The Mayor’s Corner 12/19/2018

Mayor Diana Thomas

Merry Christmas from City Hall. Like most everyone else, I can’t believe Christmas is already here. Many of us refer back to Christmas 2016 and not knowing what was ahead of us. This year weather wise ii is much different but again we don’t know what lies ahead for any of us so we should appreciate each day.
City offices will close on December 24th at 12:00 noon to allow our employees to celebrate together and get home to family and friends. There is a drop box across from City Hall that payments can be put in. If you have an emergency, contact the Washington County Sheriff’s dispatch and they will have the names and numbers for each department. If you call the City offices, there are instructions on how to contact the on-call individual. Offices will open on December 26th at 8 am.
Street and Parks Department has finished leaf pickup for the year. They were able to pick up across the City and even returned to some major areas twice. They will continue working on limbs that may impede traffic movement and equipment. They are currently working on streets east of Hwy. 95. The crews occasionally have to work around trailers and vehicles parked on the streets. Please remember to move trailers and disabled vehicles off streets. If the snow does come, these obstructions need to be gone. During the snow event in 2017, the City paid for vehicles to be moved, but if it should happen again, the owners will have to cover the cost of this service. Plan now for how and where they can be moved.
The Electric Department is driving around checking lines this week to try to determine what might be causing some of the bumps we have had lately. Those that occur at night are probably not squirrels but maybe related to owls in the area. They are also looking at limbs that may come in contact during high winds. If you see any of these situations, let us know so we can follow up.
Our amazing community stepped up in a big way again by providing clothing, food and additional resources for our families impacted by last week’s fire. Remember organizations like Love INC all year round because they provide many services outside of fire victims. The Wildwood Apartment residents have all been taken care of temporarily and Love INC as well as WICAP and Rose Advocates will help as they relocate and put their lives back together after the holidays.
Santa’s Ho Ho Express will be traveling this week. Santa will be taking students from Annex to BiMart on Wednesday and the kids from Weiser Schools to Wal-Mart on Saturday. Volunteers are always appreciated to accompany the kids or to wrap packages when they return. This is such a wonderful Christmas tradition. The smiles on the faces of the kids as they shop for themselves and those they love is priceless. Thank you to Santa, all the volunteers and the Steve’s Hometown Motors for sponsoring and helping put that smile on faces.
Have a safe and happy Christmas.