Mayor's weekly letter
Friday, December 15, 2007 – Friday, December 22, 2007
Greetings from the Mayor’s office. I hope you have all your
Christmas shopping completed, and that the rest of your time can
be used for having a good time with your friends and family.
Friday morning I met with some folks who are interested in doing
business in the City. They have a project in mind that would be
very beneficial to us in this area. I hope we will be able to
assist them in making this project into a reality.
I went to Giovanni’s restaurant this morning to welcome the
North Alabama Code Officials Association to Athens for their
meeting. Barry Davis, one of our officials, serves as an officer
for the Association, and was responsible for getting this group
of about twenty-five people to come to Athens for lunch.
Friday afternoon, I went to Tt’s Nail Salon for his open house.
Tommy is a friend of our family. He met Whitney several years
ago when she was working as a Cosmetologist, and we have enjoyed
having him as our friend. Tommy tells everybody that I am his
Daddy. He and his family came from Viet Nam after the war, and
he has become very successful with his business. He had food all
day for his customers and friends, and everyone enjoyed it. He
had egg rolls, two different kinds of rice, roast pork,
meatballs, and several desserts. Several folks were there while
Whitney and I were, and we had a good time with everyone. Tommy
made a plate for me to carry home to Kay. I visited with Joe
Crow while I was there this afternoon.
Friday night Kay and I ate supper at Catfish Cabin with Mark and
Phyllis Whitt. They came to our house for cake and coffee after
dinner. The cake was a gift from a friend. It was a five-flavor
Amish pound cake, and it was delicious. Kay and I always enjoy
having these dear friends in our home for a visit. Phyllis
always catches us up on the latest from Stella, their grand
daughter.
Saturday morning we had chores to do that included going to the
grocery store. There was a huge crowd shopping in the local
stores, and everyone seemed to be in a festive mood.
Tonight I sang with the Choir at our Athens Christmas program at
First Baptist. The rain and cold kept a few folks away that
would have attended, so we didn’t have quite the crowd we had
expected. However, that didn’t dampen our enthusiasm, and I
thought our singing went very well. I think all attending were
glad they came.
Sunday morning we attended Church and Sunday school. We sang one
of the Christmas program songs for our service today.
We had lunch at home with kids and grand kids, and as usual Kay
had a good lunch for everyone.
Daniel and Jillian came over this afternoon to go to Church
tonight and hear our Christmas music. Luke and Kara didn’t get
to come over because he was running a high fever. We sure did
miss seeing them.
I went to the Solomon’s Temple Church dedication this afternoon.
This older congregation has recently purchased the Southside
Baptist Church building on Highway 31 South. They are on the
left before Strain Nursery. State Senator Arthur Orr from
Decatur and I were there to welcome the congregation to their
new facility, and to the community. This is a fine group of
people, and they are very enthusiastic in their worship.
Our entire family went to the Athens Christmas Program tonight.
We had a large crowd to attend and everything went well. I think
most of us remembered most of the words to the music, and didn’t
mess up too bad. I thought it was all beautiful, and I
appreciate the good job my choir mates do with our Church music.
After the program, we went to Cracker Barrel for dinner, and saw
several of our choir members and their families there for the
same reason. Daniel and Jillian had to leave early because Kara
had called and the heating unit was on the blink. I hope they
get it fixed soon, so Luke won’t become any worse with his cold
and fever.
Monday morning I met with a Council committee to discuss an
automatic meter reading system for the city. We received a lot
of information from the Itron Company regarding the latest in
metering equipment. We will meet with another vendor at a later
date to see another type of equipment.
The Council met today for a regular meeting. This meeting is the
second one for the month of December, and was moved from the
24th to the 17th because of the Christmas holidays. The
following items of business received the Council’s attention:
1. Passed a Resolution to purchase a truck for the Street
Department.
2. Passed a Resolution to appoint Carl S. Smith, Jr. to the
Alcohol License Review Committee. Joe Broadwater who has served
on this board from its beginning, is having health problems, and
had to resign from the board. We appreciate the job he has done
for us.
