Written by: Charlie Sellers, Blowing Rock
After completing 8 years as mayor, a business owner in Blowing Rock and a local taxpayer I feel that we are finishing another fantastic year in our town of Blowing Rock and I want to recognize those that make our town so special.
I will start with public works, it amazes me that during the winter we can have water breaks repaired within hours and the next day our garbage is picked up, snow has been removed from the roads. Our water treatment plants remain in full operation. In many other communities this would not happen in hours nor days.
Parks and recreation have for many years done a fabulous job of the after-school care of our citizens’ children, the 4th of July parade, Christmas parade, lighting of the town and Halloween festival, of which all of these events move forward without a hitch. Our town has become very family friendly thanks to parks and recreation’s hard work.
Our landscaping department should be winning awards for how well maintained our planted areas are every year. When I feel it cannot get any better, they out do themselves. I have also been impressed how closely they work with the garden club in maintaining our towns beauty.
The police department does an excellent job of traffic control and public safety. Through the years they have focused on assisting our citizens with complaints and needs for safety. I feel they do an excellent job of traffic enforcement given the volume of vehicles traveling on our roads within the city limits. In addition, they provide unquestionable support during our special events in town that ultimately provides safety to our citizens and visitors.
Fire and rescue have set the standard for the High-Country saving lives, performing rescues and of course handling the unfortunate building fires. Many of our citizens have called on this dept for assistance and have been very pleased with their professionalism. In addition to serving our community they still find time to assist other communities when in need.
The Planning and zoning department have had a lot on their plate over the course of the past years. They do their best to follow ordinances and guidelines and many times are scrutinized over their decisions that administrations have enacted for them to follow. These people are striving to make sure our town remains unique and different but yet follow the parameters that have been set forth.
Town Hall administration to this day still listens to all the citizens and attempts to respond to all calls in a timely manner. There are some occasions when they field complaints knowing they have no control but still attempt to assist the citizens. I have been in town hall and heard citizens making complaints in a very loud manner which I feel is totally unacceptable, the town staff attempts to resolve the issue as soon as possible and most cases the citizen leaves with the issue resolved.
Considering what I have seen and experienced over the course of the last few years, I have realized we have some of the most devoted and well-rounded employees that any town could hire, some of the best dept heads that any organization could hire, and ultimately managed by one of the best town managers that any community could employ.
My thanks to all of our town of Blowing Rock Employees for making our town a special place to live and work.