbs contributing to widespread power outages exists with this storm. Plan on difficult travel due to poor visibility…slick roads and high winds.

The first concern is your safety and those around you. Consumers Energy says “stay at least 25 feet away from a downed wire.” They add “steer clear of water, trees, debris and fences” nearby and contact them as soon as possible (800-477-5050).  Carl Evanson, A Plus Electric’s master electrician, adds another note of caution “a downed wire can electrify areas much farther away than you’d guess as electricity disburses in surprising ways. The results can be tragic.”

Consumers Energy is responsible to repair a downed wire up to the point where it touches your house. If any part of the lead-in to your house is damaged, you will need to call an electrician. That includes the mast.  You can reach A Plus Electric at (517) 529-0000 or by pressing the emergency button on the main page of this website when using your smartphone.

Click here for the Consumers Energy Outage Map.

Click here for the latest forecast, and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Once again winter is not letting us out of its clutches. The National Weather Service explains:

Ionia-Clinton-Allegan-Barry-Eaton-Ingham-Van Buren-Kalamazoo- Calhoun-Jackson- Including the cities of Ionia, St. Johns, Holland, Hastings, Charlotte, Lansing, South Haven, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and Jackson:

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 1 PM EST WEDNESDAY…

WHAT…Mixed precipitation expected. Total ice accumulations of one to two tenths of an inch and snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches expected. Wind gusts in excess of 40 mph are possible Tuesday night into Wednesday with areas of blowing snow.

WHERE…Portions of south central and southwest Michigan.

WHEN…From midnight tonight to 1 PM EST Wednesday.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Plan on slippery road conditions and low visibility during the Tuesday morning, evening, and Wednesday morning commutes. The heaviest ice accumulations are expected along the Interstate 94 corridor. Be prepared for power outages as the combination of gusty winds and ice accumulations may down tree limbs and power lines. Blowing snow with occasional white out conditions are possible Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, especially on north to south oriented roadways.

A Plus Electric is standing by if you need help.

The first concern is your safety and those around you. Consumers Energy says “stay at least 25 feet away from a downed wire.” They add “steer clear of water, trees, debris and fences” nearby and contact them as soon as possible (800-477-5050).  Carl Evanson, A Plus Electric’s master electrician, adds another note of caution “a downed wire can electrify areas much farther away than you’d guess as electricity disburses in surprising ways. The results can be tragic.”

Consumers Energy is responsible to repair a downed wire up to the point where it touches your house. If any part of the lead-in to your house is damaged, you will need to call an electrician. That includes the mast.  You can reach A Plus Electric at (517) 529-0000 or by pressing the emergency button on the main page of this website when using your smartphone.

Consumers Energy updates an outage map. Click here to view it. For the latest weather, click here and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Consumers Energy says the power outage at Clark Lake this morning was caused by a contractor, not one of theirs, hitting a utility pole. The outage occurred at 9:06 am, and power was restored an hour and five minutes later. To follow their outage map, please click here.

When a live power line hits the ground, exercise caution. The first concern is your safety and those around you. Consumers Energy says “stay at least 25 feet away from a downed wire.” They add “steer clear of water, trees, debris and fences” nearby and contact them as soon as possible (800-477-5050).  Carl Evanson, A Plus Electric’s master electrician, adds another note of caution “a downed wire can electrify areas much farther away than you’d guess as electricity disburses in surprising ways. The results can be tragic.”

Consumers Energy is responsible to repair a downed wire up to the point where it touches your house. If any part of the lead-in to your house is damaged, you will need to call an electrician. That includes the mast.  You can reach A Plus Electric at (517) 529-0000 or by pressing the emergency button on the main page of this website using your smartphone.