The Ozarks Technical Community College Lebanon Center will host its second annual Lineworker Rodeo on Tuesday, May 2, beginning at 10 a.m.
The OTC Lebanon Center is located at 22360 Highway MM in Lebanon. The event is free, and the public is invited to watch. Spectators are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
First-year students from OTC Lebanon and the OTC Richwood Valley Campus will compete in individual and team events related to the lineworker industry. Competitions include:
- Fuse Change out – Students will use “hot sticks” to change out a fuse from the ground, similar to what a lineworker would do in the field if a pole transformer fuse burned out. Hot sticks are long fiberglass rods that allow lineworkers to complete work at a safe distance from energized equipment.
- Pole top rescue — Students start on the ground, put on their gear, climb the pole, safely lower the dummy that represents a hurt worker to the bottom, and then climb down to administer first aid.
- Obstacle climb — Students climb a utility pole but will have to negotiate obstacles similar to what they might encounter on the job.
- Cross arm hang — Students work together to install a cross arm horizontally on the utility pole while suspended in the air in their climbing equipment.
Professionals from Laclede Electric Cooperative, Ozark Electric Cooperative, Southwest Electric Cooperative and White River Valley Electric Cooperative will serve as judges.
OTC debuted the lineworker program at the Lebanon center in the fall of 2018. Student demand for the program was so great that the college expanded the program to the Richwood Valley campus in the fall of 2021.
Students interested in pursuing a career in Electrical Distribution Systems at Lebanon or Richwood Valley should visit otc.edu/eds, email eds@otc.edu or call 417-447-8146.