1 Front Volume 140 No. 46
Friday, January 10, 2014
The Tonica News
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Post office rates to increase First class stamps to go up 3 cents By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
TONICA — In less than a month, LaSalle County residents will have to pay more for their first class mail. On Jan. 26 the cost of a first-class stamp will go up by 3 cents to 49 cents, said Tonica Postmaster Kathy Newhalfen. This is a two-year temporary raise by the Postal Regulatory Commission. The raise will be re-evaluated at the end of the period.
One way to save money on the postage increase is to think ahead and use the Forever stamps which sell for the same current rate that regular first class stamps sell for. Forever stamps will be sold through the end of the business day on Jan. 25 at the current rate of 46 cents. “They (postal customers) can buy the stamps now for 46 cents, the Forever stamps, and those will still be good after Jan. 26,” she said.
“People can stock up with the rolls of Forever stamps and will save money before that date.” In Tonica, the post office box rents will also be going up. Newhalfen noted she has not been given an official cost for this increase and does not know for sure officially on what date it will change. Other items may go up, but no official notice has been given to Newhalfen. “There’s a thing they call a rate chart
that we get,” she said. “They (USPS) have not released it with any prices yet to the individual post offices.” The Postal Regulatory Commission is anticipating an additional $2.8 billion raised through the rate increase on the first class stamps. This raise is only meant to compensate for the national recession. The post office still has to deal with the losses caused by those who use electronic communications like email and Twitter as well as com-
mercial delivery services like United Parcel Service and Federal Express. Newhalfen expects postal traffic to increase once the current weather front moves on from the area. The Forever stamps which are such a bargain now can become a real cost savings measure not only for the customer, but the post office itself. The old stamps will have to be destroyed and then reprinted with the new rate of 49 cents on them. The Forever Global stamps which
can be used in international mailing, will also be able to be used with no additional postage. The U.S. Postal Service ended fiscal year 2013, Oct. 1, 2012, to Sept. 30, 2013, with a net loss of $5 billion. This is the seventh consecutive year in which the postal service has incurred such losses. The U.S. Postal Service receives no taxpayer money and is tasked with the problem of raising its own revenue to cover expenses each new year.
Concealed carry is not for everyone Brown: ‘The heaviest responsibility you will ever carry’ By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
OTTAWA — On a frigid Jan. 4 morning with winter storm warnings in effect, 12 people from as far away as Metamora made the journey to Ottawa and Buffalo Range Shooting Park for a concealed carry class. The 16-hour class consists of two sessions, with this particular eight-hour class being Part 1. Instructor and Peru Police officer Jeremiah Brown addresses the class. “Before we go any further, be sure that you understand the responsibilities of having a concealed carry permit,” he said. “That gun will be the heaviest responsibility you will ever carry.” Brown is one of 22,392 licensed handgun instructors in Illinois, most of whom are not yet concealed carry certified. Illinois is expecting to process 365,000 applications this year, and Brown said he’s been running classes six days a week since
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Tonica News photo/Dixie Schroeder
Winter Wonderland? Lowell Benenga of Tonica works the snow blower at the United Methodist Church on Jan. 6. It was minus 12 degrees that day after a snowfall of 4 to 5 inches during the weekend in the area.
Illinois pension reform law is challenged Retired teachers association files lawsuit By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
CHICAGO — The Illinois Retired Teachers Association filed suit Dec. 27 challenging the constitutionality of the state’s controversial plan to deal with the nation’s most underfunded public employee pension system.
The lawsuit is the first of what could be many filed on behalf of state workers, university employees, lawmakers and teachers. The legal challenge argues the law, which limits costof-living increases, raises retirement ages for many current workers and caps the amount of salaries eligible for retirement
benefits, violates the state Constitution. The suit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of eight non-union retirees, teachers and superintendents who are members of the state’s Teacher Retirement System. Representatives of the We Are One coalition of public employee unions,
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Vol. 140 No. 46 One Section - 8 Pages
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including the state’s two major teachers’ unions, have said they expect to file suit shortly. “The law allows anyone to avail themselves of their legal rights, and We Are One Illinois plans to do the same at the appropriate time,” Director of Communications of the Illinois Federation of Teachers Aviva Brown said in a statement from
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the IFT’s Peru office. “The Illinois Federation of Teachers and our coalition partners are focused on preparing to bring the most effective case possible to defend the constitutional rights of our members and hundreds of thousands of other public employees and retirees throughout Illinois.”
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