The Mayor’s Corner 04/19/2017

I enjoyed reading the article last week about the robotics program at Weiser High School. Not too long ago, Mr. Lundberg started the program and had enough students to field a team that attended state and national competitions. Now to look at the picture and see a total of five teams competing for WHS is great. In addition, the robotics program through the 4-H and University of Idaho Extension Service grows annually. What a great way for our young students to learn more through hands-on technology. Our schools have many programs to challenge the kids and give them a chance to pursue their interest and sometimes we miss what they are doing. Watch for these stories and activities to see the positive activities and projects our kids have going.
Each year Joyce Taylor returns to her hometown to run the annual Washington County kids track meet. Parents come out to watch their athletes ranging in age 0-12 compete in all kinds of track events. This year it was a little cold and wet but the participants still came. Joyce comes early to hold some training sessions before the meet and then has everything organized for the 2 ½ hour event. Thank you, Joyce, for coming back each year to organize and run the event for our kids.
If you will be using the parks this week or next, be aware that the Parks crew will be running the water to check the sprinklers for broken parts and lines. They are also scheduling aerating in the parks to get them ready for summer use. The crew does not use a plug system anymore so plugs should not be a problem. Instead, they have gone to using a knife system to aerate. Irrigation water for some of the parks will not be available till early May while the canal companies do repair work on the canals.
Electric Department is still working on trimming of limbs in lines this week. Last week they placed a new pole between W. 1st and W. 2nd. This week they will be replacing the transformer.
Adopt-a-truck is getting a lot of use this month which is great. There will be an alley cleanup. Please place the yard debris in the alley away from the garbage cans. The crew has been waiting for the pit area off the Water Treatment road to dry out which is where we dump much of the debris. If we had to cart it all to the transfer site it would take much longer and be extra burden for the county. The alleys will be serviced in the next few weeks. We appreciate your cooperation.
A week is set aside annually to recognize and thank the folks who run our dispatch system for our Emergency Services. The dispatch system in Washington County is all run by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. These folks man the phones and computers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We appreciate the work they do for all our EMS crews from the City Police, City Fire Department, Rural Fire, Midvale Fire, Cambridge Fire, Ambulance services and the Sheriff’s Department. They communicate and coordinate many types of emergency calls and some that seem to be emergencies. The dispatchers also coordinate with the state agencies and counties around us. Thank you to these men and women that are placed in very stressful situations for their dedications to those they serve. We appreciate you.