Impact of drug
activity can
be far reaching
By Mayor Bill Jenks, III
The far reaching impact that the illegal use of drugs and drug-related activity can and does have on a community is something the City of Rolla, Rolla Police Department, neighboring law enforcement agencies, judicial agencies and numerous social, religious, mental health and educational entities continue to take very seriously.
Rolla Police Chief Mark Kearse, Lt. Doug James, and the RPD command staff have done a tremendous job forming the Community Action Team (CAT) that meets on a regular basis to network, discuss ideas, and formulate strategies to best address the drug related problems that continue to pose a threat to the quality of life we have come to enjoy as Rolla residents. In addition, SSgt. Rick Williams and Vince Giacolone, VIPS (Volunteers in Police Service) Director, continue to strengthen the City’s Neighborhood Watch program that is an integral component of the CAT and the City’s ongoing efforts to address and minimize drug related activity in our community. I have personally attended several of the CAT meetings, and can attest to the positive steps forward that have been made by this concerned, determined and conscientious group of people.
Through the efforts of Chief Kearse, the City now has a full-time Housing Officer who works closely with the Rolla Housing Authority to ensure that any illegal drug related activity is addressed, monitored and that offenders are identified in a timely manner. In addition, the newly formed Street Narcotics Unit has been very successful in identifying and apprehending several drug users and offenders since it was formed. In plain English, the City of Rolla and Rolla Police Department, together with the assistance of other law enforcement agencies in the region, are clamping down on drug abuse and drug users who are adversely impacting Rolla and Phelps County’s quality of life. With several successful drug apprehensions and arrests over the past two years, Rolla and other law enforcement agencies working in unison, are sending out a message to those individuals who use or distribute illegal drugs, who are considering moving to the area, that not only is Rolla the wrong place to start a life of illegal drug activity and abuse, but that we have the systems, networks and resources in place to counter illegal drug use and distribution. And when you look at the number and frequency of Heroin and Meth related arrests, overdoses, drug seizures, meth lab seizures and drug related criminal activity and arrests made over the past few years in Rolla – you will have to admit that something more serious and drastic needed to be done to address the growing illegal drug problem in the Rolla area.
By reaching out broadly to many sectors of the community, including mental health experts, community leaders, religious leaders, the law enforcement community and judicial community, a wide net has been cast to help the City better cope with, understand and identify ways to battle the ongoing illegal drug problem that has been compared to a Cancer that can run rampant through a community. It is my hope and the hope of the Rolla City Council, the CAT, and Rolla Police Department, that with the continued support, education and awareness of the greater Rolla community, we can continue to make the necessary steps to help eradicate illegal drug use and distribution in our City. The use of illegal drugs, whether it be through usage, manufacturing, trafficking or distribution, is something that cannot and will not be tolerated in the City of Rolla – and I hope you will join me on the war on drugs that is threatening the very fabric of the Rolla community, our institutions, our way of life, and the neighborhoods where you and your children and children’s friends and neighbors live and work every day.
Some residents have eagerly volunteered to place educational signs in their yards stating that illegal drug use will not be welcomed or tolerated in Rolla, others have become more active in their Neighborhood Watch groups, and yet others have become a fan of the Rolla Police Department’s Facebook page or taken the time to report suspicious activity or a potential crime in progress. There are many ways to help combat the war on drugs, other than those I have mentioned above, but one of the most effective methods of combating it is to educate our residents, let them know we do have a drug problem in Rolla, we are taking many proactive steps to address it, we are sending a message outside the Rolla community that it will not be tolerated, and most of all, it will take the entire community’s help to prevent illegal drug use and abuse from taking a further toll on Rolla’s health and well being.
In closing, I’d like to remind the community that the City’s Street Department is in the process of asphalt micro-surfacing several streets in the City. The area will include all streets in Rolla south of 10th Street to Missouri Highway 72, and east of Forum Drive and Pinetree Road. It will also include the Johnson/Laird sub division. Micro-surfacing is an economical alternative to hot asphalt mix overlays, which typically applies a minimum of two inches of pavement resurfacing.
