Public invited to attend Candidates Forum March 12

By Mayor Bill Jenks, III
With the Rolla Municipal Election just around the corner, I’d like to extend an invitation to everyone in the community to attend the Rolla Candidates Forum on Monday, March 12 at the Rolla Public Schools Administration Building – Board Room located at 500A Forum Drive.

The Rolla Community Teachers Association (RCTA) Candidates Forum will begin at 4 p.m., followed by the Rolla Municipal Candidates Forum at 6 p.m. The Rolla Community Teachers Association (RCTA) and Rolla Channel 16 will host a Candidates Forum for candidates running in the Rolla Public School Board Election on April 3. For more information please contact Sue Eudaly, President of the (RCTA) at 573-458-0100 ext. 18026 or by email at seudaly@rolla.k12.mo.us.

Following the RTCA Candidates Forum the Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce invites you to attend the Rolla Municipal Candidates Forum beginning at 6 p.m. at the Rolla Public Schools Administration Building – Board Room (500A Forum Dr.). Candidates running for Municipal Judge, Rolla City Attorney, and Rolla City Council will be in attendance. Questions for the Forum may be submitted in advance by e-mail to rollacc@rollachamber.org or fax at 573-364-5222. For more information, please contact the Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce at 573-364-3577. The Candidates Forums will be aired on Rolla Channel 16.

I would also like to remind everyone to vote during the Rolla Municipal Election on Tuesday, April 3. Polls will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. For more information regarding polling locations and ward maps, please visit www.rollacity.org/wards/voter. You may also contact Carol Daniels in the City Clerk’s office at Rolla City Hall, 901 North Elm Street, at (573) 426-6942 or online at cdaniels@rollacity.org.

Looking ahead this week, I’d like to remind everyone that the 104th Annual St. Pat’s Day Parade, one of the oldest and most celebrated St. Pat’s Parades in the state of Missouri, will be held Saturday, March 17 at 11 a.m. on Pine Street in downtown Rolla. After the parade, the first of four FREE concerts will begin at 1 p.m. at the City’s Downtown Festival Park located at the corner of 9th and Oak Streets. Come out and make sure St. Pat's ends with a bang, at a FREE Chevelle concert! The headliner takes the stage at 3:30 p.m. Terrapin Moon, a Grateful Dead tribute band, plays at 1 p.m., followed by Middle Class Rut and another band that is soon to be announced. The concerts are being presented by the Missouri S&T Student Union Board & St. Pat's Celebration Committee. 

In keeping with the traditional celebration of St. Pat’s week in Rolla, St. Pat’s Court will arrive at the bandshell in the City’s Downtown Festival Park on Wednesday, March 14 at 11:45 a.m. The St. Pat’s Court Arrival begins at 11 a.m. at the south end of Pine Street where St. Pat will proceed through the downtown area to the bandshell at 11:45 a.m. The tradition of St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in Rolla for over a century. St. Patrick, the patron saint of engineers, marked his first Rolla celebration in 1908 on what was then the Missouri School of Mines campus. Engineers rallied around St. Pat and began what is now one of the most noted and oldest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the nation.

For more information regarding the St. Pat’s Parade and related events and festivities, please visit the St. Pat’s Board homepage online at http://stpats.mst.edu/events. Enjoy the weekend and have a safe week!