Page 14 - Ft. Irwin High Desert Warrior, April 2019

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High Desert Warrior April 5, 2019
www.aerotechnews.com/ntcfortirwin
No more energy bills for Army housing, but requests to conserve continue
Community
Garrison Public Affairs
via the Villages at Fort irwin
FORT IRWIN, Calif. — Residents of The Villages at Fort Irwin recently received this information concerning utility billing on post:
If you reside in one of our homes that participates in the Army’s energy conservation program, better known as the RCI Energy Conservation Program (“RECP”) administered by Conservice, please note that this program has been suspended Army-wide ef- fective March 1, 2019, as per the direction of the Department of the Army. Per the Army’s guidelines, “Projects should neither bill residents, pay-out rebates, charge administrative fees, nor pursue existing delinquent utility payments.”
Despite the suspension of billing and rebate activities, we have been directed to continue to monitor usage and to provide residents
with “mock” billing statements (i.e. consumption reports) while the Army reviews the current data collection and billing methodology.
What this means to you:
• Until further guidance from the Army, the “pause” button has been pressed for the RECP program.
• During this pause, starting with your next billing state- ment, bills from Conservice will be mock bills. These mock bills will indicate your most recent consumption for informational purposes only. NO PAYMENTS WILL BE DUE. Also, no rebates for savings earned will be provided. Theoretical amounts owed or rebates appearing on mock bills during the suspension period will not accumulate over time.
• If you have an outstanding balance as of March 1, 2019, then this outstanding amount will continue to be reflected on your future statements but will neither accrue any additional charges nor will you be expected to pay this amount until further
notice and guidance from the Army.
• If you have a credit balance as of March 1, 2019, then
this credit amount will continue to be reflected on your future statements but will neither accrue any additional credits nor be refunded until further notice and guidance from the Army.
• Please note that all future mock bills will be sent to you via e-mail.
Thank you for your service to our nation and being a part of our community. Please continue to conserve energy as this has been the main goal of RECP since its inception more than a decade ago. If you have any billing-related questions, please contact Conservice at (866) 947-7379. If you are experiencing any issues or problems reaching Conservice, please call our subject matter expert: Adrena at (760) 267-3767.
Story and Photo by Janell J. Lewis Ford
Garrison Public Affairs
FORT IRWIN, Calif. — When Cletis Brown showed up as a soldier at the National Training Center in 1993, he said he had never thought about being a referee. Brown had played football, basketball and baseball in high school but any other involvement was far from his mind, that is, until someone approached him with a proposition.
“A friend of mine needed help, so I de- cided to help him and it went from there,” Brown said.
He was only 27 years old then but it didn’t take long for Brown to realize he didn’t mind it and wanted to continue referring youth sports. That was in 1997 and 22 years and 5,000 games later, he is still on the court (and on the field) with his whistle.
“It was something I enjoyed doing, I said ‘Oh, I enjoy this.’”
Brown retired in 2008 as a Sergeant First Class, then worked for the Central Receiving Point (CRP) for eight years and has been working as a property manager in the Supply Division for the last three years.
He’s been a ref for football, basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball and even fly football.
Referees often get a bad rap from fans, spectators, coaches or players with disagree- ments over calls but Brown said when he hears the grunts, growls and complaints from the stands, it doesn’t bother him.
“You hear them but you (shrugs), you just
ignore them,” he said.
Brown admits it took him a while to
be able to simply block out the fans and focus. In youth sports, he said most con- flicts arise when a parent gets upset over a child getting fouled with no call being made. Brown said he doesn’t fire back at spectators or coaches.
“I usually just look and smile.”
Except in February 2019.
“Ok, I did once ... I told her I’d have
to have her removed from the gym because she was in my ear and kind of irate but it’s okay.” Brown did not actually have the fan removed—in fact, he says he’s never done that.
Song Fields, 11, is a point guard for the Fort Irwin Middle School Wildcats. She said she has had several calls made against her by Brown and other referees but she feels like all of them were justified.
“Yep, because I wasn’t playing my spot, so I got called out on what I did wrong.”
Fields said she thinks the refs are nice and friendly overall.
Brown admits, though, he has caught himself making the wrong call or missing a call.
“You go back and think about what calls you made and say, ‘well, I should’ve made this call, instead of that call,’ you do sometimes.”
Brown was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina and although he describes himself as a quiet, shy, man of God who just loves to have fun, he said he can also
Cletis Brown has officiated more than 5,000 games in his 22 years of being a referee for various sports and he said he has plenty more years left in him.
A Man and his whistle
Veteran Basketball Referee still has fun on the court after more than two decades
be pretty tough—especially when he used to be a referee for his own children’s games. “It was a little bit different,” Brown said. “They’d ask, ‘Dad why are you being so strict
on me?’”
Brown agreed he was definitely harder on
his own children (now 22 and 27 years old) when he used to referee their games.
He’s been married for 27 years and said his family used to come to the games he offi- ciated when they lived on post and gave him a hard time when he may have missed a call.
When asked how much more officiating he has in him, Brown said he doesn’t plan on
retiring from sports or his job anytime soon, but he knows there is an end somewhere down the road.
“I don’t know, I don’t think another 22 [years] though.”
Brown said former referees and coaches, along with his fellow officiating staff and score keepers help make the job much easier and he thanks them for all of their help and guidance.
“The kids have fun and as long as the kids are having fun—making sure it’s structured fun, it’s good to go,” Brown said.
For more information go to home.army.mil/irwin