What a beautiful Memorial Day weekend we just celebrated! The weather couldn’t have been better. I’d say we deserved it. Oakwood Cemetery hosted a very moving tribute to our veterans with Mickey Ratliff and the Warsaw Community High School band providing very moving patriotic music, Jerry Hogan delivering an inspiring message from his heart as a veteran, and Hal Heagy and his crew paying attention to every manicured, flag-waving detail at Oakwood. I would invite any of you who haven’t attended this Memorial Day remembrance to do so in the future. You won’t find an event that defines our community any more than this. Last month, I discussed our involvement in the Stellar Communities Finalist process. The application (which is due July 1) is consuming a lot of time and energy. We are confident that it will be worth it when our designation is announced in August. In the meantime, we will be sharing more specific Stellar project information in meetings, print and Facebook. On Friday, July 1, we also will be hosting Super Stellar First Friday on East Market Street. It will be a community-wide event with afternoon park activities for the kids and a great evening of family fun and food. Watch for upcoming details. Keeping everyone informed in advance is what we strive to do. Nobody wants to be surprised by a closed road or miss a long awaited Park Department-sponsored concert or event. Well, I got surprised this morning when driving in to city hall I was greeted by a new group of colorful, active, downtown inhabitants that come alive without moving or speaking. The new sculptures for the Warsaw Public Arts Commission’s All New Walk-N-Wander arrived at the crack of dawn and are in position to greet and entertain our community for the next four months. You can’t miss ’em. They’re everywhere! If it is summer, there must be roads that are closed and this year is no exception. For those of you who have been, or will be, inconvenienced by the road closures, the noise and the dust, thank you all in advance for your patience. The Main Street road reconstruction is underway and we hope to have it completed by the end of July. I am sure it will be worth it. The city will also begin road and sewer improvements on Indiana Street and North Buffalo Street in August. Hopefully by the time you read this, the railroad crossing at Ranch Road will have been repaired by the Norfolk & Southern work crews to everyone’s satisfaction. Road restriping of lane lines is occurring all over the city and we ask that you are careful to follow the cones and avoid driving over the fresh paint. Husky Trail is in the final stages of engineering and construction on the project should begin about a year from now. Market Street from Bronson Street to Hickory Street is in the early engineering phase and probably wont go to construction until late 2017 or spring 2018. There is a lot going on in the city. Please enjoy your summer and do what you can to help our construction crews get their work done as quickly and safely as they can. Your mayor appreciates the cooperation.