3. Passed a Resolution to authorize the Athens/Limestone Public
Library to apply for a grant. This grant will allow plans to be
made which will be used in the future to apply for bigger grants
from the Federal and State Governments.
4. Passed a Resolution to set a Public Hearing to consider
official zoning maps for the City of Athens.
5. Passed and Ordinance to repeal Section 10-31 of the City’s
Code of Ordinances dealing with animal registration.
6. Passed a Resolution to approve travel expenses for the
Electric Department.
7. Passed a Resolution to change a street name from Cantera
Drive to Cantera Place.
8. Passed a Resolution to waive the building permit fees and
water/wastewater fees for Habitat for Humanity.
Tuesday morning I went to Shoney’s for breakfast with the Public
Works Staff. I think just about everyone in the Department
attended and enjoyed the good buffet breakfast. This is a good
Department, and James Rich is the Department Head. He does a
great job in organizing the folks there, and seeing that our
services are delivered in a timely manner.
Kay had a doctor’s appointment in Decatur this morning. She and
I both are suffering from a bad case of sniffles and sneezing.
I left there and went to the Chamber of Commerce monthly Coffee.
It was held this month at the Founders Hall, and the big thing
was the introduction of the young ladies from all the local
schools who served as Miss Merry Christmas in this years’
Christmas Parade. Mary Nell Clem conducted the meeting well, as
usual.
From there I went to WKAC for the regular talk show after every
Council meeting. We had several calls today from folks who
wanted information about our city, and the things that are
taking place.
I left there and went to the new property that Athens Bible
School has purchased for their new school plan. It is the
property located north of Limestone Chapel Funeral Home, and
south of the Sportsplex. Joe Olsen, Principal, was in charge of
the groundbreaking ceremony, and their board members and
students participated in the groundbreaking. David Seibert,
Chairman of the County Commission, and I were invited to attend.
Judge Mike Davis called me this morning and informed me that
Huntsville had filed for four annexed parcels of property in
Limestone County this morning. The Huntsville City Council
actually annexed this property in April, August, and October of
2007. I think this is the beginning of action that will end with
the city of Huntsville completely surrounding the city of
Madison.
I spent time in the office today with correspondence, citizen’s
concerns, and doing some planning for the City.
Wednesday morning I went to the Birdie Thornton School for their
Christmas Program. This was a great program, and the young
adults at the school worked very hard to clean and decorate the
building for the concert. They did well in singing the Christmas
songs, and I feel everyone enjoyed the program. I hope you will
take time to make a donation of money and assistance to this
fine school. They are helping many families care for their
children who are challenged. This school is an asset to our
community.
I want everyone to keep Linda Shields, her husband, Buddy, and
their children, Jerry and Lisa, in your prayers. Linda has been
diagnosed with Lung Cancer, and is in Vanderbilt Hospital this
week to begin treatments. Linda’s mother, Mrs. Smith is also in
bad condition. I hope things will get better for these folks.
Linda’s sister and brother-in-law, Mot and Doug Sims, both
passed away this last year. The Smiths are a good family, and
have been friends to my family for a hundred years. They all
grew up down in the forks of the River. Linda’s brother, Ross
Smith, and I roomed together at Auburn many years ago. Ross had
a career as an Agricultural teacher in the public school system.
I don’t see him too often, but I consider him a friend. He and
his wife Gail, have a fine family.
I went to our annual Department Heads Christmas Luncheon at the
Mooresville Grill today. We had good food, and Sharon Seay
organized a short game of Dirty Santa. I did not get my name
called to pick a present, but Kay did. We have a good group of
Department Heads who are responsible for providing the services
to our citizens.
I met this afternoon with our City Attorney, our insurance
representative, and officers of a local organization that
provides services for our community. They are involved in a
crisis, and we are trying to find a way to keep this service
on-going to our citizens.
I spent the remainder of the afternoon dealing with problems and
situations involving the city.
Thursday evening was quiet for us. Three of our grand children
were with us for a while. We went to bed early. Kay and I both
have been bothered with some type cold and sinus problems this
week. I think rest and sleep is about the best thing you can do
when you feel this way.
