Friday, September 9, 2011

City of Rolla Weekend Updates (Sept. 9, 2011)

A Day of Remembrance:
Honoring Those of 9/11
The City of Rolla Fire & Rescue invites the public to a remembrance ceremony for the tenth anniversary of the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. The memorial ceremony, titled A Day of Remembrance: Honoring Those of 9/11, will be held on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011 at 1 p.m. at the Rolla Middle School Auditorium located on Soest Road.
The purpose of the hour-long commemoration is to give thanks and pay tribute to the victims and heroes who lost their lives on 9-11 and acted without fear, acted without hesitation, and gave their lives to save others.
The ceremony, sponsored by the City of Rolla Fire & Rescue, will feature remarks from City of Rolla Administration, City of Rolla Fire Chief Robert Williams, Phelps County Sherriff Rick Lisenbe, Rolla Police Chief Mark Kearse, Ray Massey, Phelps County Regional Medical Center EMS, and Rolla Rural Fire Chief Bruce Southard.
The tribute includes the City of Rolla Fire & Rescue Honor Guard presenting the colors with the Greentree Learning & Child Care Center performing. A traditional fire service “tolling the bell” will conclude the service.
For more information regarding the event, please contact the City of Rolla Fire & Rescue at (573) 364-3989.

Councilman Horning
recognized by
Rolla City Council
Rolla City Councilman Geoff Horning (Ward 3), who served on the City Council from April 2010 to September 2011, was recognized by Mayor Bill Jenks, III and the Rolla City Council for his service at the Sept. 6 Rolla City Council meeting.
Mayor Jenks presented Councilman Horning with a Certificate of Appreciation plaque and thanked him for his service and dedication to the Council and Rolla community. Councilman Horning announced at a prior Council meeting that he plans to relocate to Saudi Arabia in the near future to teach EMS and Emergency Response classes at Al-Ghad College. Councilman Horning thanked both Mayor Jenks and City Administrator John Butz for their leadership and management of the City, and several members of the City Council for their guidance and assistance. 
The City appreciates Councilman Horning’s service on the Rolla City Council and the contributions he has made to the Rolla community,” said Mayor Jenks. “His leadership and enthusiasm for making Rolla a better community will be missed.”
Mayor Jenks will make a recommendation to the Rolla City Council for a newly appointed Council representative of Ward 3 at the Sept. 19 Rolla City Council meeting. 

Bacon selected
new manager of
Rolla National Airport
Following the recent retirement of Wes Faulkner who served as manager of Rolla National Airport for over 12 years, Rolla City employee Darrin Bacon was selected as the airport’s new manager by City Administrator John Butz.
As a licensed pilot and certified flight instructor, Bacon is not only well known at Rolla National Airport where he operates Bacon Aviation, but also in the region’s aviation community where he has met and taught hundreds of pilots to fly over the past 20 years.
Formerly an equipment operator in the Sanitation Division of the City of Rolla’s Environmental Services Department where he was also the chief welder, Bacon also brings a strong mechanical background that will serve him well as he oversees the airport’s operations, including several thousand landings and take offs throughout the year, supervision of airport staff, coordination of maintenance issues, the airport’s fueling station, fueling trucks, mowing operations, plane storage hangers and facilities. 
Bacon attended the Spartan School of Aeronautics (now Spartan College of Aeronautics) in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he earned his private and commercial pilot certification and instrument rating, advanced ground instructor rating, and certified flight instructor rating.
What impresses Bacon most about his new position at the airport is the variety and number of companies who use Rolla National Airport. “I don’t think the Rolla community is aware of just how many national and regional businesses use Rolla National”, said Bacon.
In addition to the fleet of 33 FedEx Caravans operated by Baron Aviation, the largest employer at Rolla National Airport, Bacon said his staff frequently sees aircraft owned by Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, Kingsford Charcoal, Wal-Mart, Inc., Colton’s Steakhouse, Garmin International, Caterpillar, Inc., and many others landing at Rolla National. In addition there are several private pilots and military pilots with the Missouri National Guard and Fort Leonard Wood who use the airport on a regular basis.
Bacon recalls a recent visit by executives from Caterpillar and other national corporations who landed their Charter jets at Rolla National Airport on Aug. 29 to attend a career fair held at Missouri University of Science and Technology. “For the aviation community, and those flying in and out of Rolla National Airport, their first impression of Rolla is when they arrive at Rolla National,” said Bacon. “That’s why we try to provide a well maintained and operated facility where customer service, refueling and maintenance are our top priority.”
In addition to the many pilots who land and use Rolla National Airport for business and pleasure, Bacon said there are several plane enthusiasts who often stop by to tour the airport and take photos of the vintage World War II era DC-3 aircraft (commonly referred to as C-47s in the military). Some of the area Boy Scout troops also visit and tour the airport to earn merit badges.
Bacon said plane enthusiasts and groups are welcome to visit and tour Rolla National anytime during the week, Monday through Friday (8 a.m.-5 p.m.). The airport is located off Missouri Highway 28 and Highway 63 North in Maries County. It is a 20 minute drive from the Rolla City limits. For more information about Rolla National Airport, please call (573) 299-4498.

