WEDNESDAY JANUARY 6, 2010
6:15 AM

My life is going to change. Pat has decided to retire. She gave her notice on January 4th and her last day of work will be the 15th. I am happy for her. She has worked all of her adult life. Now she can do some of the things that she wants to on her own schedule. We have reviewed our financial situation and we think, with some expert advice, that we have made adequate plans to be able to have a comfortable life with the plans we have made and carried out. It will be a big change for Pat and me. It will be odd not having to go to work, after having to go for more than 40 years.

The city ended the year of 2009 in good financial shape. This was due to proper planning and a good group of department heads being able to carry out their assignments using the money that was available. I am grateful for the work of all of the employees of the city. Working together we have been able to accomplish a number of goals. The city council has also been a good working partner in moving the city forward.

I am pleased with the work of the sanitation department over the last two weeks. Christmas and New Years day are always a difficult to stay up with the trash generated. The department came through very well. They had to operate the residential truck from 7 AM until about 11Pm on the days after the holidays to pick up the trash. It was long days, but the crews did an excellent job and I am proud of the work that they did for the citizens of Wynne. I am also glad that we now have a can system to deal with household trash. This system allows the crews to pick up the trash from the comfort of a warm truck and not be out in the cold weather. The only down side is that two employees had to lose their jobs. I think that this system has worked well and that the citizens have been positive about the changes.