Thursday morning I was out early for the Economic Development
Associations monthly breakfast, then found out that we do not
have it in December. Hugh Ball from the Chamber of Commerce and
I were the only ones who showed up for the meeting.
I met this morning with a group of folks that are concerned
about things that are taking place on our community.
I went to the Athens Utilities this morning at 11:00 a.m. for
our City Christmas Open House for all our employee, board
members, and folks who do work for the City. We had a good crowd
there for lunch which included several retired employees. Sharon
Seay, our Human Resources Director, and several other ladies
were responsible for the luncheon being so successful. Those
participating with Sharon were: Vicki Dowd, Tonya Kendrick,
Debby Smith, Cindy Pugh, Lisa Lawrence, Beth Clem, Ava Gilbert,
Heather Rouse, and Anna Lee Ball. These ladies did a wonderful
job and everyone enjoyed the food that was prepared by Cracker
Barrel. I didn’t realize they catered food in large amounts such
as this. It was very good. The rain really came down during the
luncheon, but our spirits were bright and focused on Christmas.
We all appreciate the work that these ladies did for us.
We had our Employee Service Awards program this afternoon at
1:30. We awarded service pins to about twenty-five employees who
have worked for us from five years to twenty-five years.
Later Jimmy Gill, our City Attorney, and I went to the clean-up
projects that are in progress on Hine/Brownsferry Streets. This
area is looking much better.
Tonight was the annual North Alabama Mayor’s Association
Christmas Dinner. It was held at the Joe Wheeler State Park
Lodge. Kay and I attended and our guests included our Financial
Director, Evan Thornton, and his wife, Jennifer, and Ted and
Carolyn Whitlock. Ted and Carolyn are friends of ours who grew
up in the Russelville area. Their close friends are Ken and
Brenda Copeland. Ken is the Mayor of Littleville, so we all
enjoyed having dinner together. I wrote in one of my letters a
couple of years ago that Carolyn had donated a kidney to Brenda.
Carolyn had herself tested and made her decisions about the
donation before Brenda and Ken had any knowledge of it. It was a
life-saving gift, and Carolyn never made a big deal about it. I
have told everyone I know about it because it is a big deal.
Anyone who meets Carolyn and is around her for any time will
love her. When you find out about what she did for Brenda and
Ken, it just amazes you.
There was a good crowd at the dinner, and we were entertained
with some good music by a Willie Nelson impersonator. He sang
very well and he included several Christmas selections. I got to
see many old friends who are Mayors and Councilpersons from all
over the northern part of the State.
Friday morning at 6:00 I went to the Cooper and Company TV show.
This was their annual Christmas show and it ran for one and
one-half hours. A large crowd gathered, and several brought food
and goodies for anyone wanting breakfast. We talked awhile and
then did some singing of Christmas songs. This is their last
telecast for the year and they will be back in January beginning
their fifth year in Athens. Jamie and Gloria have been good for
our community. They really help all areas of our community to
have a way to get their message out to the public. I hope they
will be here for years to come.
I spent the remainder of the morning in the office working on
two different projects. These things are very important, and
mean a great deal to our citizens. There are always problems
associated with anything occurring, but we just have to work out
all of them for the good of us all.
Kay and I went to Sharon Seay’s home at lunch for a very nice
luncheon. We had salad, good vegetable soup, and delicious
Chicken Salad sandwiches. Sharon and Tom live in Forest Hills,
and have a beautiful on the bank of Piney Creek. We really
enjoyed our visit there today. I told Sharon that anytime we
have anything at the office, she can bring those sandwiches.
I spent the remainder of the afternoon speaking with Department
Heads, attorneys, and meeting with David Siebert, Chairman of
the County Commission. I guess this is enough for this time, so
be careful, and I will see you again very soon. Kay and I, and
all our family thank you for the support you have given to us
this year. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and
Prosperous New Year.
The Habitat for Humanity will host a concert to raise money on
January 4, 2008, at Friendship Methodist Church, located on
Lucas Ferry Road in Athens. The bands that will participate are:
Becoming the Archtype, Alcina, They Came As Lions, Bad Omen,
Ashes to Amber, and Silverchange. All the money raised from this
concert will go toward building the next Habitat house in our
community.
