The state’s Public Utility Commission last week lowered the maximum allowable wholesale price for electricity by almost half, from $9,000 per megawatt hour to $5,000. The move came after prices soared to the maximum during last February’s deadly freeze, causing financial havoc along with the widespread power outages.

Brenda Miles’ Christmas Tale picks up today where it left off last week: Part II Christmas morning found us all gathered back in the familiar kitchen dining on slab bacon fried only until it was good and warm, eggs fried in the bacon grease until they were brown and lacy around the edges, and biscuits so huge they would put McDonald’s buns to shame. Pure butter dripped from our fingers as we gripped the biscuits that held Mamma’s fig preserves hanging out the sides.

How many hundreds of times have you heard ‘Jingle Bells’, or Elvis promising ‘I’ll be Home for Christmas’? How many thousands of times have you wished Christmas trees didn’t get in your way as you shopped for a set of towels in October. Yep, it’s that time of year, and our ears and eyes remind us we need to get busy.

Herbert Noble buried his wife on Dec. 4, 1949 four days after she was killed by a car bomb meant for the notorious gambler.

Brenda’s reaching back into the memories of Christmas Past with this column that originally ran over 10 years ago. It’s long, so we’re going to break this up into three parts. Enjoy this encore Christmas series.

Electronic giant Samsung announced last week that it will build a new semiconductor manufacturing facility in the Central Texas town of Taylor, about 40 miles northeast of Austin. The $17 billion investment will be the largest foreign direct investment in Texas to date and brings the company’s total investment in the state to $35 billion.

Exciting news, folks: we’re working on a “2022 Year in the Garden” calendar that we plan to publish later this month. It isn’t any old plain calendar, though. Each month will feature one of my columns from the past year along with tips for the garden for that month.

A westbound M-K-T freight train engine hit an elderly La Grange woman at the Washington St. crossing. Mrs. Minnie Ulbrich was reported to have been walking south on the west side of the street when she was struck by the lead engine’s bumper and thrown onto Lafayette St. She had just moved from an apartment on N. Washington to Mrs. Louise Schafer’s apartment on S. Jefferson. Mrs. Ulbrich was admitted to the emergency room at Fayette Memorial Hospital.

The Winchester Community Christmas Party will be held Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. at Zilss Hall. Come and enjoy games and food furnished by the Winchester Area Civic Association. Santa will be on hand to listen to all the children’s Christmas wishes.

The East Parker Road community met up at the Muldoon Mercantile Store on Friday evening for a wonderful time of eating some great appetizers, collecting some toys and coats for the Deputy Santa program and just taking time to connect. I was very fortunate to have been invited to come and participate.