A complete list of streets scheduled for micro-surfacing and a detailed map are posted on the City of Rolla’s Website at www.rollacity.org. For regular updates on road closures and construction schedules, please contact the Public Works Department at 364-8659 or visit www.rollacity.org.
Have a safe week!
Micro-surfacing of
City streets underway
The City of Rolla Street Department, in conjunction with Donelson Construction Company, is well underway with the asphalt micro-surfacing of several city streets throughout the Rolla community.
The area will include all streets in Rolla south of 10th Street to Missouri Highway 72, and east of Forum Drive and Pinetree Road. It will also include the Johnson/Laird sub division. Micro-surfacing is an economical alternative to hot asphalt mix overlays, which typically applies a minimum of two inches of pavement resurfacing.
A complete list of streets scheduled for micro-surfacing and a detailed map are posted on the City of Rolla’s Website at www.rollacity.org. For regular updates on road closures and construction schedules, please contact the Public Works Department at 364-8659 or visit www.rollacity.org.
Rolla Channel 16
now live streaming
24/7 on the Web
If you happened to miss the airing of the last Rolla City Council meeting or Planning & Zoning meeting, you can now watch them (free downloading) online on the Rolla Channel 16 Website at http://rollachannel16.com.
Rolla Channel 16, Rolla’s premiere Education and Government channel, is also now live streaming (24/7) at http://rollachannel16.com. RC16 will live stream all future Rolla City Council meetings, Rolla Planning & Zoning Commission meetings, all future episodes of “City Minutes”, all Rolla Public Schools board meetings, and RHS Review.
Other syndicated content on RC16 such as Missouri Outdoors, Army Newswatch, and Capitol Dialogue will also live stream on RC16 at http://rollachannel16.com.
For more information regarding programming or DVD duplication of Rolla City Council meetings, Rolla Planning & Zoning meetings, and Rolla Public Schools board meetings, etc., please contact Gabe Mankin, Digital Media Operations Manager, at (573) 426-3377 or at Gabe.Mankin@fidelitycommunications.com.
Be sure to watch Rolla Channel 16 – Education, Government and Community for you!
Back to School
Sales Tax Holiday
set for Aug. 5-7
The message to shop local continues to be sent to the Rolla community after the Rolla City Council approved the State “Back to School Sales Tax Holiday” in April 2009 for the first weekend in August, which this year falls between Friday, Aug. 5 and Sunday, Aug. 7.
As stated in the ordinance to ‘opt in’ to the Back to School Sales Tax Holiday, the sales tax holiday (City tax savings of 2.5% and State tax savings of 4.225%) is intended to provide tax relief to families with children attending school by exempting the sales tax on clothing, personal computers, certain computer software, and school supplies. The sale officially begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 5, and ends at midnight on Sunday, Aug. 7.
The Back to School Sales Tax Holiday was first established in 2004 by the Missouri State Legislature when the legislature passed Senate Bill 11.
Rolla City Council
Mtg. set for Aug. 1
The next Rolla City Council meeting will be held on Monday, Aug. 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Rolla City Hall, 901 N. Elm Street.
Rolla City Council meetings are ordinarily held the first and third Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. except when there is a conflict with an observed holiday. To review a copy of the City Council agendas or the full agenda packet, please visit http://www.rollacity.org/admin/agenda.shtm. For more information, please contact Rolla City Administration at 426-6948.
City Council meetings are also broadcast live on Rolla Channel 16 (RC16). To check to see when the City Council meetings are rebroadcast, please check the RC16 Program Guide online at http://rollachannel16.pegcentral.com.
City urges residents
and businesses
to maintain yards and
properties
The full force of another hot, humid and wet Missouri summer is upon us and so is the rapid growth of grass, weeds and vegetation. Unsightly weeds, extremely long grass, and overgrown vegetation throughout various areas of the City of Rolla has prompted the City’s Code Enforcement Division and Street Department to enforce City codes that will ensure compliance with proper yard and business maintenance.
