June News ReleasesJune 29, 2007 Friday update for weather-related street closings ABILENE, Texas – The following streets remain closed as of 4:00 p.m. due to high water: Will Hair Park LWC and Ben Richey Dr. from Maple St. to Boys Ranch Rd. For the time being, drivers should find alternate routes and avoid these areas. Flea and tick preventative offered at Animal Shelter ABILENE, Texas – Thanks to Animal Services, keeping fleas and ticks off your pet just got easier. The Animal Services Adoption Center, located on 925 South 25th Street, is offering free tick and flea dips for resident’s pets on Wednesday afternoons between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Shelter Attendants will be available to assist the owner with the dipping of the pet. Citizens wishing to have their pet dipped may come through the east gate at the shelter and contact one of the personnel for assistance. * This service will not be offered July 4 since the shelter will be closed that day.
June 28, 2007 City-related closings for July 4th ABILENE, Texas – Most City of Abilene offices and community service centers will be closed on Wednesday, July 4, in observance of the Independence Day holiday, with the exception of those providing life safety services such as fire and police protection. The Abilene Animal Shelter will be closed July 4. Citizens with an Animal Control emergency may call the Abilene Police Department at 673-8331 and an Animal Services Officer will be available to respond. The Animal Shelter will re-open on Thursday, July 5 at 9 a.m. to resume normal business hours. Solid Waste Services division offices will not be open July 4 but all residential and commercial container collection will run on the regular schedules. There will be no bulk and brush collection on July 4. The Environmental Recycling Center will also be closed for the holiday. CityLink Transit will not run on July 4. The Municipal Court will also be closed on July 4. All citations due July 4 will be due on July 5 with no penalty. Other City closings for July 4 include: the Environmental Recycling Center, Housing Administration office, Health Division, both Abilene Public Library locations, Abilene Civic Center, the Development Corporation of Abilene, the Airport Administration Office and City Recreation and Senior Citizen centers.
The Rose and Stevenson Pools will be open normal hours on July 4 from 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.
The Abilene Zoo will be open regular hours. The zoo will hold “Festival on the Fourth” from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., with special activities and games. The event costs the regular zoo admission fee. The zoo will also host the Fourth of July Zoo Serenade at 6 p.m. with food, live music and fireworks viewing. Tickets for the evening event are on sale on a first come/first serve basis through Monday, July 2. For more information on July 4 events at the zoo, call 676-6085.
The Water Services Center, 701 E. Hwy. 80, will be open on July 4, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., to take delinquent payments for customers whose water has been turned off and for new customers needing water service. For water emergencies, sewer problems and reports of water conservation ordinance violations, citizens may call the Water Services Center’s emergency hotline, 676-6000, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Weather-related street closings for Thursday (updated 11:30 a.m.) The following streets remain closed as of 11:30 a.m due to high water.: State St. & Merchant St., Will Hair Park LWC, ES 5th St. Low Water Crossing, Northway Dr. & Pasadena Dr., Northway Dr. & San Jacinto Dr., Industrial Bl. at Airport and Ben Richey Dr. from Maple St. to Boys Ranch Rd. For the time being, drivers should find alternate routes and avoid these areas.
June 27, 2007 Water restrictions eased: twice a week watering schedule now in effect ABILENE, Texas – Mayor Norm Archibald announced today that the Stage 1 Water alert is lifted due to above-average rainfall and increased reservoir levels. As a result, City of Abilene and its wholesale water customers are permitted to water their lawn twice a week. Mayor Archibald says, “We have seen more rain than we could have imagined since we first began the Stage 1 Water Alert nearly three months ago. Thanks to the weather and the citizens following the one day a week watering schedule, we can now adjust our water conservation efforts accordingly.” With the two-day a week watering schedule, outdoor lawn watering is permitted 12 midnight until 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. until 12 midnight on a customer’s designated watering day. The customer’s watering day is determined by the last digit of the house number or property address.
The Stage 1 Water Alert went into effect April 4, 2007. During this time, outdoor lawn watering in the City of Abilene and its wholesale water customers was limited to one day per week. For more information, go online to the City of Abilene’s website www.abilenetx.com and click on Landscape Water Schedule, listed under Calendars & Schedules. News conference about water restrictions Mayor Norm Archibald is holding a news conference 3 p.m. today (Wednesday, June 27) regarding water restrictions. This news conference will be broadcast live on SuddenLink Channel 7 and on broadcast Channel 7 KXN-TV. Weather-related street closings for Wednesday (updated 5:15 p.m.) The following streets remain closed as of 5:15 p.m due to high water.: State St. & Merchant St., Will Hair Park LWC, ES 5th St. Low Water Crossing, N. 10th St. & Marigold St., Northway Dr. & Pasadena Dr., Northway Dr. & San Jacinto Dr., Industrial Bl. at Airport, Ben Richey Dr. from Maple St. to Boys Ranch Rd. and 1800 block of Griffith Road. For the time being, drivers should find alternate routes and avoid these areas. The following streets have since re-opened: N. 10th St. & Clinton St, N. 10th St. & Merchant St., East South 14th St. from S. Treadaway Bl. to Maple St., Buttnernut St. Underpass, Mockingbird Bl. Underpass, S. 25th St. LWC from Oak St. to Maple St., Hartford St. LWC, S. 32nd St. & S. Treadaway Bl. and Pine St. Underpass.
