A Winters Express opinion column
By Charles R. Wallace
Publisher Emeritus
Something was wrong with my PG&E bill last month. I was gone for most of January but left my thermostat on when I left. I know, my fault, but $1,400 was still a shocker. At my office, the thermostat is set to what I would call, barely warm. We do have electric heaters by our desks, but the bill was more than double what I would consider normal, while our usage was about the same as last year.
I set the thermostat to 64 in February, when the museum is open and turned it off when I left each day. I talked to the other tenants about lowering their thermostats, and it really seemed to help. Our February bill was “only” $669. I’m not sure what you do if you are a family and want to keep your kids warm but can’t afford your PG&E bill. I’ve told everyone to wear a sweatshirt with a hood, but that didn’t go over very well.
This is nothing new. I’ve always complained about my power bill. Years ago, I remember Debra looking at me, all bundled up at her computer, as she told me, “I can’t type with gloves on.” I bought her a heater for her desk.
If I’m feeling too sorry for myself, I just turn on the news about Ukraine, where the Russians have bombed most of their power plants, leaving the citizens in the dark with no heat. It is hard to believe that we still allow countries to invade one another without the world coming together and saying enough.
To change the subject, the Historical Society of Winters is having a grand opening of the Wild World of Winters Sports exhibit this Sunday, from 1-5, during their normal open hours. Tom Crisp, retired Winters High School teacher and author of local sports books, will be talking at 2 p.m. about the people in the exhibit.
Winters has a long history of athletes succeeding outside of Winters and you will find it interesting to read about and see pictures of our famous sons and daughters.
A friend asked me to write about how volunteers have built a lot of what we are proud of in Winters. He wanted to know why we can’t build the pocket park with volunteer labor. That is a good question. There will be a committee working on a design, but when that plan is finished, let the citizens of Winters step up and do the work. It won’t be the first, or last, time that we use the talents of our neighbors to make Winters a special place to live.
I’ll see you on Sunday afternoon when volunteers at the museum will welcome you to their Wild World of Winters Sports. I’m not sure about snacks, but there will be refreshments and heat in the building.
Have a good week.
