The Iowa Department of Public Safety hosted an event Monday to highlight the importance of proper care of a live Christmas tree. The demonstration involved two burn cells, each outfitted with furniture and a Christmas tree that had been cut down three weeks ago. State Fire Marshal Ray Reynolds had firefighters place a small flame on each tree. “One (tree) we watered extensively, as you should. The other one, we gave it no water whatsoever,” Reynolds explained.

“The trees looked almost identical, but as you can see from the burn cell test – one tree is a Charlie Brown tree and the other is still luscious and green.” Reynolds described the fir as a “Charlie Brown tree” because the unwatered tree lost all of it’s needles in the fire. It was engulfed in flames in just a few seconds. The tree that was watered daily remained mostly intact as firefighters had a hard time even setting it on fire. Gary Harman is with the Walnut Ridge Tree Farm in Indianola.

“The water bowl should have water in it all the time,” Harman said. “Never let it go dry or let the butt of the tree out of water.” Reynolds is also encouraging Iowans who buy live Christmas trees to keep them away from candles and extension cords.

(Radio Iowa) (Video courtesy Radio Iowa) watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wVN–006mRE

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A 25-year-old Sioux City man who’d been tracking his estranged wife has been convicted of interstate stalking and a weapons charge. Federal prosecutors say Ralph Rogers was convicted last week. The jury acquitted Rogers of kidnapping and another weapons charge. Rogers pleaded guilty in September to another weapons charge.  His sentencing has not been scheduled.

Prosecutors say Rogers had secretly placed a GPS device on his estranged wife’s car. Investigators say that when the tracking device showed that she’d stopped at a residence in South Sioux City, Neb., Rogers got a handgun and drove there.  Prosecutors say Rogers entered the home without permission and assaulted one of the people inside. Prosecutors say Rogers then took his estranged wife back to his home in Sioux City.

Customers of the Atlantic Municipal Utilities will see a new statement effective December 26^th, that replaces the postcard-style billing we are used to seeing.

Sample of new AMU billing statement (Front view)

New statement (Sample) reverse view

AMU letter to customers explaining statement changes.

AMU officials announced the change during their Board of Trustees meeting Monday night. AMU General Manager Steve Tjepkes said letters will be going out to their customers explaining the change and options available for payment.

AMU says while the postcard billing statements have served them well for many years, it is becoming more cumbersome to maintain. The new statements (which resemble those of other utilities, such as Alliant Energy), are said to be less likely to get lost in the mail, because they are business envelope sized. Officials say the new statement is also: Easier to read; Have a more detailed level of information; Gives AMU the capability of adding multiple accounts to one billing statement; Will allow for better tracking of information and processing payments; and, better protects customer information.

Jennifer Saathoff, Board Secretary, said additional features being offered to their billing system in 2013 include customers’ being able to access their bill through AMU’s website to make a payment or check a detailed statement history, which is especially beneficial to the “Snow Bird”-type customer, who resides out of state during the Winter months. There will also be a feature to set-up recurring credit card payments and debit transactions.

All of those features will be rolled out sometime early next year.

The Atlantic Municipal Utilities’ Board of Trustees Monday evening approved published electric and water rate increases amounting to a 10-percent increase in water rates and a 7.5-percent increase in electric rates to make up for wholesale increases in the cost to obtain electricity and other related expenses. AMU’s residential customers will see an average $6.60 monthly increase for their combined electric and water bill. Commercial (Business) users of AMU’s electric and water service will see their average bill increase by about $24.45 per month. The new rates become effective with the February 1st, 2013 billing.

During a public hearing prior to the Boards’ vote, there were no spoken objections from the public with regard to the proposed rate increase. There was one letter written by two Atlantic citizens regarding the City’s Christmas lights being on overnight, past the time when most downtown businesses are closed. In the letter, Eleanor and Leslie Becker questioned why AMU doesn’t try to save the taxpayers money by turning the lights off when the business district is closed.

AMU General Manager Steve Tjepkes explained the way the lights are wired makes it difficult to shut them off. He said the Christmas lights are wired into the street lights, which are on a photo-electric cell. When conditions are dark enough, the street lights, and anything tied into them, such as the Christmas lights, will turn on together. Tjepkes said he wasn’t aware of that until he received the Beckers’ letter and looked into it.

Tjepkes estimates the Christmas lights are on about 50-days during the season, for about 14-hours per day. He says based on the cost of energy, the cost to provide electricity for the LED lights is about $500 per year. Tjepkes noted the new Christmas lights are more energy efficient than the old lights. He acknowledged that AMU could work to switch the lights to separate circuits from the street lights, which would save at best “A couple of hundred dollars per year,” but Board Chair Larry Turner pointed out the cost to switch those circuits would “Be very expensive.”