Mayor's Row....by Ned Mitchell
We at City Hall hope that your New Year's holiday was a great time spent with family and friends, and that you are ready to face the New Year with optimism and energy. We are all supposed to make those resolutions at this point every year and try as hard as I do to be perfect in everything I do and right about everything I say, it gives me a chance to look back and see just how imperfect I have been in a lot of ways and how wrong I have been a big portion of the time. At least I am still able to see the error of my ways although it is usually after the fact. Some of my resolutions I will be working on are the same as last year. I need to be more careful of what I eat and I for sure need to get more exercise than I do. For some strange reason those two items have been at the top of my list for several years running now but I will have to keep trying.
Concerning the city I will be attempting to be more positive about Sesser and its' people and will really try to limit my criticism of those who make it a full time job to try and tear up everything we do around here. Believe me I have a lot of work to do on that subject! It really serves no good purpose for folks to have all the infighting going on in Sesser as we all live here and should be promoting the good things we have to offer. We have had travelers from New York City, Germany, California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, and other cities large and small in Sesser this past year. Throughout each conversation I have had with visitors they all come back to how nice our Main Street looks, how fortunate we are to have the Opera House, how clean the town looks, what great streets we have, and how nice and helpful the people of Sesser are. That really makes me proud and as you all know I could go on forever telling about how great Sesser is. We cannot receive these types of accolades without each of us doing our part to make Sesser better in 2007 than it has ever been. Are you up to the challenge? I am and will meet anyone half way to continue the progress we have made!
One of the greatest stories of 2006 did not unfold until the last month of the year and that is the debacle of the power rate increase AmerenCIPS has unleashed upon us all. Of course they had the help of those friendly legislators in Springfield who have made dire predictions about black outs and brown outs if the increases are not put into play. It really amazes me that nobody took up the cause and compromised this situation until it was simply too late to do anything about the crisis and now we are stuck with enormous power bills to pay. As I have said before, some folks can afford to pay the increased amount but others will have to make a choice between staying warm this winter or having food or medicine that is needed. In my way of thinking this has turned out to be a complete failure on both Ameren's part and also that of the state legislature. We, the consumer and tax payer are once again left holding the bag for some bad decisions made in Springfield 10 years ago.
I hesitate to repeat some things I have read or heard but will make an exception in this instance since I feel so strongly about the utility issue. I recently read a column written by a local person who claimed that the top five Ameren executives were paid $7.38 million dollars in salary, stock options and other compensation last year. This totals over $47 million dollars and if this is even close to being true then I would say our legislators have really failed us in a big way. It is also widely reported that Ameren made record profits last year. This all seems hardly feasible for a company facing bankruptcy. If these wage figures are correct and we already know the profits are true because Ameren has reported those, then this company is not going bankrupt and the drastic rate increase is a farce being forced upon us.
Cities will see a huge surge in our power bill for street lights, city hall, the waste water treatment plant and other city owned buildings. For years cities have had a discount power and gas rate offered to them as part of a franchise agreement between the cities and the power companies. The discounts no longer apply and no matter how much electricity or gas a city uses, the rate is the same for everyone. Those of us with all electric homes have always been given a discount as an incentive to use more electricity. That special rate is now gone and everyone will pay the same rate. Cities will have no choice but to raise water and sewer bills to pay for the increased cost. My advice would be to contact your legislator and voice your opinion. If you are for the increased rate and feel like it is needed they need to hear from you. If you are opposed to the rate increase, they need to hear that too. Making your voice heard is what it is all about and I am sure our legislators do pay attention to the comments and suggestions voters offer them from time to time. It is the least you can do so quit complaining and do something about the subject. Write that letter or make that phone call today!
All in all Sesser has had a very good year. We have continued on our steady course of making our town more attractive. We tore down and hauled off about 5 houses and mobile homes this year as well as a commercial building or two. We have condemned several more that will come down this year as we continue to clean up Sesser. You can play a huge part in that by taking care of your own property. We continuously work to rid Sesser of junk vehicles and unsightly buildings that are past the state of repair.
Sesser continues to be one of the safest cities in Southern Illinois and we owe that to our professional police department. We work very hard at knowing who is moving to Sesser and who is driving through here especially at strange times. Criminals have a behavior pattern and observant well trained police officers know how to spot that. We also rely on you to become involved and call us when you see suspicious activity in your neighborhood. If something looks out of place it usually is and a simple phone call can eliminate the problem pretty quickly. We appreciate all that you do to make Sesser safe!
We will continue to promote Sesser as a great place to live, work and to raise a family. Our school system is among the best, we have an active retail store network, we will soon have a new medical clinic, and that coupled with the industry we have here it is plain to see why folks coming though here say nice things about Sesser.
Our Opera House Café has a new menu item and it is fantastic and well worth the drive to Sesser to try it out. Some of us barbeque experts have been after owner Mike Sulser for quite some time to smoke brisket and put it on the menu. A lot of folks can cook ribs and shoulders, but it takes a special talent to smoke a brisket and Mike, in my opinion, has the best brisket I have ever eaten. I first tried brisket several years ago when my cousin Jerry Dame and his family were visiting his mother in Sesser. They have been in Texas for many years and brisket is a regular food item down that way. Once I tried it, I discovered just how good it was. It is hard to find in these parts and most folks don't want to fool with it as the preparation and cook time is about 12 hours. Some try to cook it too fast or try to trim it before cooking and that ruins the flavor of the meet. If you are a brisket fan, Sesser's Opera House Café has the best around and if you have never tried it, give it a try and I think you will be coming back for more. The restaurant is open 7:00 am to 8:00 pm Tuesday through Thursday, open until 9:00 on Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm featuring a fantastic buffet from 11:00 am until closing. You won't go away hungry here!
If you need us give us a call at 625-3611 or 625-5322 or write nedmitchell@verizon.net or www.sesser.org of P. O. Box 277, Sesser, Illinois 62884.
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