Long-time CEC serviceman to retire

Lee Haglund, left, is retiring after 24 years as Sisters' service man.

There will be a changing of the guard in Sisters at the end of 2001 when Central Electric's Les Haglund retires after 24 years at the co-op.

Replacing him as the Sisters area "serviceman" will be Jon Paxton, himself a 16- year employee of Central Electric.

Haglund has been Central Electric's 24-hour-per-day presence in the Sisters area since 1987. Prior to that he was a journeyman lineman for CEC.

As CEC's serviceman in Sisters, Haglund was responsible for handling all temporary connections of new services, disconnections of delinquent services, monitoring and troubleshooting the co-op's vast network of equipment in the Sisters area, and responding to power outages in all kinds of weather and all times of the day or night.

Haglund moved to Sisters as a youngster in 1952 from Woodland, Washington, and graduated from Sisters High School. He served four years in the U.S. Navy and spent three years at Lane Community College where he received his lineman apprentice training. Prior to joining CEC, Haglund worked in the electric utility line construction field throughout the Northwest.

Haglund and his wife, Patricia, have two grown children and three grandchildren. The Haglunds will continue to reside in the Sisters area after his retirement. Haglund said he intends to "do a lot more hunting, skiing, and photography" in his retirement.

Al Gonzalez, Central Electric's president, said that Haglund was a valuable member of the co-op's team of outside employees because he had a virtual passion for keeping the lights on in the Sisters area.

"Les was always willing to get out of bed at 3 a.m. when it was 0 degrees and go out to take care of a problem," said Gonzalez. "He was the kind of guy who would work until he dropped if you let him."

Paxton, who will take over the Sisters territory from Haglund on January 1, joined Central Electric in 1985 as a temporary groundman. After a three-year apprenticeship training program, Paxton was certified as a journeyman lineman in 1991 and became the Bend area serviceman in 1995.

Paxton's Sisters-area territory will extend as far west as Hoodoo, as far north as the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery, as far east as Tumalo, and as far south as the Saddleback subdivision near Shevlin Park in Bend.

Jon and his wife, Nanette and their two children live in the Plainview area.