You may have noticed that there was not a column from me in last week’s paper. Cathy and I took a few days off to go visit the coast. Going to the coast in the late fall is probably not most people’s preferable time to visit; however, to me there is no bad weather or bad time to be at the ocean. To me, watching the waves and walking on the beach is soothing, even in stormy weather.
We came back home to SNOW. Actually, there was more precipitation here in Weiser than on the Oregon Coast, which was odd.
Speaking of snow, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of the City employees who have spent many long hours this last week scraping, piling, and removing snow from the streets. On Sunday the 4th when it first snowed, they came in at 10:00 in the evening and spent all night working the equipment to get the streets cleared as much as possible.
Then when we received the second round of snow in the middle of last week, our City crew again came in at 4:00 a.m. and went into overdrive – grading…piling…and removing the snow…working through the weekend…and on into the week. The crew wanted to take advantage of the warmer temperatures to get as much snow removed as possible before the freezing set in.
Oh, and by the way, the guys have averaged between removing 50 to 100 dump-trucks of snow per day! That is a lot of snow! If you are curious as to what happens to that snow once removed, you can visit the west side of the train station, the sanding lot north of Western Timber, or out at the far end of the Soccer complex to find out. There are impressive stacks of snow for your viewing pleasure.
When it snows enough to plow the streets, a lot of people do not realize that employees from all departments jump in to help. Employees along with their managers from your Water, Wastewater, Recreation, Garbage, Building, Vendome, and of course, the Street Departments all kick into gear. Even the Mechanic is on duty to handle problems with our aging equipment. Our City’s teamwork is really amazing.
Also, remember that all of this is done while keeping all of the other services going. The Water Department still brings you water. The Wastewater still removes the waste before it goes back into the river. The Electrical Department still provides power. The Recreation Department still oversees Youth Basketball games. The Garbage is still collected, etc.
So, good job guys! You are much appreciated.
As far as City business is concerned, there is not much else going on right now. (I guess that goes without saying.)
So, that’s it for this week. I hope your Christmas Season is going according to plan! Have a great week!!

There seems to be only one way to start this week’s article. That is by letting you know that my hope is for YOU to have a wonderful Thanksgiving. May the memories from this year warm your heart for many years to come.
Cathy and I will be spending the holiday with our daughter’s in-laws in Boise. I’m not sure what the plans are, but as long as the day involves family, friends, and food it can’t go too far wrong.
Again, I hope YOU have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Now going on to a subject that has been touched on in the past, the City’s Comprehensive Plan will be coming out in its final DRAFT form within the next day or two.
The State Legislature requires cities and counties complete a new Comprehensive Plan on a regular basis. Although the law does not require a specific time frame to create a new plan, the consensus among cities is to prepare one every five to ten years. The last plan put in place by the City was 1999.
The purpose of the comprehensive plan is to provide guidance for the Planning and Zoning Commission and developers an idea of the community’s desires and aspirations for the future. The Plan also lays out steps to take to help achieve those goals. The goals are not set in stone. However, the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council should refer to the Plan when making decisions regarding the City’s future.
The draft will be posted on the City’s website along with a questionnaire that you will be able to respond to for final input. There will be a public hearing on December 19 for final input. We debated whether to postpone the public hearing until after the Holidays, but with the ability to review the plan online, the accompanying questionnaire, and the importance of completing the plan in a timely manner, the decision was made to not hold off and to finalize it in December.
The draft is currently a 62- page document covering every major aspect of the City. If you are interested in reviewing the plan and making comments you will want to allow yourself some time to do so. Your input is vital. The more people respond, the clearer picture the City has of the direction you want the City to follow in its planning. So, please take the time to review and provide feedback.
To develop the plan, I recommended to the City Council, and the Council approved, hiring an outside firm to prepare it. I wanted to get fresh eyes on the project and an outside perspective. The cost of the completed Plan will be somewhere between $25,000 and $30,000. To give some perspective on this, the same firm recently put together a plan for the City of Kuna that was in the range of $200,000. So, although the price tag may seem like a lot, by the very scope of the project, it requires a considerable amount of time and effort to put together, and therefore cost.
Now on to other business. With the onslaught of cold nights and frost covered windows in the morning, Carl Smith our Chief of Police, would like to remind you to do two things when getting ready to drive your uncovered car in the morning. The first is to be sure to completely scrape your windshield and side windows for an unobstructed view. This is critical to the safety of yourself, other drivers, and pedestrians, especially school children.
The second, is that if you are warming up your vehicle, please do not leaving it running unattended without locking it first. We live in one of the safest small towns in America, but we do not have to tempt someone unnecessarily. So please do yourself a favor by locking your unattended running vehicle.
Well, that’s it for this week. May you have a great and wonderful day of Thanksgiving!

