Public Works Day Celebration set for May 18 in downtown Rolla

The City of Rolla Public Works Department invites you to attend a free Public Works Day Celebration on Saturday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the City’s Downtown Festival Park next to City Hall – rain or shine. This year’s theme for the annual Public Works Week, which runs from May 19-25, is “Because of Public Works.”

In addition to free brochures, coloring books, balloons, stickers and comic books, there will also be an inflatable playground for children. The event will also feature the Public Works Mascot “P.W. Paws” and visitors will be encouraged to get their free photo taken. Free popcorn will also be provided.

Participating in the event are the Public Works Divisions of Streets, Traffic, Wastewater, and Engineering, along with the City’s Parks and Recreation and Environmental Services Department. Rolla Municipal Utilities is also participating in the event. City of Rolla and RMU staff will be on-site to demonstrate equipment, and answer questions.

Visitors will be able to learn about water and wastewater treatment and distribution, how a sanitary sewer line is televised, watch computerized mapping system retrieve information, and climb inside various pieces of heavy equipment.

For more information, please call the Public Works Department at (573) 364-8659 or visit www.rollacity.org.

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Frame Shop showcases Sondershausen Sister City Display at Rolla City Hall

The Frame Shop (located at 410 S. Bishop Avenue in Rolla), made a very generous donation to the City of Rolla recently by framing and preserving several important items given to the City by its Sister City, Sondershausen, Germany.

The framed items, which will be displayed outside the Council Chambers at Rolla City Hall (901 N. Elm Street),  were presented to Rolla Mayor Bill Jenks, III during Rolla’s Sesquicentennial Celebration (150th birthday) in 2011 by a five-member delegation from Sondershausen.

Included in the colorful display are the National Flag of Germany, Sondershausen crest, and a beautiful medallion and drawing of the City of Sondershausen. The City of Rolla would like to express its thanks and appreciation to The Frame Shop for this generous $350 donation (of time and materials) to the City. 

Pictured at Rolla City Hall are (l to r): John Butz, Rolla City Administrator; Mayor Jenks; Donna Roberts and Dave Roberts, owners of The Frame Shop, 410 S. Bishop Avenue). (Rob Hribar/City of Rolla photo).

Spring festivities abound in Rolla area

Mayor Bill Jenks, III

Despite the winter-like weather that is hanging on during the transition to spring on March 20, there are plenty festivities and community events that are lined up for the next several weeks, and well into the summer months here in Rolla.

But before I discuss some of the great things happening in the Meramec Valley region, I would like to first express my thanks and appreciation to all the City departments, including the Public Works, Police, Fire & Rescue, Parks and Recreation and Environmental Services, for all of the services and assistance they provided the St. Pat’s Board and St. Pat’s Planning committee prior to, during, and after the 105^th St. Pat’s Parade – one of the best attended parades in many years in downtown Rolla.

From road closures, to traffic signage, to traffic control, to public safety, use of the downtown bandshell and City Hall (for the concert following the parade); recycling, and even trash pick-up by Public Works employees along Pine Street last Sunday, so much more goes on behind the scenes by these departments who seamlessly incorporate these duties along with their day to day responsibilities.

Spring Break for the 4,000 students who attend Rolla Public Schools began Friday, March 22 and continues through this Friday, March 29. I mention this as the Citywide Clean-Up is just around the corner on Saturday, April 6, and this coming week may be the perfect opportunity for your kids to assist with cleaning out the garage, car-port, shed, closet or any other storage area that needs organizing and cleaning up. The nice thing about the Clean Up on April 6 is that you can take some of your unwanted household items and simply take them to your curb that Saturday morning by 6 a.m. The residential clean up is offered as part of your weekly service, so you don’t want to miss out on this annual event. And please remember that due to the large decline in household items being picked up at the Clean-Ups, the City will be holding this event once a year in April (first Saturday), and no longer in the fall, which was traditionally the second Citywide clean-up of the year.

Looking ahead to next Saturday, March 30, Breakfast With the Bunny will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at The Centre (1200 N. Holloway Street). This fun, family-oriented event is free and open to the public. And don’t forget to bring your camera for a great photo opportunity with the Easter Bunny. For more information about this event, please call 341-2386.

The month of April includes the Rolla Municipal General Election on Tuesday, April 2 (polls open at 6 a.m.); the Citywide Clean-Up on April 6, the free Family Education Fair – Growing Green! Learn, Grow, Harvest hosted by the Phelps County Master Gardeners on Saturday, April 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ministry Center of the First Baptist Church (located at 10^th and North Cedar Streets in Rolla).

Additional events you want to put on your calendar include Rolla Earth Day, which will be held on Monday, April 22. Local Government Week (April 28-May 4) will celebrate the many services provided by the City of Rolla through a proclamation, and a display at the Rolla Public Library that will showcase and feature books and literature on the many professions that encompass City government such as the Parks and Recreation, Police, Fire, and Public Works Departments.

The month of May is jam-packed with more community events, including the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, May 2 beginning at 6:30 a.m. at the Havener Center; Public Works Day Celebration on Saturday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Downtown Bandshell; and Rolla Downtown Days Art and Music Festival that will be held Friday, May 17 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the downtown business district and Saturday, May18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be an art walk, live entertainment, photography, poetry readings, a wine tasting, and great specials offered at the many establishments in the downtown area.

A tentative Grand Opening for the new Environmental Services facility (located off McCutchen Drive behind the Rolla Recycling Center) that houses the City’s Vehicle Maintenance and Sanitation Divisions, is also being planned for Wednesday, May 22, (which also happens to be the last day of school for Rolla Public School students).

Have a safe weekend and a great week ahead!

Wood Elementary students tour Rolla Recycling Center

An enthusiastic group of Wood Elementary students from St. Robert recently participated in a field trip at the City of Rolla’s Recycling Center where they learned about the many ways the City’s Environmental Services Department handles tons of recyclable materials, electronic waste, household hazardous waste, and commercial-grade materials such as cardboard, paper, and plastics. 

(Pictured above: Marcia Mayo, Recycling Specialist, gives a tour of the Rolla Recycling Center at 2141 Old St. James Road on Thursday, March 21 to students and teachers who attend Wood Elementary School in St. Robert. Several more area schools are scheduled to tour the facility throughout the months of March and April.) 
The tour of the Recycling Center, which is part of a month-long series of regional field trips scheduled from March 18 through April 26 with students from Mark Twain Elementary, St. Patrick Elementary School, and a special needs school from Sullivan High School, was coordinated by Marcia Mayo, Recycling Specialist in the Environmental Services Department. 

(Students from Wood Elementary in St. Robert tour an outdoor exhibit at the Rolla Recycling Center that demonstrates the many uses of recyclable materials.)Mayo’s message to the students was that “just about anything we use and consume at home, at work and around town can and should be recycled.” The students were surrounded by mountains of recycled plastic, paper and cardboard, as Mayo emphasized how important recycling is, not only from an environmental and ecological perspective, but also an economic one.

Mayo, who is passionate about recycling, the environment, and educating the public about the positive impact recycling and the Rolla Recycling Center has on our community, conducts student and civic tours of the Recycling Center on a regular basis. To schedule a tour of the facility, or for more information about the Recycling Center and Household Hazardous Waste Facility, please call the Environmental Services Department at (573) 364-6693.