Bingo: Sept. 22- Team Four
Breakfast: Sept. 23- Bryan Chapman, Rick Gowdy, and Jim Green
Program- Bill Lloyd will give us Economic Development updates for Southern Boone
Ben Nieman is now in isolation at Boone Hospital. He can still have visitors, but they are required to wear protective garments. Beverly still appreciates cards, calls, prayers, and positive thoughts as they deal with these set-backs.
Connie Field has been released by the home health nurse, but still requires physical and occupational therapy as he heals after having seizures.
Bingo attendance was back up some, since it was an $1,199 night and we had a good crew on the floor and in the kitchen. We are still looking for people who would be willing to come in from 5:15 until 7:15 to help with ice. It is a low stress position, but very helpful for the overall speed and efficiency of the kitchen crew. If you think you might be interested, please let me know. Training and food are included!
There will be a cross country meet held in Ashland on Sept. 20th and John Travelos would appreciate any help that we can provide.
We're also preparing for the circus which will be held on the Optimist property Oct. 11th. Contact Bill Lloyd if you are interested in helping with the circus.
A special breakfast was provided this morning by Mike Fulca, Louise Martin, and Cody Hackmann which included fresh watermelon and fried tomatoes, a Fulca specialty.
As part of our Respect for Law Enforcement, we hosted three officers from the Ashland Police Department: Police Chief Lyn Woolford, Officer Doug O'Brien, and Officer Andrew Worrall. All three were presented with appreciation plaques for their service and Charlie Selbach also presented them with doughnuts.
Chief Woolford talked about the fact that each officer is scheduled for a 12-hour shift, with Officer O'Brien coming off shift after serving all night. Each officer is provided with a bullet-proof vest which is individually fitted for the officer. They are also provided with a gun, mace, taser, utility knife, and on-going training for all their equipment. All the Ashland officers have worn a body camera while on duty since 2015. These upload to the cloud when they are returned to their charging cradle at the end of shift.
Each shift, an officer is responsible to drive through each of the subdivisions in town, in addition to dealing with calls. Chief Woolford shared a service summary for 2017 and talked about how much crime statistics have increased in the past two years as Ashland continues to grow.
Using that as a segue, Lyn shifted from his police chief hat to his city administrator hat to share information about the growth that Ashland can expect to see in the future. He spoke about the fact that our 2% sales tax is not keeping up with the city expenses. One of the ways the city is hoping to resolve that issue somewhat may involve a tax initiative on the November ballot to allow the city to charge sales tax for online sales because many people are doing more of their shopping on-line.
He also talked about a plan for a sidewalk the full length of Main Street, with construction beginning this summer and possible changes to the intersection at Broadway and Henry Clay. There is also work scheduled as far south as Flintstone Lane, which is the southern border for Ashland city limits.
After Chief Woolford finished speaking, he was honored to draw for our Attendance drawing. Dale Lenger and Norm Geary missed their chance at riches, but Louise Martin was thrilled to be pulled away from dish duty for the awarding of the prize.