Rolla City Council
Mtg. set for Sept. 19
The next Rolla City Council meeting will be held on Monday, Sept. 19 at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Rolla City Hall, 901 N. Elm Street.  During the meeting the final reading of the City’s 2011-2012 annual budget will also be made.   
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.

The Smithsonian to make stop in Rolla
with The Way We Worked Exhibit
Nov. 17-Dec. 19, 2011
The Way We Worked, the newest Smithsonian Institution exhibit to travel through Missouri with the Missouri Humanities Council’s Museum on Main Street program, will make its next stop in Rolla, Missouri at the The Centre (1200 N. Holloway Street) from Nov. 19 through Dec. 17, sharing the stories of how work became a central element in American culture and the many changes affecting the workforce and work environments over the past 100 years.
The exhibition focuses on why we work and the needs that our jobs fulfill, featuring multiple interpretive opportunities for visitors through large graphics, audio components, relevant objects and work clothing.
"Our work takes places everywhere—on the land, on the streets of our communities, in offices and factories, in our home and even in space,” said Rolla Mayor Bill Jenks, III. “The Way We Worked will allow us to tell that evolving story on a national level and relate it to our own community.”
 “The Missouri Humanities Council hopes Phelps County residents and those in the surrounding areas will enjoy the exhibition and think a little deeper about the journey of American workers and how that it is reflected in the world today, both locally and nationally,” said Geoff Giglierano, Executive Director of the Missouri Humanities Council.
The exhibition explores the tools and technologies that enabled and assisted workers, which led to a faster, more complex and often more stressful work environment, the diversity of the American workforce, and how individuals and communities identify themselves with work.
Visitors are free to travel through the exhibit on their own or with a guide. Guides help visitors personally connect to the exhibit through conversations and observations on the exhibit themes.
The Way We Worked will begin in Ste. Genevieve at The Bolduc House Museum from Oct. 8 - Nov. 5, 2011 and will continue the tour in Rolla from Nov. 19 - Dec. 17. Additional stops will include the following cities throughout 2011 and 2012:
  • Poplar Bluff—Jan. 3- Jan. 31, 2012, Wheatley Historic Preservation
  • Fulton—Feb. 11- March 10, 2012 The National Churchill Museum
  • Lawson—March 24- April 21, 2012, Watkins Wollen Mill State Park & State Historic Site
  • Savannah—May 5- June 2, 2012, Andrew County Museum & Historical Society
For more details about The Way We Worked exhibit tour and associated calendar and special events planned for each site, contact the Missouri Humanities Council at 800-357-0909 or view the Missouri Humanities Council website at www.mohumanities.org.
Organizations interested in bringing a Museum on Main Street exhibit to their community should contact the Missouri Humanities Council to discuss available opportunities in their areas.