It is a little hard for me to believe that next week is Thanksgiving! If time flies when you are having fun, I must be having the time of my life!
Seriously, Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday after Christmas. It is a favorite, not because of the food, or the football games. Instead, it is a chance to be with family and to reflect on the people and situations in our lives for which we need to express gratitude. So, I would like to share with you some of the things I am thankful for:
I am thankful for this community of caring, sharing, and supportive people.
I am thankful for the ways people have in bringing out the best in each other.
I am thankful for the privilege to work with the people of Weiser and the City Employees to make this a great place to live, work, and play.
I am thankful and grateful for the privilege to serve as your mayor.
Thank You!
On another subject, a few weeks ago I mentioned that the City would be eligible for a grant from the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation of up to $20,000 to use for a community health project. After asking for advice from you and from Hilary Kyle and Oscar Padilla, the Community Health workers from the hospital, I will be recommending to the City Council to have bicycle racks installed downtown, and in Memorial Park, a walking/biking path and possibly other amenities such as outdoor ping-pong, corn-hole, a “Futsol” soccer court, etc. built into the park.
At this point, we will be working to use the majority of the $20,000 as seed money to qualify for other grants to get the greatest bang for the buck. So, far I am talking the Idaho State Parks and Recreation Department about funds they may have available. Also, Hilary and Kyle from the hospital are looking into other sources. There is a considerable amount of work left to be done to complete this plan.
To line up all the funds necessary we may be well into next year or beyond before anything is done in the park. However, the first step has been completed. Acceptance of the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation grant was signed this morning.
Moving on, the morning temperatures turned from fall to winter more quickly than usual this year! As of this writing we are supposed to see single digit temps this coming weekend, with the rest of the week’s lows in the teens.
That being said, it is a good idea to leave a little water trickling to keep water lines from freezing up. With no snow on the ground to insulate, your underground pipes are at risk with the cold. A little water will be wasted, but the trickle is much less expensive than broken water pipes. So, please do yourself a favor and leave a little water on at night.
In City business this week. The City offices will be closed the Friday after Thanksgiving. Therefore, there will not be a garbage pickup on Thursday and Friday, November 24th and 25th. Instead, the entire City will have trash picked up on Monday and Tuesday, November 22nd and 23rd and again the following Monday and Tuesday. So, if you normally get your trash picked up on Thursday and Friday, please get your trash cans out on Monday and Tuesday in order to not have an overflowing container after the long Thanksgiving weekend. (Always good to end a week’s article with a nice pleasant mental image.)
Well, that’s it for this week. I hope you have a great time preparing for Thanksgiving next week!

Boy! The Weiser High School Football came was a nailbiter for a while last Saturday! When the Wolverines were ahead by three, it seemed like Bonners Ferry had momentum going. But, with about four minutes left to play, the Wolverines scored another one of their five touchdowns to make it a convincing win at 35-25. Good Job Guys! We will see you over in Homedale on Saturday!
One new service the City offers is the ability to now pay your utility bill online. By going to the City’s website at cityofweiser.net you can select “Pay Utility Bill Online” from the menu options. You can either select the one time only payment or set up an account if you plan on making additional payments in the future. The next screen asks for your account number, which can be found on your bill. If you choose to set up an account, there are several options to choose from for the payment method. There are also several options on how automated you want future payment to be. To answer questions you may have please call 208-414-1965. The office staff will be happy to help you!
Natasha McDaniel here at the City has been working to make this project a reality for about the last year and a half. She says she has a few bald spots on her head where she pulled her hair out in the process. But the finished product is great and has been working very smoothly for about a month now. For those of you who have been pushing for online payments or who wish to take advantage of this service, please let Natasha know how much you appreciate her efforts!
Wasn’t last week’s early snow a surprise? I know that I wasn’t expecting it last Friday!
Speaking of winter, as the City gets ready, there are a few items that need to be taken care of for all of us to function well when major snow arrives. If you have a basketball hoop in the street, a car that hasn’t been moved for a while, or a trailer parked in the street, we kindly request that these be removed to allow the snow-plow folks to do their best work. Snow plowing is one of those areas where it is difficult to please everyone. However, the fewer obstacles that are in the streets, the easier it is to clear the snow in a way that pleases the most people.
Going on with the theme of getting ready for winter, it was mentioned last week but deserves being said again. The City crew started their alley cleanup program on Monday. For those of you who may not know, the City will pick up your yard waste once, and sometimes twice a year if you have an alley behind your house. Simply place the grass clippings, tomatoes, hedge trimmings, etc. (but not leaves) in the alley behind your house out of the way of the garbage truck. The City crew will then go through to clean it up. This free service was started decades ago as a way to encourage residents to keep their properties looking nice. It has been a success over the years and hopefully the City will be able to offer it for decades to come.
Also, along that line, the City offers a complementary Adopt-A-Truck program for those of you who have larger projects that require material or yard waste hauled off. The Adopt-A-Truck program is seasonal. This weekend is the last one available for the year until spring. So, if you have a project, please contact the City immediately to reserve a truck if one is available.
As for your leaves, again, the City has a complementary service to vacuum them away. Simply rake them past the curb in front of your home. If you do not have a curb, please rake them onto the pavement. The leaves cannot be vacuumed if they are on gravel or dirt since anything other than leaves will damage the impellers on the vacuum. (These are very expensive to replace.) So, please make sure your leaves are in the street on the pavement. The leaf crew will continue to pick up leaves as long as the leaves fall and/or as long as the weather (snow) allows.

Well, that’s it for this week. Hope to see you at the game! Weiser really is a great place to live!