Nothing quite says the holidays are over like a dead Christmas tree laying by the curb. You can believe us, we are just as ready as you are to send the last of these symbols of holiday peace and joy to their final resting place. We've picked up just over 500 trees so far and are still working hard to get the remainder of them collected.  It is a slow process considering how many of them there are and how many we can collect in each truck load (6-8 depending on size).  The good news is we are reusing the trees.  Yes, those tree s will be mulch come spring. #thehorrors #thegiftthatkeepsongiving #ReduceReuseRecycle  #IsHubertGrahamWayDoneYet #thanksforyourpatience

"All the leaves are brown..."

And they are all on the ground raked up to the curb. Don't worry, if you haven't seen the leaf vac truck in awhile, you will soon.  We have had a lot of maintenance issues with the equipment this year, mostly due to items such as bricks, scooters, rebar, and flat metal playing hide-n-seek in the leaf piles. Teaching moment: the only thing you should put in your leaf piles are . . . wait for it . . . LEAVES!  We are lucky to have powerful equipment that will suck up anything, and when it sucks up things other than leaves, it has to go into the shop for time consuming, costly repairs. Ready for the good news? Both pieces of equipment are working and out on the roads again.  We should be back on schedule by the end of next week at the latest. #CaliforniaDreamin #songisnowstuckinourheadstoo

Neighbor in Need

Many of you likely saw pictures and news coverage  from the fire on Windward Drive fully engulfing the home of the Schmehl family. Public Works employees were working in the area when they noticed the fire. "I'm told that one of our employees knocked on the door to notify the family who was still inside unaware the fire was beginning to engulf the home" says City Manager Funderburk. "We were just glad everyone was able to get out safely." Fire crews were at another call on the eastern side of the City when the call came in. Funderburk continued "It's for reasons just like this we are building another Fire Station and adding to our Fire Department each year. Our firefighters work and train very hard, but they can't be everywhere at once.  We are grateful that our public safety folks responded quickly and were able to prevent a bad situation from becoming much worse."

Tri-County Neighbors Helping Neighbors is accepting donations for the family which are tax deductible. 100% of the donations will go to the family. Donations can be mailed to:
TCNHN (C/O Professional Insurance Consulting) at 252 Rockmount Drive, Building #3, Fort Mill, SC 29708. An account was also established for the family at the Yadkin Bank on Gold Hill Road.

Botox anyone?

The City's first water tower is getting a much needed face lift. Last October, City Council approved the pressure washing and painting of the water tower base located at the Glennon Center. If you've been to a meeting, played tennis, or had the privilege of attending Court, you may have noticed the base of the tower is in need of some TLC. It's been 11 years since it's former owner, Utilities, Inc., gave it a bath and some paint. This project is expected to be completed by the end of January.