Please send all comments regarding the newsletter to info@wendell.id.gov.

WENDELL'S FIRST EVER LIGHT PARADE

Jason and Kristi Sutton were blown away at the success of the Christmas Light Parade in Wendell. The Suttons, who are community members and business owners, organized and hosted the parade immediately preceding the Community Christmas Tree Lighting. They were shocked at the response they received when they began advertising the event. The parade itself had more than 40 creative entries and was very impressive and festive. An excellent addition to Wendell's tree lighting event! Thank you Suttons!

MAGICAL 2ND ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING BRINGS RECORD CROWD

Wendell hosted its 2nd Annual Community Christmas Tree Lighting to a bigger crowd this year than last year- nearly 300 friends and neighbors showed up to kick off the Christmas season! Local food vendors sold Christmas treats at discounted rates including chili, hot cocoa, and eggnog cookies. School board member Jack Lancaster talked about collaboration in our wonderful town, and Mayor Vipperman talked briefly about how unity and service light and warm our community just like the beautiful tree. Then former Wendell student Abi DiAmbra reminded us with her beautiful voice that it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and Paster Todd Mikolyski played some Christmas songs. He led the entire group in an a Capela version of Silent Night. Mayor Vipperman honored some residents that "light up" Wendell including Lila Rosen, Lana Lamm, Jason and Kristi Sutton, and Kirk Weinmeister. Then the crowd counted down and thousands of tiny lights sprang to life while community members cheered and posed for pictures. Truly a wonderful and magical new Wendell tradition!

WENDELL CITY COUNCIL DISHES IT OUT

Wendell City Council and Mayor were invited to help prepare and serve the Thanksgiving meal at the Wendell Elementary School. What an honor to see the hard work that goes into preparing our local children's food everyday. The Council and Mayor were so impressed with the skills and professionalism of the Child Nutrition Team and the janitorial staff. Also the students were so polite! Wendell schools and parents are doing a wonderful job and the future is looking bright!

WENDELL HISTORY- IT'S IMPORTANT!

Wendell is very active on social media- it's a great way to communicate with residents. The posts that seem to resonate the most with followers are the historical posts where the city highlights a moment from the past. Recently there was a post highlighting the largest fire in Wendell's History which happened in 1981. Be sure to follow the City of Wendell on Facebook to see more photos and memories shared. The post reads as follows:

On this day, 43 years ago, Wendell lost some of its earliest structures due to a tragic fire. The fire ripped through the buildings on the corner of Idaho and Main, including Hamilton Drug, Dr. Hagerman’s Dental Office, Dr. Yokum’s Office, and Winslow’s Department Store. It forever altered the landscape and appearance of our small town.

Thank you to Doretta Miller Henshaw for sharing these newspaper clippings with the city so that we can share them with everyone else. Do you have memories of the fire?

In Wendell we like things slower. Slower traffic and slower conversations with our neighbors in the grocery store are all good things. However, no one loves slower internet!

Gooding County was recently awarded a grant to begin installing infrastructure for fiber internet throughout the county. The City of Wendell will be working with the County this spring to facilitate that project. The company that the county has contracted with will be digging small "microtrenches" along roadways in our town to get us ready.

A community committee is continuing to move forward with plans to get Dairy Days back in the near future! Community members being willing to step up and volunteer is so appreciated! If you'd like to join this committee or help in any way, please email mayor@wendell.id.gov

WENDELL NEEDS YOU!

Many small towns have three things that Wendell currently does NOT have: A Planning and Zoning Commission, a Chamber of Commerce, and a Historical Society.

PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION: A Planning and Zoning Committee is made typically of 3-5 members and usually meets monthly to hear requests for variances, rezone, special permits, planned developments, and subdivisions. Hearings are also held on elements of the Comprehensive Plan and changes or additions to zoning ordinances.

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: This is a local organization that gathers business leaders working in the community. The intention is to advance the goals and interests of your organization and others operating in the area. It's usually a group of locally owned businesses that have a common interest.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY- A historical society is non-profit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting, and promoting the history of a particular place, group of people, or topic.

All of these organizations are comprised of volunteers. While the city cannot provide these functions, we can help connect and facilitate members and missions. If you feel that you would be a good fit for any of these organizations please email info@wendell.id.gov and continue to help Wendell as it grows!

Mayor Rebecca Vipperman

Community Calendar and Events

Wendell City Council Meetings- 1st and 3rd Thursdays at 6:30 at City Hall

Wendell Senior Center Breakfast- 3rd Saturday of each month 8:00am-10:00pm

Wendell Senior Center Exercise Classes- M/W/F 9:30 am

FEB 14- Valentines Day

FEB 10- Library Board Meeting, 6PM

FEB 17- Presidents' Day - City Hall Closed

MAR 9- Daylight Saving Time Begins

MAR 10- Library Board Meeting, 6PM

MAR 24-27 Wendell Schools Spring Break

APR 14- Library Board Meeting, 6PM

APR 19- Community Easter Egg Hunt 9AM

APR 20- Easter

APR 22- Earth Day

Want to see your event included in the next newsletter? Email info@wendell.id.gov

SEE A FREE MOVIE MATINEE EVERY SATURDAY AT THE TWIN FALLS PUBLIC LIBRARY

Stop by the Twin Falls Public Library at 3:00PM every Saturday for a free movie matinee! Check out tfpl.org/calendar to see what's playing this month and to see what other events are offered.

Important Numbers

WENDELL CITY HALL 208-536-5161

GOODING COUNTY SHERIFF NON-EMERGENCY 208-934-4421

WENDELL CITY FIRE- 208-536-5431

WENDELL HIGHWAY DISTRICT- 208-536-6157

IDAHO POWER 800-488-6151

IDAHO TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT 208-334-8000

NORTH CANYON MEDICAL CENTER 208-934-4433

POISON CONTROL- 1-800-222-1222

SUICIDE AND CRISIS HOTLINE-988

Please send all comments regarding the newsletter to info@wendell.id.gov.