Monday, October 24, 2011

City of Rolla Weekly Updates (Oct. 24, 2011)

Getting round
about Rolla
By Bill Jenks, III
Mayor
The use of roundabouts in Europe have been in existence for several decades, and in New England for over 40 years, but the recent construction of the new roundabout intersection at 18th and Forum Drive has motorists driving in circles.
But that is entirely the intention of this vehicular traffic device that is becoming more and more popular in the Midwest, and here in Rolla, Missouri where two additional roundabouts are being constructed by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) at the Kingshighway/I-44 Interchange. The addition of these two roundabouts, also referred to as a ‘dog bone’ configuration, brings the number of roundabouts to four in Rolla. The other roundabout, which has been operational for over two years, is located at the E Highway/I-44 overpass at White Columns Drive. The City was also recently notified that MoDOT has approved funding for yet a fifth roundabout at the Highway V/I-44 Interchange across from Love’s Travel Stop near the entrance to HyPoint Industrial Park.
While some folks are not altogether comfortable with the notion and use of roundabouts, there are no stop signs to halt traffic. Stop signs have been replaced by yield signs, and instead of a traffic light that folks have to wait for to turn green (and hope no one decides to run a red light), and that requires electricity, maintenance and funding, the new roundabout keeps things moving much more safely for motorists and pedestrians alike, for very little cost. And reducing costs, reducing accidents and injuries, and improving efficiencies on the road and in the environment, are always nice objectives to reach for as a community. In addition, if lighting strikes, or there is an unexpected power outage, traffic continues to move without a glitch in a roundabout. These are just some of the positive aspects and benefits of a roundabout. That said, motorists approaching a roundabout for the first time will most likely have some apprehension, if not confusion regarding how to proceed into and through a roundabout. Fortunately, thanks to technology and the Internet, if you wish, you can view a very well produced video (by the Missouri Department of Transportation) on roundabouts on the City’s Website at http://rollacity.org/pubworks/pubworks.shtml.
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) video explains that roundabouts are designed to get a lot of traffic through an intersection without a lot of waiting; a one-way circle of traffic with yield signs at each entry point; they are easy to navigate thru and safer to use than traditional traffic intersections. A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says roundabouts reduce collisions of all types by 39%; injury collisions by 76% and fatal and incapacitating injuries by 89%. The reasons for these safety improvements, (as explained on the MoDOT video), for both motorists and pedestrians include: slower traffic speeds, smaller collision angles and fewer conflict points (spots where vehicles could collide). 
While we are the topic of traffic and driving safely, I’d like to take this opportunity to mention that children and the public will be out and about during the evening hours Monday, Oct. 31, which of course is Halloween. One of the most challenging aspects of this holiday from a safety aspect is that it is celebrated during pre-dawn and night time hours, and many of the children who are out in the neighborhoods are often dressed in dark clothing. So please be extra cautious on Halloween and keep an eye out for pedestrians crossing the street and sidewalks.
 I would like to remind everyone that on Monday, Oct. 31 the downtown merchants and businesses will host the annual trick or treating on Pine Street from 5-7 p.m. Also on Monday, Oct. 31, Rolla City employees at The Centre, Rolla Police Department, Rolla Fire & Rescue (Fire Station #2/Eugene Northern Community Hall), and Rolla City Hall will be passing out candy and greeting guests beginning at 5 p.m. Your children’s safety and the safety of the public is the City’s number one priority on Halloween night, so please stay safe while you are enjoying the various festivities around town.  
In closing, I’d like to remind everyone that the 4th annual “Operation Neighborhood Clean-up” will be held on Friday, Nov. 4 in the area referred to as the Huffman Trailer Park and Johnson/Laird sub-division (located near the corner of Pinetree Road and Hwy. 72). All volunteers are asked to attend the welcome gathering at 6:30 a.m. at Carpenter’s Union Hall located at Hwy. 72 and Richard Dr.  A complimentary breakfast will be provided. The clean-up will take place from 7 a.m. to 12-noon. The entire community is invited to participate in this beautification effort, which is once again being coordinated by the Rolla Area Ministerial Alliance and the Rolla Police Department. The clean-up effort will involve tree trimming, hedge trimming, and the removal of brush piles, household items and trash.
Groups or individuals interested in volunteering should contact Chris Foster, Associate Minister at Greentree Christian Church, at 364-2649 or cfoster@greentreerolla.org, or Officer Vince Giacolone at the Rolla Police Department at 308-1213 or at vgiacolone@rollacity.org
Enjoy the beautiful fall weather and have a safe week!

Prescription Drug
Take Back
set for Oct. 29
The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Rolla Police Department and Prevention Consultants of Missouri are coordinating the third national prescription and over-the-counter drug take-back on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church parking lot.
Members of the public may bring old prescription and over the counter medications to the Presbyterian Church. Sgt. Wayne Rapier of the Rolla Police Department will be present to collect these drugs and dispose of them in a safe and responsible manner.
For more information, please contact Prevention Consultants of Missouri at 573-368-4755.

