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AUSTIN, Texas — The Public Utility Commission (PUC) continues to urge Texans to conserve electricity this week as severe drought conditions and record high temperatures persist throughout the electric grid managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
The PUC advises residential and business customers to adjust air conditioning thermostats at least two degrees higher and turn off unnecessary lighting. Customers also are being asked to run dishwashing and laundry appliances either in the morning or after sunset. In the summer, electricity usage peaks between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
“Texans really need to save energy these last few days of August,” said PUC Chairman Donna Nelson. “On Sunday we had the highest demand ever for a weekend day within ERCOT, and we expect even greater demand now that the work week is underway.”
The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory on Monday for several areas of Texas, including the Houston, San Antonio and Austin metropolitan areas.
The current conservation alert can be found in the PowerfulAdvice section on the PUC Web site by linking to the colored box near the lower right corner of the PUC home page www.puc.state.tx.us
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Conservation Needed |
On YELLOW days, extra conservation measures are urged because of a chance that electricity shortages may occur during the peak usage hours. Check other no or low-cost conservation tips and other energy efficiency improvements you can make to your home by clicking on the links from the Web page: http://www.puc.state.tx.us/agency/conserve/Conserve.aspx
Go to www.powertochoose.org to see if you can save money by switching to a lower cost retail electricity provider. Price offers are at historical lows in the Texas retail electric competitive market. Your choice of electric provider does not affect the reliability of your electric service, the frequency or duration of outages, or the time it will take to have your electric service restored if an outage occurs.
Information about bill payment assistance, low-income weatherization and energy efficiency measures is available on the PUC Website and by phone toll-free at 1-888-782-8477.
All PUC News Releases are available at www.puc.state.tx.us
K & 1st grade Creative Drama taught by Ashley & Mike Pickering
Introduce your child to the wonderful world of acting through theatre games and
experimental dramatic play; includes fall and spring skit for parents
Meets Thursdays at 4:15pm-5:15pm or 5:30pm – 6:30pm
2nd – 4th grade– Introductory Theatre Skills taught by Alan Jones & Katherine Burns
Includes Christmas Show and Spring Play
Meets Mondays at 5:15pm -6:15pm
5th-7th grade Intermediate Theatre Skills & Performance taught by Laura Hutchings
Includes Reader’s Theatre in the Fall and Spring Production for area schools
Meets Tuesdays at 4pm-5pm or 5:15pm -6:15pm
8th grade & up Teen Theatre taught by Cody Head
Includes Reader’s Theatre in the Fall and traveling Social Theatre in Spring
Meets Tuesdays at 5:00pm – 6:00pm
The Continuing Education Department at Paris Junior College has added two classes set to start in September, according to Dr. Charles George, Associate Dean of Workforce Training and Continuing Education.
The Art of Remembering will be offered from 10-11 a.m., each Friday, Sept. 27 through Oct. 25. In the fast paced world of computers, smartphones, iPads and other hi-tech gadgets, the art of using one’s memory is becoming lost. In this five-week class participants will learn memory techniques practiced for 3,000 years prior to the advent of the printing press. How was the Bible memorized for transcribing? How did scholars keep complex formulas in their heads? This course will answer these questions while offering learning tools that will make things like memorizing pi to 100 digits a snap; remember names, faces, phone numbers, where you put your keys, etc. The techniques learned in this course will help you decrease your dependence on technology.
The Extreme Couponing workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17. Extreme couponing can help cut a grocery bill by 30 to 50 percent, and even more. In this session participants will learn the best way to organize coupons, and find coupons and money saving deals online. Saving newspaper ad inserts for two weeks before attending this workshop is recommended.
To register for these courses, call 903-782-0447 or 903-782-0445.
If you are a Veteran and what to start a new business, the Northeast Texas Veterans Entrepreneur Assistance Program has the tools to get you in business!
Resources abound in the Red River Region to assist Veterans interested in starting or acquiring a new business and the Red River Region Business Incubator (R3bi) is pleased to serve as a conduit delivering those services to you.
The R3bi offers an accelerated program to assist veterans starting up or buying a new business. The program focuses community resources and accelerates the process of business start up or acquisition.
No Cost Accelerated Evaluation
• Evaluate feasibility
• Determine training and support needs
• Develop a focused business plan
• Financial projections
• Determine availability of seed funds
Channel for Community Resources
• Paris Junior College: Counseling and advising to Veterans interested in advancing their educational goals. www.parisjc.edu
• Workforce Solutions Northeast Texas: Entrepreneurship training and resources. www.netxworkforce.org
• The Paris Small Business Development Center: Free counseling and practical assistance to small businesses at all stages of development. www.sbdcparis.org
Create individual support team
Advisors to assist in the training and preparation for business management and growth.
Provide scholarships and sponsors to assist in initial cost of business incubation and start-up.
For more information on specific support for Veterans in the Red River Region, contact
Fred Green, Director
Red River Region Business Incubator
903.905.4979
fgreen@r3bi.org
www.r3bi.org
By CHARLES RICHARDS
eParisExtra.com
The Paris City Council will meet in special session at 11 a.m. Monday (Aug. 29) to deliberate further on the city redistricting map.
The council is to “give direction” on what it wants to do, but as posted on the agenda, no action can occur.
The council gave tentative approval a week ago to Map 1C, but several members of the council said they had problems with it.
Meeting with the council will be Robert Bass of Allison & Bass of Austin, the company the city hired for $12,500 to come up with ways to redistrict the city’s seven city council districts to get in compliance with state and federal law.
According to the 2010 Census for Paris, which showed a citywide population of 25,171, the perfect population for each of the seven districts is 3,596. Five of the city’s districts were above that number, while two districts (Districts 1 and 2) had fallen below.
The current actual population for the districts are as follows:
District 1 — 3,175 (-421)
District 2 — 2,795 (-801)
District 3 — 3,728 (+132)
District 4 — 4,031 (+435)
District 5 — 3,772 (+176)
District 6 — 3,706 (+110)
District 7 — 3,964 (+368)
Whatever plan is adopted must be forwarded to the Justice Department for review, as required under the Voting Rights Act of 1973. Only upon preclearance will the city be allowed to hold its 2012 elections.
The plan must not only bring all seven districts within proximity of the average, it must also retain the ethnicity of districts 1 and 2. That has been a problem; to add more people to those two districts has meant bringing in more Anglos, thus weakening the voting strength of blacks and Hispanics.
The current (1C) map has moved several blocks of Paris’ historical district, now in District 5 under councilman Matt Frierson, into District 2, now served by councilman Robert Avila.
All of District 4 (councilman Richard Grossnickle) that is inside the loop on the northeast portion of Paris has been split primarily among Districts 1 (Joe McCarthy) and District 6 (Edwin Pickle).
A portion of District 3, south of U.S. 82 and west of Loop 286, is scheduled under Map 1C to become part of District 4, which stretches along the top of the city all the way around to the Oak Creek residential area.
At least three former mayors would be living in different districts than under the present plan — Will Biard would be in District 2 instead of District 5, Jesse Freelan would be in District 4 instead of District 3, and Richard Manning would be in District 1 insted of District 4.
One of the intents of the redistricting plan was to keep all existing city councilmen in the same district again.
The council has complained it is being unduly rushed to adopt a plan without citizens having an opportunity to see what is being proposed and to react to it.
Bass has told the council he needs the city’s OK on a plan by Thursday. Whether the council will comply is uncertain.
Although the city’s next election is not until scheduled until next May, the county will have county, state and federal primaries next March, and the county cannot finalize its plan until after the city finalizes its, since changes in the city redistricting map could force changes in the county map.
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