Newsbriefs

Lighter

moments

in government

Ken Dexter, Electric City’s public works director, lightened things up a bit at the city council meeting last Tuesday night as he ran through a long string of needs for his department for next year.

He had been asked by Mayor Jerry Sands to go over the list of needs so the council would know what he wanted in his budget.

Dexter explained that among other things, he needed new lights. The mayor asked, “How many lights in the fire hall don’t work?”

Dexter replied, “All of them that don’t go on when I throw the switch.”

Not to be outdone, Councilmember Brad Parrish told the council that something needed to be done about the “bloated bushes” that are located along the highway.

Parrish said those at the corner of Electric Boulevard and SR 155 are getting so large that you can’t see the traffic coming when you try to pull out on the highway.

The moonglow junipers, planted by the late mayor Ray Halsey, grow to about 15 feet tall and 3-5 feet wide.

The city has already eliminated several trees and continues to get complaints from residents.

Cleanup lien would mean

payment later

Coulee Dam Police Chief Pat Collins told town council members that the town could start the cleanup process on a burned-out house at 611 Holly Street on Nov. 15. The town would then slap a lien on the property, and when the property eventually sold, the town could recover its expenses. The home ownership is unknown. Collins said that the town will put the demolition work out for bid.

Councilmember Karl Hjorten said that a burned-out house near the Melody Restaurant needed to be cleaned up also. Collins said that that property was next.

Wage

decision

delayed

Electric City’s reluctance to make a decision on a cost-of-living increase for its workers’ wages stirred some of them up at a council meeting recently. Mayor Jerry Sands was considering figures from 1.3 to 1.7 percent. Public Works Director Ken Dexter stated that last year, when the COLA was about 4 percent, the city thought that was too high and workers had to settle for 2 percent. The council decided to make the decision later.

No takers

on pole work

Coulee Dam Public Works Director Barry Peacock told the town council last week that he didn’t receive any bids on replacing some 15 power poles that had been burned through or severely damaged in a wildfire. He said that he was going to order new poles and arrange for the work to be done.