The City’s code “Permitting Growth of High Weeds, etc., Prohibited” (Article II, Section 28-14) states that all weeds, brush, or rank vegetation will be cut and maintained at a height of 12 inches or less. Failure to comply with these codes (Section 28-11 to 28-17) may result in a City abatement or a summons being issued.
“We would like to remind home owners and property owners throughout the City to please be vigilant regarding the maintenance and upkeep of your yards, businesses and properties,” said John Butz, City Administrator.
For more information regarding this issues, please contact the City’s Community Development Department at (573) 364-5333.
Summer Reading Program
continues at
Rolla Public Library
The Rolla Public Library Summer Reading Program continues as children up to age 12 will travel around the world, learning about different people, places and cultures through stories, activities and crafts.
The Summer Reading Program, which is held in the Leola Millar Children's Addition on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10 a.m. through July 28, is free of charge.
For more information, please call 573-364-2604 or stop by the Rolla Public Library at 900 North Pine Street.
Rolla Sesquicentennial T-shirts
and posters available
at City Hall
Rolla Sesquicentennial commemorative T-shirts and posters are still available to the public for purchase at Rolla City Hall, (901 N. Elm Street). The vintage Heather grey T-shirts that showcase the Sesquicentennial logo designed by Angi Yowell, Graphic Design Instructor at Rolla Technical Institute, are selling for $5 a piece in the following sizes: X-large (1 available); Large (several) and Small (several).
The 4-color, 11x17 glossy Sesquicentennial commemorative posters are selling for $2 each. In addition to the T-shirts and posters, a limited number of newly designed and printed Rolla City flags are available for purchase as well. City flags may be purchased in the Community Development Department (2nd Floor) at Rolla City Hall for $40 each.
Proceeds from the sales of Sesquicentennial T-shirts and posters will be used to offset costs and expenses incurred for Rolla’s Sesquicentennial Celebration held on Saturday, June 4, 2011.
The City of Rolla, which was incorporated 150 years ago on Jan. 25, 1861, continues to celebrate its Sesquicentennial Anniversary, which began on Jan. 25, 2011. For more information, please call Scott Grahl, Communications Officer, at 426-6943 or visit the City’s Website at www.rollacity.org and click on the Rolla’s 150th tab.
2011 Environmental Services Dept.
List of Important Dates:
(Clip & save for easy reference!)
Sept. 5, 2011 - Labor Day: Monday’s trash will be picked up Tuesday; Tuesday’s trash will be picked up Wednesday.
Oct. 1, 2011 - City-wide Fall Clean-Up: Saturday (residential only)
Nov. 24, 2011 – Thanksgiving Day: Thursday’s trash will be picked up Wednesday.
Dec. 25, 2011 – Christmas Day (Observed Dec. 26): Monday’s trash will be picked up Tuesday; Tuesday’s trash will be picked up Wednesday.
Holidays NOT affecting trash
or recycling collection:
Oct. 10, 2011 – Columbus Day
Nov. 11, 2011 – Veterans Day
Nov. 25, 2011 – Day after Thanksgiving
Hotline number: 341-1168
Upcoming Events
AUGUST 2011
1 - City Council Mtg. (6:30 p.m.)
14 - Mother’s Day Special at SplashZone (364-8222)
15 - City Council Mtg.
SEPTEMBER 2011
5 - City Hall closed for Labor Day Holiday
5 - Environmental Service closed for Labor Day; Monday’s trash picked up Tues.; Tuesday’s trash picked up Wed.
6 - City Council Mtg. (6:30 p.m.)
10 - Canine Plunge at SplashZone (noon-3 p.m.); early registration required
(364-8222)
19 - City Council Mtg. (6:30 p.m.)
24 - Celebration of Nations (11 a.m.-5 p.m.)
OCTOBER 2011
1 - City-wide Fall Clean Up (items to curb by 6 a.m.); residential only
3 - City Council Mtg. (6:30 p.m.)
8 - Downtown Autumn Arts Festival (9 a.m.-4 p.m.)
17 - City Council Mtg. (6:30 p.m.)
Scott A. Grahl
Communications Officer
City of Rolla, Missouri
(573) 426-6943
Follow us on Facebook
& Twitter at www.rollacity.org
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