I-44 ramp closures in Rolla
for Kingshighway
interchange
Motorists who want to access eastbound Interstate 44 at mile marker 184 in Rolla will need to find alternate routes, weather permitting.
H.D. Quadri Contractors, contractor for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), will close the eastbound on-ramp to I-44 as part of a project to construct roundabouts at the interchange.
The ramp will be closed for approximately two weeks. Motorists can access eastbound I-44 by using the I-44 Business Loop (Kingshighway) to U.S. 63 north (Bishop Ave.) to the interchanges at mile markers 185 and 186.
The contractor will have various types of traffic control in place to secure the safety of the motoring public as well as their employees. MoDOT encourages motorists to buckle up, slow down, follow work zone signing and drive safely through the area.
Motorists should expect additional ramp closures at the 184 mile marker interchange as construction continues. Closures are scheduled every two weeks, and construction is staged so only one ramp will be closed at a time. Weather permitting, the on-ramp to westbound I-44 is scheduled to close on Sept. 5. The off-ramp from westbound I-44 is scheduled to close on Sept. 19, and the off-ramp from eastbound I-44 is scheduled to close Oct. 3.
MoDOT appreciates the patience and cooperation of motorists during the closures, which are necessary to accelerate construction. Work on the roundabouts should be complete by late 2011.
A roundabout is an intersection which accommodates traffic flow in one direction around a central circular island. As drivers approach a roundabout, they slow down and yield to traffic already circulating through the area. When a gap in traffic appears on the left, drivers enter the roundabout by turning right and following the circle until reaching their exits.
Roundabouts reduce driver delay by allowing motorists to yield until they can safely enter the circle, rather than waiting at a traditional traffic signal. They can also handle higher traffic volumes than signalized intersection and reduce traffic crashes by lowering the speed of vehicles moving through them and eliminating many of the conflict points where vehicles can collide.
For more information about this project or other transportation-related matters, please call 1-888-ASK-MoDOT Central Missouri District on Facebook for project updates.
  
Caution urged during
round-about construction
on Kingshighway
Motorists are urged to use caution while traveling through the construction zone where two new round-abouts are being built at the Kingshighway, Interstate-44 bypass by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). And while no detours are posted in this area, the City recommends local motorist and customers use Bridge School Road to St. Johns Parkway as an alternate route. 
Construction of the two round-abouts, referred to as a ‘dogbone’ configuration, is Phase 3 of the ‘Rolla West’ project that began two years ago with the extension of Ridgeview Road at the State Route 63/Highway 72 Intersection, and then the new Bryant Drive Extension and intersection on Kingshighway next to Fairground Chevrolet and the new McDonalds restaurant.
Also included in Phase III of the Rolla West project will be the eventual widening of Kingshighway from three to five lanes, from the Bryant Drive intersection to the I-44/Kingshighway overpass. This project is tentatively schedule in 2012/ 2013. Phase 4 will involve the extension of Ridgeview Road (Hwy. 72) to Bridge School Road. Phase 5 of Rolla West would involve the construction of a fifth Rolla interchange on I-44 west of the Kingshighway overpass at some point in the distant future.
The Rolla West project was presented as part of the Rolla 2020 Comprehensive Plan Update adopted by the Rolla City Council in January 2006. One of the keys to the success of the Rolla West project is the partnership with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and the Highway Commission, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Phelps County, and the Rolla Regional Economic Commission (RREC).
“Through mutual cooperation we hope to achieve improvements and growth that will propel Rolla and Phelps County into a bright and prosperous future,” said John Butz, Rolla City Administrator.   
For more information, or to view a detailed version of the Rolla West Master Plan, please visit http://www.rollawest.com/index.shtm or contact the City of Rolla Public Works Department at 364-8659.

Rolla Channel 16
live streaming
24/7 on the Web
 If you happen to miss the airing of a Rolla City Council meeting, Planning & Zoning meeting, Rolla Public School Board meeting or Board of Public Works meeting, you can now watch them 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 is live streaming all Rolla City Council meetings, Rolla Planning & Zoning Commission meetings, all future episodes of “City Minutes”, all Rolla Public Schools board meetings, and Rolla High School 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!

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: Large (3).
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!)
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
SEPTEMBER 2011
10 - Canine Plunge at SplashZone (noon-3 p.m.); early registration required
(364-8222)
11 – A Day of Remembrance: Honoring those of 9/11 (1 p.m.); Rolla Middle School Auditorium
13 – Planning & Zoning Commission Mtg. (5:30 p.m.)
19 - City Council Mtg. (6:30 p.m.)
24 - Celebration of Nations (11 a.m.-5 p.m.); Downtown Festival Park
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 -  Autumn Arts & Crafts Festival (9 a.m.-4 p.m.); downtown Rolla
17 - City Council Mtg. (6:30 p.m.)
31 – Have a Safe Trick or Treat Night (downtown Rolla)
  
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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