Leaf pickup delayed due to broken vacuum but should resume soon

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! This time, Cathy and I found ourselves in an unusual situation. Our usual Thanksgiving plans for a family gathering fell through due to an illness (not COVID) in the host family. Rather than imposing ourselves on other friends or family without much notice, Cathy and I decided to do something different. We went online to find a place on the coast available for rent. 

 We took off last Tuesday after all of my duties were completed and spent the night on the road. On the way over we talked about how we would spend the holiday. We had decided that we would not eat out on Thursday because we didn’t want others to have to work to serve us when they could be home with family. 

 On Wednesday, the first thing we did when we arrived was go to a grocery store to get the items for our impromptu Thanksgiving dinner. Since our lodging only had a microwave and refrigerator, we bought the makings for turkey sandwiches with cranberry spread among other items that did not require us to cook. 

 Thursday turned out to be a beautiful bright day, an anomaly for late November at the coast. We decided to make it a day of visiting different beaches and viewpoints and to make our Thanksgiving dinner into a picnic. We ended up having our “dinner” sitting at the base of a lighthouse and looking out at the ocean. 

 If we couldn’t be with family, it was a great way to spend Thanksgiving. The setting was inspiring and helped us to realize just how much we had to be thankful for.

 I do not recommend this as a regular substitute for a traditional family and friends gathering at Thanksgiving. But it was a nice once-in-a-lifetime way to make the most of a time when plans fell through.

 Tomorrow, (Monday), Councilpersons Larry Hogg and Alicia Cavazos, as well as Councilperson-elect Sterling Blackwell and I will be attending semi-annual training for city elected officials and employees sponsored by the Association of Idaho Cities also known as AIC. 

 For those of you who don’t know, the AIC is an organization supported by most, if not all of the towns and cities in Idaho. The AIC has many functions to help support Idaho municipalities in their quest to provide good governance at the local level. 

 In addition to the one-day semi-annual training with a set agenda of topics, the AIC also sponsors an annual 3-day conference with a multitude of meetings and topics to attend which allows attendees the opportunity to pick and choose topics that are most important to that elected official or city employee.

 So, it is very gratifying for me as mayor that half of the city council is able to take time out from their demanding schedules and other obligations to further their knowledge and understanding of city government and how that applies to Weiser. 

 There is very little to report in City news this week. The remaining three parts for the broken leaf vacuum have come in. It is now a matter of assembling and getting the vacuum going again. You “should” be seeing the leaves disappearing and the street curbs reappearing soon. Remember to please be sure there are only leaves in your leaf piles. Anything else can lead to further breakdowns of your expensive machine.

 Well, that’s it for this week. May this Christmas Season be filled with hope and joy for you, your family, and friends!