Storm Season Is HereBe Prepared With

A Community Publication Provided By MTCO CommunicationsMTCO Communications

220 N. Menard Street Metamora, IL 61548

Serving Metamora & Germantown Hills

Magazine

April 2012

Details on page 5

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Springtime in central Illinois is always a welcomed part of the year. The grass turns green, the flowers add new colors to the landscape, but the spring storms can be a menace if not deadly. To help keep you informed of the weather in our area, digiMAX IPTV service provided by MTCO now offers a weather channel that is second to none!

myWeather Channel (HD channel 411/Digital channel 401) is now broadcasting the latest weather information for our local communities. myWeather is an informative weather broadcast displaying the latest radar and temperatures, with daily and weekly forecasts made exclusively for our broadcast areas in Metamora, Germantown Hills and Marseilles. The inspiration to build this channel was based off input we received from our customers. We were excited to be able to tailor numerous features based off their suggestions. All the weather information you need is broadcast over a two minute slide show. No more waiting for the 8’s or commercials from other weather channel broadcasts. Now digiMAX keeps you connected to your local weather like no other weather channel available. We are not finished

with it yet. We have a few more goodies to add to this resourceful weather channel. Stay tuned as the added resources become available.

To date, a lot of people have signed on to our digiMAX services, and we greatly appreciate the response we received from the community. During our first year, we have broadcast the Metamora High School football games including some special Classic games like the 1975 State Championship game. We brought you all the varsity boys’ basketball games starting in January 2012, including the away games. And recently, we broadcast the big presentation of Celebrate America as performed by the entire 2nd grade class of Metamora Grade School. We have plans to offer more content from events happening in our community. To top it off, we work hard to bring you community information in our very own, locally produced, Connected Magazine with full color pictures displaying our hometown. We provide all residents a copy, and we hope you enjoy reading this resourceful magazine. We couldn’t do it without the local community, and we thank all of you for your great support!

President & CEOGlenn Rauh

Vice President & CFOAnn Dickerson

Wireless Operations Manager Editor - Connected MagazineBob Becraft

Marketing Manager Editor - Connected MagazineKip DuBois

Copyright 2012 MTCO Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

Connected Magazine is published monthly by MTCO Communications with corporate office located at 220 North Menard Street, Metamora, Illinois, 61548. The publication is intended for use of the residents of Metamora and Germantown Hills.

No article in this issue or any part of this publication may be reproduced without the expressed written permission of the Publisher.

For more information about this magazine, or for additional copies, contact Bob Becraft or Kip DuBois at 309-367-4197 or connected@mtco.com.

If you have questions or concerns regarding your services, please contact our Customer Service Representatives at (309)367-4197 or 800-859-6826.

One of the storm sirens in Metamora that is located on Chatham. The sirens are tested the first Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m., and it is a good practice to check if you can hear them in your house or business. If not, you should invest in a weather radio to alert you.

On The Cover:

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MTCO Communications 220 N. Menard Street

Metamora, Illinois 61548 309-367-4197

April Showers Bring May FlowersmyWeather Will Keep You Informed 24/7

EntErtainmEnt & tEchnology

Keep up with Entertainment and Technology news. Add MTCO to your Facebook and Twitter groups and visit www.mtco.com and click on “MTCO News” on the right section of the webpage.

Peter O’Toole Takes Center Stage in New TCM SpecialAs a prelude to the opening of the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will air a special on-air tribute to eight-time Oscar® nominee and honorary Academy Award® recipient Peter O’Toole, who took center stage at last year’s festival. On Wednesday, April 11, TCM will premiere Peter O’Toole: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival, a one-hour special taped at the 2011 festival in which TCM host Robert Osborne interviews the legendary actor in front of an audience of festival attendees.

Peter O’Toole: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival is set to premiere at 8 p.m. (ET). The special will be followed by three O’Toole classics.

IPTV: From the Sky to Your HomePart Four of a Four Part Series

We have finally arrived at the home with the last part of this series. Once the signal reaches the home, the “home network” begins. There is a separate network within the home for video and for Internet. For our VDSL service, the phone line plugs into a VDSL Router, or for our Fiber-To-The-Home customers the fiber connects to the Optical Networking Terminal (ONT, or the “box on the outside of the house”). These are the points where the MTCO network ends, and the home network begins.

The router/ONT has multiple ethernet ports that are assigned for either TV or Internet service. We then plug in the Set Top Boxes (STB’s) that are needed at each TV location and main computer into the correct ports, so they receive the correct service.

Ethernet cabling is run from the router to the Set Top Box(es) and computer. If we are unable to physically reach the device by running ethernet through the home, other techologies are utilized to reach that equipment. HPNA, which converts ethernet to be transported over existing coax wiring, or Powerline, which converts ethernet and sends it over the electrical wiring, is then used.

The STB’s installed at each TV are the devices that run special software that communicates with the head-end to receive viewable channels, guide data, and TV content. The software converts the digital IP stream to a usable signal so that you can see the guide data and tune to an IPTV channel to view on your television.

We hope you enjoyed this series for a brief look into the equipment and processes that take place to deliver IPTV and VDSL technology to your home.

CONAN Takes Late Night into the Future With New Synchronized Tablet AppTBS’s popular series CONAN, hosted by Conan O’Brien, has taken a giant leap into the future with the brand-new Team Coco tablet app. Presented by launch sponsor AT&T, the app uses Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology to provide CONAN’s hyper-connected fans with exclusive, synchronized content delivered in real-time while they watch the show. The Team Coco tablet app is available on both the iOS and Android platforms and can be downloaded free from the iTunes and Android app stores.