City of Rolla makes
Halloween festivities
safe and fun for all
The City of Rolla will host numerous festivities on Halloween night Monday, Oct. 31 by passing out candy, hosting costume contests and making the community feel welcome at The Centre, Rolla Police Department, Rolla Fire Department, and at City Hall. 
The Centre – Rolla’s 63,000-square-foot Health and Recreation Complex, will kick off the evening with their annual Fall Costume Contest between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Show off your costumes and you will receive a treat. Costumes will be judged according to age groups and winners will receive Centre gift certificates. Categories include Original/Most Creative and Movie/Storybook Character in the following age divisions: 0-3; 4-7; 8-11; 12-16 and 17 and older. Be sure to stop by The Centre at 1200 North Holloway or call 341-2FUN for more information.
The Rolla Police Department will be handing out candy Halloween night beginning at 5 p.m. at RPD Headquarters located at 1007 North Elm Street. Police headquarters are located one block north of City Hall. Rolla Fire and Rescue will hand out candy and host a child friendly haunted house inside Eugene Northern Community Hall at Fire Station #2 on Halloween night between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Fire Station #2 is located at 400 West Fourth Street. The haunted house is free and open to the public.
Members of the Administration and Public Works departments will also be greeting the public and passing out candy in the lobby of City Hall (901 N. Elm Street) from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“Your children’s safety and the safety of the public is the City’s number one priority on Halloween night,” said Rolla Mayor Bill Jenks. “Please stay safe while you are enjoying the various festivities around town.”   
  
Operation Neighborhood
Clean Up set for Nov. 4
The 4th annual “Operation Neighborhood Clean-up” will be held on Friday, Nov. 4 in the area referred to as the Huffman Trailer Park and Johnson/Laird sub-division located near the corner of Pinetree Road and Hwy. 72.
All volunteers are asked to attend the welcome gathering at 6:30 a.m. at Carpenter’s Union Hall located at Hwy. 72 and Richard Dr.  A complimentary breakfast will be provided. The clean-up will take place from 7 a.m. to 12-noon.
The entire community is invited to participate in this beautification effort, which is once again being coordinated by the Rolla Area Ministerial Alliance and the Rolla Police Department.
Operation Neighborhood Clean-up is an opportunity for residents to partner with the Rolla Area Ministerial Alliance, community churches such as Greentree Christian Church, the Vineyard Christian Fellowship, and the Rolla Police Department to enhance the neighborhood’s sense of community and increase property values. The clean-up effort will involve tree trimming, hedge trimming, and the removal of brush piles, household items and trash
Groups or individuals interested in volunteering for Operation Neighborhood Clean-up should contact Chris Foster, Associate Minister at Greentree Christian Church, at 364-2649 or cfoster@greentreerolla.org, or Officer Vince Giacolone at the Rolla Police Department at 308-1213 or at vgiacolone@rollacity.org

Rolla City Council
Mtg. set for Nov. 7
The next Rolla City Council meeting will be held on Monday, Nov. 7 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.

MoDOT Update on
Interstate 44 ramps at
mile marker 184 in Rolla
Daylight/Overnight Hours
Roundabout construction at the I-44 Business Loop interchange continues at mile marker 184.
   * The westbound off-ramp at mile marker 184 is now open to traffic.
   * Motorists traveling westbound on I-44 will need to proceed north on U.S. 63 to the interchange at mile markers 185 or 196.The roundabouts are scheduled to be completed by late 2011.

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.
  
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
posters available
at City Hall
Rolla Sesquicentennial commemorative posters are available to the public for purchase at Rolla City Hall, (901 N. Elm Street).
The 4-color, 11x17 glossy Sesquicentennial posters, designed by Angi Yowell, RTI Graphic Design Instructor, are selling for $2 each. In addition to the posters, the newly designed Rolla City flags are available for purchase in the Community Development Department (2nd Floor) at Rolla City Hall for $40 each.
Proceeds will be used to offset costs and expenses incurred for Rolla’s Sesquicentennial Celebration festivities.
The City of Rolla, incorporated 150 years ago on Jan. 25, 1861, continues to celebrate its Sesquicentennial Anniversary, which was 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!)
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:
Nov. 11, 2011 Veterans Day
Nov. 25, 2011 – Day after Thanksgiving
Hotline number: 341-1168

Upcoming Events
OCTOBER 2011
31 – Trick or Treat Night at Rolla City Hall, The Centre, RPD, and Rolla Fire & Rescue (5-7 p.m.)
31 – Have a Safe Trick or Treat (5-7 p.m.); downtown Rolla
NOVEMBER 2011
4 – Operation Neighborhood Clean Up (6:30 a.m.); meet at Carpenter’s Hall on Hwy. 72 (For details, call Vince Giacolone/RPD at 308-1213)
4 – U.S. Armed Forces Victory Dinner (doors open at 5 p.m.; dinner at 6 p.m.); Lions Club Den, Lions Club Park (Call Judy Wright at 364-2419 for tickets; $20/adults; $10/children 10 & under); proceeds to benefit Veterans Memorial Park
4 – Operation Neighborhood Clean Up (6:30 a.m.); meet at Carpenter’s Hall on Hwy. 72 (For details, call Vince Giacolone/RPD at 308-1213)
7 – City Council Mtg. (6:30 p.m.)
21 – 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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