June 14, 2007 T. Daniel Santee named City Attorney ABILENE, Texas – The Abilene City Council has appointed T. Daniel (Dan) Santee as City Attorney. Santee has been serving as Interim City Attorney since December, 2006 and his permanent assignment is effective immediately. Mayor Norm Archibald said, We are pleased to have selected Dan as our City Attorney and believe with his experience and knowledge of Abilene that he will serve the City and the citizens of Abilene well." Upon being appointed City Attorney, Santee said, “I am deeply honored to be chosen from the outstanding group of finalists. I look forward to serving the Mayor, City Council and the citizens of Abilene.” Santee has been with the City of Abilene since 1997. He replaces Sharon Hicks who left the City in December 2006. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and a law degree from St. Mary’s University. Santee and his wife, Megan, have four children.
June 12, 2007 Keep Abilene Beautiful places in prestigious environmental competition ABILENE, Texas – Keep Abilene Beautiful (KAB) recently received recognition from Keep Texas Beautiful by placing third in Category 8 (population 110,000 to 250,000) for the 2007 Governor’s Community Achievement Award (GCAA). KAB coordinator Jill Frizzell Flores says, “Abilene continues to make its mark in this competitive category. To be recognized by Keep Texas Beautiful in this year’s community achievement awards places Abilene in high regard across the state for our beautification efforts over the past year.” For the 2007 GCAA award in Category 8, Waco captured 1st place, followed by Denton in 2nd place. The Category 8 winner receives $155,000 to use for landscaping projects in their community. Keep Texas Beautiful chooses one community from each of the nine population categories for their achievements in seven areas. These areas are community leadership and coordination, education, public awareness, litter prevention and cleanup, illegal dumping enforcement, beautification and property improvement and solid waste management. Abilene won 1st place in the 2001 Governor’s Community Achievement Award and worked with the Texas Department of Transportation to construct the buffalo entrances to the city. Keep Texas Beautiful has not yet released the names of the Sustained Excellence and Award of Excellence recipients. The statewide grassroots environmental and community improvement nonprofit and affiliate of Keep America Beautiful will formally award the winning communities
June 11, 2007 City employees mentor AISD students ABILENE, Texas – The City of Abilene is hosting 21 middle school students from Franklin and Mann Abilene Independent School District campuses during the week of June 11-15 as part of the Mentoring Industrious Minds and Educating Students (MIMES) program. The MIMES students are involved with City activities each morning this week. On Monday, June 11, the students toured Grimes Water Treatment Plant, Abilene Regional Airport, and City of Abilene Recycling Center facilities. On Wednesday, June 13, the group will visit the Abilene Police Department’s training facility and observe members of the Police K9 and SWAT teams in action. On Thursday, June 14, students will be special guests at the City Council meeting, which begins at 8:30 a.m. at City Hall. After they observe a portion of the meeting, the students will learn about the City’s online Geographic Information System (GIS) and get some hands-on experience using the computerized system. On Tuesday and Friday, June 12 and 15, the MIMES participants will each shadow a different city employee for three hours on the job in various City workplaces. Students will end their mentoring week at the City of Abilene with a pizza party.
June 6, 2007 Mayor Norm Archibald gives his condolences to Officer Jeff McCoy’s family and loved ones ABILENE, Texas – Officer McCoy, a 17-year Abilene Police veteran, was killed in the line of duty June 5, 2007. Mayor Archibald said, "“We are mourning the loss of this fine officer. Jeff McCoy dedicated his life to protecting and serving the people of Abilene and will be long remembered for this. I send my condolences to his wife, young daughter and the rest of his family.”
June 4, 2007 Public invited to open house: help plan the future of Abilene’s Parks and Recreation System ABILENE, Texas – The City of Abilene is seeking your input on the future of Abilene’s Parks and Recreation System. City staff including park planners is working towards updating Abilene’s Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan. You can share your thoughts and ideas by attending an Open House on June 18 at the Abilene Civic Center. Parks, trails, green areas, facilities and programs are an important benefit to all citizens of the city. They contribute to making Abilene a great place to live as well as helping to attract new businesses and development. City staff is developing recommendations for a new 10-year master plan for improving the parks and recreation system in the city. The previous plan was prepared in 1997 and many of those recommendations have been implemented. The upcoming meeting will present ideas for improving existing Abilene parks as well as adding new features. Some of the ideas include indoor recreation facilities, parks improvements at both Lake Fort Phantom and Kirby Lake, new trails and greenbelts, improvements to the existing community and senior citizens centers and play areas in underserved portions of the city. What: Open House for Parks Master Plan When: June 18, 2007 5 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Where: Upstairs Conference Room Abilene Civic Center ( N. 6th Street & Cypress Street)
All are invited to stop by and give comments about what improvements they would like to see in our parks and recreation facilities. The Open House begins at 5 p.m. with a brief presentation given at 7 p.m. There will be refreshments and special door prizes, such as summer pool passes. If you are unable to attend the Open House, you can go to the Abilene Public Library at 202 Cedar Street, where information about the Parks Master Plan will be on display during the month of July. If you have any questions about the meeting or if special accommodations are need to be provided, call the Abilene Parks Department at 325-676-6217. |