“CONAN draws the youngest and most digitally connected audience in late night, so it makes perfect sense that Team Coco is the first in late-night television to create a synchronized app for fans,” said Dennis Adamovich, senior vice president of brand and digital activation for TBS, TNT and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). “With this new app, Team Coco is transforming CONAN into an immersive, interactive experience that can be enjoyed whenever you want.”

“We’re really excited to bring this tablet experience to viewers – it’s truly the only CONAN app you’ll ever need,” said John A. Wooden, GM & executive

producer of Team Coco Digital. “The ‘sync’ feature not only provides tablet-exclusive content, but also makes dual-screen viewing of CONAN a compelling social experience – allowing viewers to interact with one another within the app. The tablet app also includes all the video clips, photos and web-exclusive content that make TeamCoco.com so popular.”

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Garden Club Springs Into ActionOne of the reasons people move to Germantown Hills is the natural beauty of the area. And, while Germantown Hills’ two parks provide the community with lots of fun and function, they do not necessarily reflect that beauty. The Germantown Hills Garden would like to change that.

The Garden Club meets at the Community Center, on Ten Mile Creek Rd. across from Michael’s, on the 2nd Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Programs include speakers, take home projects and short trips to local points of interest. The first meeting was on March 13, with the topic being garden design. Dues are $10 a year. “We are a small, informal club and our members range from those who just enjoy looking at flowers to a Master Gardener. We have fun learning from each other and trading seeds and plants,” said Melanie Meismer.

The club has an annual fund raising sale next to the former Jubilee Foods. Flowers, shrubs, and even trees are sold at bargain prices with advice from the members of the club thrown in for free. The GH Chamber of Commerce holds their pork chop grill at the same place. This year the sale and lunch will be held on May 5th. “Every year our club has been able to donate to local charities and to the GH Firefighters. This year we would also like to be able to purchase some items for J.R. White Park,” continued Meismer. “Most of the flower beds have nothing planted in them. Last summer they were weed beds.”

Melanie also stated, “I want to encourage the Mayor and trustees to promote the idea of an official “Beautify Germantown Hills” idea. We look forward to working with the Village and we want to encourage others to get involved. If church and community groups came together to do just a little each year it could really impact the look of the Village, and possibly influence new business coming in. The Welcome sign (on Rt 116) could use help and there are spots in and around the (GH Crossing) shopping center that are unkept. We need prettier, easier to maintain shrubs and perennials, but we need hands-on volunteer help. The job is too big for our club to do alone, and the Village staff has other work (besides landscaping).”

For more information, contact her at doxymom4@yahoo.com, or by phone at (309)383-3243 or visit the Germantown Hills Garden Club website at www.germantownhillsgardenclub.com.

Celebrating 30 Years of HopeJoin Heartline and Heart House for an Evening of Celebration on Friday, April 27, 2012 at the Metamora High School Auditorium.

The evening’s concert will feature Christian Music Artist Rachel West Kramer and the local talents of Testify Men’s Quartet. This exciting evening will include the announcement of the 2012 recipient of the Marvin Cheney Achievement Award and the touching testimony of a former homeless, single

mother as she shares her journey from a life in crisis to one of hope.

A reception will be held at 6:00 p.m. with the concert starting at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 each and available at the door or in advance at the Metamora Commerce Bank and the Spring Bay Community Bank.

The Dusty HutchThe Metamora Area Business Association (MABA) recently held a ribbon cutting ceremony at The Dusty Hutch, which is located at 214 E. Partridge St. just off the square in Metamora. Their phone number is 367-9540.

Shirley Hutchens, owner, mentioned what an awesome experience it has been opening the store, where she sells antiques, vintage collectibles and local art, and also rents space to eight vendors.

Store hours are 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with evening hours until 8:00 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday.

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Tazwood Dance Company Celebrates Thirty YearsTazWood Dance Company (TWDC) celebrates its 30th anniversary with its spring concert The Art of Dance on April 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m. and on April 29 at 2:30 p.m. The concert will be held in the Performing Arts Center of Illinois Central College.

This show will feature dancers from the (TWDC), children from Easter Seals dancing with the Company, and guest artist Dan Fisher, who was an original Company member and danced with the Company until 2004.

The show will include a tribute to Broadway’s Comedies and Tragedies; “Roots” uses music that was the forerunner of rock and roll; “Game On” is sports related and each piece has a different sports theme such as football, baseball, skiing, skating, and boxing; “I Will Remember You” is the story of a lung cancer patient coping with the harsh realities of the disease; “The Circle of Life” uses the Lion King Disney music for some really fun dance; “The World We Live In” discusses our care of the planet.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for students and seniors and are available at the ICC Box Office, (309)694-5136. Easter Seals will receive a $1 donation for each ticket sold.

A shortened matinee performance will be held on April 26 at 9:30 a.m. Tickets are $3 adults and $2 students and seniors. These tickets are for group sales only and are available at the ICC Box Office, (309)694-5136.

A reception following the April 27 performance is open to the public, and a silent auction will be conducted throughout the run of the show. For more information visit www.ArtsAtICC.com.

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Do you have some community news to share with the residents of Metamora and Germantown Hills?

Send it to connected@mtco.com, or mail it to us at 220 N. Menard St., Metamora, IL 61548,

Attn: Connected Magazine.

Germantown Hills, Marseilles and Metamora now have their own 24/7 local weather channel!

Local weather, all the time…not just on the 8’s! ● Local forecast and current temps every 30 seconds

● National, Midwest and local radar

● Watches and warnings, plus more!

In HD on digiMAX myWeather channel 411 (digital ch. 401)MTCO Communications • 800-859-6826 • www.mtco.com