Greetings from City Hall

October is right in the middle of my second favorite season of the year. The days are bright and cool and the nights are crisp. Activities are starting to move indoors, except for the hunting crowd. Football has been limited, but our JV team looks good to move up to varsity next year and there are some good kids coming up from the grade school team. The weather seems to be nice all over the state, except for a little rain in Salem and parking next to a pile of snow in Sunriver last week. Last night a lot of kids came by trick-or-treating and enjoyed clear skies for the event. Yeah, it’s my second favorite time of the year all right – right next to spring when the world comes back to life.

Burn Ban – Gone Until Next Summer

It was tough to hold out ‘til November, especially when it rained hard a couple of times during the last month or so. But the ban is over and the required permits for open and contained (barrel) burning are once again available at City Hall. We noticed some independent thinkers started a little early after some of the rainfall had twice hosed down the city’s area, but we wish to thank those who fully comply with the ban while it is in effect.

Tri-County Hazardous Waste and Recycling Program

The City Council received a very good briefing on our hazardous waste and recycling program that has been in effect for almost two years. The three counties – Hood River, Wasco and Sherman – and six cities – The Dalles, Hood River, Cascade Locks, Mosier, Dufur and Maupin – are working out of the two permanent facilities in The Dalles and Hood River and hold about 38 hazardous waste events every year. The program also conducts promotions in the schools, and classes on recycling from which you can emerge as a master recycler. The program is also giving out small grants to promote composting and Mosier School is the first recipient. The school composts daily food waste from about 150 students plus staff. The resulting loamy compost which is rich in nutrients goes directly into the garden adjacent to the school. As this community and other communities across the state grow more and more of the stuff we eat, composting will become very important to the well-being of our gardens. This is an important program throughout the State and the City is now participating the way it should. We will make some changes in the recycle program that will make it easier and more efficient to recycle by separating the corrugated cardboard from the rest of the recycling material. As a beginning, we will put in another giant recycle bin next to the one down at the park. Keep your eyes open for it in the coming month.

Lions Club Food Boxes

The annual Lions food collection boxes will be appearing during the week of November 15. Because of the current economic conditions, the Lions anticipate a larger need and more requests for holiday food boxes this season. The week before Christmas, these boxes will be provided to families throughout South Wasco County. Look for the Lions food collection boxes in the schools, Maupin Market, Wamic Store, Tygh Valley Store, Sportsmen’s Pub & Grub, Anglers Restaurant, Molly B’s Café and Maupin City Hall. Many people benefit from this annual event. The Lions are also collecting cash donations that can be dropped off at Dr. Lee’s office. And if you have some mid-size grocery boxes that you haven’t had a chance to re-cycle, they could sure use them. We thank you ahead of time for your support.

Parking Improvements Planned for Greenway

I had a long conversation with Henry Kaiser last week, one of the most pleasurable I’ve had in a long time. As most of you know, he is the owner of our Greenway Park, across from the Maupin Market. We discussed adding a diagonal-parking strip off the alley, using about 20 feet of the Greenway between 6^th Street and the Public Restrooms. Henry thought that would be a good idea, even to the point of planting a grape arbor to hide the bank at the back of the Greenway. So Mike and I are working the details and will keep everybody up to date. And that will give me another chance for a conversation with Henry.

Other Really Important Stuff

Staats Street Paving Project. This project is complete and checked for its capability to divert storm runoff where we want it to go. That mounded hump on Staats near its intersection with 4^th Street is part of that water diversion system, not a speed bump, although will make your ride down Staats an event to remember if you hit it too fast. So we painted it in a highly visible color to look like a speed bump. And we also have new pavement on Dufur from 4^th to 3^rd, on 4^th from Dufur to Staats as well as on Staats.

OMEN Summit at McMinnville. I sat on a panel during an Oregon Micro-Enterprise Network Conference on the 15^th. The main theme was economic development in the rural community. Oregon Business was there touting small business loans and grants for start-up businesses. Nobody mentioned technical assistance for helping people get to the start-up phase.

Wy’East Meeting at Madras Fire Hall. Wy’East RC&D is searching for funding for helping people get to the start-up phase. We are trying to get Oregon Business involved in rebuilding the rural economy, but their funding source – HUD – has rules that don’t apply to what we are doing. We are gaining support across the state with different organizations, mostly by telling the story of our new businesses in Maupin. Stay tuned

Chamber of Commerce Meet and Greet. This is a very viable group of people. Kate Wallace has a “can-do” attitude that will help us get moving on several fronts and provide connections with other Chambers that do that very well. It has affected the entire Chamber. With the monetary wherewithal to build a real chamber, we can plan to see great things come from this group

Chris Dudley’s Visit. The Republican candidate for Governor stopped in for a short rest stop on his way from Madras to The Dalles. We had put out the word in the previous three days and there were about 15 people on the back deck of the Imperial River Company who had the opportunity to chat with Mr. Dudley. He is very casual and seemed to enjoy the informality that is Maupin. He has been here before and will probably return, whether he is Governor or not.

Halloween Events. Once again, Canyon Rim and CenturyLink provided much appreciated entertainment for the kids on Halloween. Thank you both for the services you provide, your dedication to our small rural communities, and helping our kids have safe fun on a “scary” night...

That’s it. Tomorrow is Election Day. I imagine that most of the folks have voted already. I will be attending a funeral in Forest Grove, and hope I can get back to see the results as they come in. It’s hard to know what to expect these days, but I can tell you that I am sure glad the political season is ending. Just in time for Thanksgiving turkey, the Christmas Season and the New Year. Already.

Cheers,

Denny