The Sentinel

Photo of the Day - December 15, 2020

St. Joseph-Ogden's Jordan Brooks takes a charge in SJO's home game against St. Thomas More on January 16, 2018. The Spartans held on to pick up their seventh straight victory after their State Farm Holiday Classic loss to Quincy Notre Dame, squeaking by the Sabers, 95-92. Brooks, a senior and prolific 3-point shooter, finished with season with program best of 82 treys. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Ameren Illinois customers will see smaller bills in 2021

Collinsville - Residents who rely on Ameren for their electricity will find their bills a little smaller in 2021. Under the plan approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), the typical Ameren Illinois residential customer will save approximately $12 per year on the delivery portion of their electric bill beginning next month.

"Under performance-based ratemaking, Ameren Illinois is constructing a smarter electric infrastructure, reducing the number and duration of outages and keeping customer rates stable," said Richard Mark, Chairman and President, Ameren Illinois. "As the electric grid continues to evolve, we must continue to make strategic investments to strengthen our system. Having a transparent and fair cost-recovery mechanism in place is allowing us to do just that while providing real and tangible benefits to our customers and the communities we serve."

Thanks to an approximately $48.7 million overall reduction in revenue, the rate reduction will be the third consecutive rate decrease for Ameren Illinois customers and the seventh overall rate decrease since the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act (EIMA) – or Smart Grid Bill – went into effect in 2011. The company says Ameren customers will pay 2.4% less each month for energy next year than they did 10 years ago. The company says their residential rates are 21 percent lower than the national average.

Typical Ameren Illinois customer will save money

"Today's residential energy customer wants affordable, reliable energy. They also want to know that we're looking to the future and working on providing them with cleaner energy options," said Mark. "In the last few years, we have developed and tested systems needed to produce and store renewable energy. Our customer satisfaction results show that these efforts, along with our daily work modernizing the energy grid, do matter."

Since the company began implementing its modernization action plan, 1.2 million smart meters have been installed, power poles and wires have been strengthened, and more delivery infrastructure is being placed underground. These improvements, along with new outage detection technology, have resulted in a 20% improvement in system reliability.

Photo of the Day - December 14, 2020

SJO Dance Team performs in 2012 — Members of the 2016 SJO Dance team perform to the song All I want for Christmas during halftime of the Leader Classic Holiday Basketball Tournament. The Spartans went on to win the 2016 title game by way of a 84-71 victory. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Santa is coming to Tolono Christmas parade

Sidney had one and St. Joseph has a Christmas parade in the works, too. Last week, the Tolono Fun Day committee and the Tolono Fire Protection District teamed up to sponsor a Christmas Parade for the Village of Tolono on Saturday, December 19.

Santa, on his way back north after doing a dry run for his December 24th activities, will make a guest appearance at the parade. The community is welcome to take part with floats, golf carts or other vehicles. Due to the length of route, organizers ask the walkers sit this one out. Click on the map below to view the official parade route.

The parade will start from Unity High School at 5pm. Residents interested in participating should arrive at the school's east entrance starting at 4:30pm to line up.

For more information contact the Tolono Fun Day by phone at (202) 630-0883 or via email at tolonofunday@yahoo.com.

Guest Column: People are what make Christmas special

By Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

On the first Christmas Mary and Joseph had traveled to Bethlehem to pay their taxes. They were among a multitude of other people who were making the same trip for the same reason.

The Bible says there was no room for them in the Inn. They found refuge in a stable and in the night, Mary delivered her baby. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a cow's trough.

Soon, Shepherds watching their sheep in the fields were alerted by a heavenly host of angels about the special baby who had been born. They quickly made hast to celebrate and worship the new baby Jesus. Eventually in the Bible story Wise men from the East traveled a long distance to see the new child. They brought with them gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh and worshipped him. When you read the first couple of chapters of Matthew and Luke's gospels you learn Christmas is about Jesus.

You also learn he was loved, held in the arms of his mother, adored by the shepherds and worshiped by wise astrologers who went to great effort and time to visit him

This Christmas we should all once again embrace the baby Jesus and celebrate his deity and mission to bring love and peace to our hearts. We need his love and peace. We need his joy to the world. Even in the hardest times of life people have found the joy of Jesus at Christmas time. Often the simplest things have a way of bringing the most joy. A baby in a manger. Peasant shepherds dropping by to say hello. Strangers visiting later to bring some gifts.

The people of Christmas are those who are the players of Christmas. We don't pay that much attention to the sheep of Christmas, the donkeys or the camels. The people are what make Christmas special. There would not be a Christmas story without the baby, Mary and Joseph.

Who are the people in your Christmas story? Growing up it was Mama Mollette, Mama Hinkle and Grandpa Hinkle, uncles and aunts, first cousins. Parents Walt and Eula Mollette, sisters and brothers and their children. Later my church families became very significantly involved in my Christmas story. Today there are new faces of extended family, their spouses and now grandchildren. The landscape has dramatically changed.

Years ago, I never imagined Christmas would change so much. Most of the people who I once celebrated Christmas with have passed on or live somewhere else. The people you and I celebrate Christmas with this year will soon pass on or relocate to live somewhere else. The point is this, embrace your Christmas while you can. Embrace your people while you can. The people in your life are your Christmas.

Christmas gifts, trees and decorations are all nice and fun. However, give love, and as safely as you can because of Covid-19, celebrate each other this year. It's always the people of Christmas who make up the Christmas story. While our celebrations this year may be remotely, use your telephone, computers and whatever means you have to connect with your most precious gifts of Christmas - the people in your life.

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Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of American Issues, Every American Has An Opinion and ten other books. He is read in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization.

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This article is the sole opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of PhotoNews Media. We welcome comments and views from our readers.

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