I have experienced more power glitches – both brief interruptions and prolonged outages – in the last two years in Pekin than I did for my entire 15 years in St. Louis. We’ve had two prolonged outages and 3 or 4 flickers just in the past couple weeks.
What gives??? Has Pekin always had such frequent outages?
6 responses so far ↓
1
Shannon Sandoval
// Jun 17, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Actually – I think it’s just the opposite. Maybe we’re just electrically-blessed, but in the five years we lived in Sunset Hills, not one power outage – ever. Even when the tornado passed right behind us on Mother’s Day 2003. (We lived on the back edge, up against VFW Road.) A few flickers here and there maybe, but not one that lasted more than a few minutes.
We’ve lived in our current house more than 2 years, and only 2 outages here so far, both related to widespread outages in the area. Neither lasted more than a few hours.
Now, if only we had a key to our front door! For us, power outages also mean getting locked out of the house. We’re working on that…
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2
Knight in Dragonland
// Jun 17, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I think we’ve had 3 or 4 prolonged outages (several hours or more) and innumerable “flickers” in the last two years. Maybe we’re just caught in the midst of a statistical blip.
3
Michael
// Jun 17, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Over the past decade or so our power provider (CILCO, then AmerenCILCO) has consistently backed away from line maintenance. Especially those lines associated with utility poles. As a result those with underground power tend to do better and the rest of us suffer. Those who live in rural areas get the worst. We have gone from one or two outages a year to one or two a month through the summer and they last hours rather than minutes. The worst is a major outage with lots of downed lines because we have to wait until they call in out of town linemen. A family friend is a lineman and he has relayed some real horror stories about the increasing problems caused by ancient poles, untrimmed trees, etc.
4
Shannon Sandoval
// Jul 2, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Funny, because after you posted this I talked to some friends who live in the same part of town you do and they were expressing the same frustrations! Hopefully it’s just a blip and not a sign of how things are now…
5
Peter Bacon
// Jul 23, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Here’s an idea, why don’t you move back to St. Louis? I’m currently serving an 8 month deployment in Afghanistan and was looking up my sleepy little hometown in my spare time and came across your sight. It is laughable at best. My sisters and I all attended Pekin schools and now we all live successful lives. My oldest sister is a now a doctor, my middle sister followed in my mother’s footsteps, and is now teaching in Arizona and now I’m defending the country for people like you. What can I say, it is freedom for all, and you just happen to fall into that category. Oh, and my father? He is none other than Dean Bacon, the man you consistently bash in your blogs. I’m glad the Bacon family holds such a special place in your heart. The fact of the matter is I’m proud of where I came from. In my opinoin my father has made a big impact on the city of Pekin. He’s been on the board since I was in grade school. I’m pretty sure that his name is held in higher regard than your name. I mean c’mon you’ve lived in Pekin for how long? I think I read that you now have 5 children, congratulations by the way, and you still reside there. Something must be right then. It seems to me you post more negative news than positive, typical of all media outlets these days, but yet you still remain. If you don’t like our sleepy little town you can get out. I do appreciate your blog, it definitely brought a smile to my face. Such things are hard to come by when you are losing friends in this God foresaken place. Count your blessings, because you obviously don’t know how well you’v got it. You are using your spare time to bash a little town like Pekin? Hahaha I wish I had that luxury. The only reason I found your site was because the phones are down and I can’t call my friends or family. What a laugh. I truly appriciate it.
Your Good Pal,
Peter Bacon
7th Special Forces Group, US Army
Fort Bragg, NC./ Helmand Province Afghanistan
6
Knight in Dragonland
// Jul 24, 2008 at 12:05 am
Peter,
You’ve apparently been a bit selective in your reading of my blog. I don’t feel that I’ve “bashed” Pekin at all … despite the fact that someone here took it upon themselves to cowardly threaten my wife, children and parents because of my political views.
I happen to like this town. I think Pekin has a lot to offer. Are there some things I would like to see change? Certainly, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t like Pekin. I could have moved to Peoria or Morton or Tremont or some other surrounding community, but I didn’t. I CHOSE to live here. I’m not a Pekinite simply by accident of birth.
Yes, I’ll concede that I have bashed your father, and I’m not going to apologize for that. In my opinion, he engaged in unethical behavior during the 2006 school consolidation debate by supporting Jim Mangan’s slander campaign against then District 108 Superintendent Don White. He also seems to have forgotten that his first duty as a school board member is to the children of this community … not guarding the purse strings no matter what the cost to the kids.
Thank you for your service to our country. I’m glad that I’m able to provide you with some amusement.
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