State elected officials have family ties to Weiser

Congratulations to our 33rd governor, Brad Little. It was great watching the inauguration on Friday with all the Weiser connections.  

 Governor Little is, of course, married to our own Teresa Soulen Little. We join with her family in offering our congratulations and prayers as they serve our state. 

 In addition, Patti Syme sang the National Anthem for the ceremony. Patti is the wife of Weiser native, Scott Syme who currently serves in the Idaho Senate.  

 Scott’s family are long-time Weiserites as well.  We were well represented in the audience with friends and family of both as well as our elected senator and representatives.

 Another heads up.  The city was again notified that letters will be received by residents regarding the purchase of “service line protection” which is a form of insurance sold to cover damages to water service lines.  

 This is not a new concept and there are no new rules that would require this type of protection.  The service lines to your home are and have always been the responsibility of the homeowner.  If a leak occurs it is the homeowner’s responsibility to repair.  

 This is not new but the niche to sell the insurance has been discovered. Please talk to your insurance agent before making a decision about the need to purchase additional coverage.  

 The city was invited and chooses not to be part of the effort to sell this protection.

 The street and parks department has been picking up Christmas trees the past week.  They will make one more run this week to get any left-over trees.  Thanks for helping us get them cleaned up quickly. 

 Christmas decorations are down and being stored for another year.  The crew has been busy the last two weeks cleaning and painting the floor in our shop.  It looks great and certainly makes the area brighter for work to be done on equipment. 

 The new year brought some changes in our front office.  Marsha Glarborg, who has been our long-time billing clerk, retired.   

 Congratulations, Marsha on your retirement. Thank you for your many years of service to our city and residents. I know you will enjoy the flexibility retirement allows. You are missed.  

 With Marsha’s retirement, we did a little adjusting to current personnel and added a new meter reader. Thank you for your patience as we adjust and train.

 Planning as already begun for spring projects.  Bids will be going out in the next couple of months for the 9th Street project.   

 In addition, a vendor has been selected to do the resurfacing on the swimming pool.  It is hoped this can begin April 1.  Along with the resurfacing, there will be some equipment replacement and improvements to drainage made. Water aerobics people, we are gearing up already.

 The Annual Band Dinner is on the calendar for this Saturday, Jan. 12, at the Vendome Events Center. This is the big fundraiser for the band and a good dinner. There are two seatings 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Contact the school or a band member to get more information and tickets.

 Weather is certainly mild for one of our regular winters, but I’ll take it. Remember with low nighttime temps to stay warm and watch for black ice in the mornings and at dusk.