PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
When the tornado hit Pleasant Springs on August 18, I contact their municipal officials and asked if there was anything that the Village could do to help. They needed all the help they could get so I authorized three Village Public Works employees along with dump trucks to provide assistance to the devastated community. Overall we provided 37 ½ manpower hours, plus our large dump trucks to aid in the overwhelming clean-up.
Helping our neighbors in a time of crisis is essential and I am sure that when our time comes, they will be the first ones to be at our door with help. It makes me feel good to know that Deerfield will have a friend in a time of need that would return the favor.
As part of the recovery and clean-up, our Fire Department and EMS crews also provided services that were very much needed. Our community should be very proud of our Public Works Department employees that rearranged their personal and work schedules to help in this dire time, as well as the firemen and EMS that gave many hours of assistance. A big thanks for a job very well done.
Also, I would like to thank all the firemen for their efforts in providing the residents of the Village another great festival! As always, it was a success due to their hard work and commitment, making sure everything was done right. Along with the firemen, I also want to thank all the other volunteers that help at the festival. It’s a great way to meet people while at the same time, helping the firemen.
Arnie Evensen, Village President
WHAT’S HAPPENING????
? The Village Planning Commission, Village Board, and TIF Joint Review Board have approved the creation of a new TIF District #3, including the downtown area, W. Nelson St., along the Drumlin Bike trail, both east and west of Main St., the old elementary school and Firemen’s Park area. The Project Plan is intended to revitalize the downtown commercial area. More information will be available as the plan is finalized.
? A new business has opened its doors in the newly renovated Liberty Commons commercial center called Liberty Street Florals. Stop in and say “hi” to Kim.
? Two new public works employees were hired to fill vacant positions, Derek Anderson and Jarrett Jones. Also, Administrator, Clerk-Treasurer Cindi Gotthart has announced that she is leaving her position at the end of the year and will be moving from Deerfield to be near family. The hiring process to fill her position is underway.
? Phase II of the previously platted Heritage subdivision is nearing completion. This will add 37 single family lots to the Village.
? Washburn Road and Meadow Trace storm sewer upgrades have been completed, along with resurfacing of the road, which will greatly improve the water drainage in the area.
? The Village has purchased a new GMC dump and snow plow truck to replace an old truck retired and traded from the vehicle fleet.
HOMECOMING FESTIVITIES L L L L L L
Deerfield’s Homecoming is September 30th and they play Belleville/Albany. Don’t forget the Lion’s Chicken Dinner at the Firemen’s Park starting at 11:00 a.m. Reservations for dinners can be made at the Bank of Deerfield during Homecoming week at 764-5411.
LIBRARY NEWS
As fall approaches, the Deerfield Public Library is gearing up for some spectacular programs for young and old alike. For adult program we will meet on the fourth Sunday of the month, September through November, for book discussion and the titles are as follows: “Theatre: A Novel” for September, “The Human Stain” for October, and “Catch Me If You Can” for November. Our theme is “Books made into recent movies”, and that will carry us all the way through the spring.
Children’s programming is exciting as a new season of story hour kicks off. Family fun night will again occur once a month on the third Thursday of the month. The projects/programs for 2005 include a Spooky Storyteller on October 20th, and Lego Building on November17th. There will also be various programs on Early Release days, but watch The Independent and the library desk for further information regarding dates and times. For any questions regarding programming, feel free to call the Library at
764-8102.
DEERFIELD VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT NEWS
The Deerfield Fire Department has incident statistics for 2004. Of the 109 incidents, the Village of Deerfield had 30, while the Town of Deerfield had 55, Pleasant Springs had 6 and there were 18 Out-of-District calls. April had the highest number of incidents while the day of the week with the highest calls was Saturday for 26 calls. The top three type of incidents were to assist the EMS- 26, to assist the EMS in a crash site-16 and building fires-12.
Average response time for all calls was 10:01 minutes and for calls within the district was 5:00 minutes. Mutual aid was given 9 times and received 25 times. On average, 15 firefighters responded to calls and there was a total of 3,863 hours of volunteer time, with 1,234 hours responding to incidents, 1683 hours in training, 862 hours in maintenance and 84 hours in public education.
ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING AND SNOW REMOVAL
Alternate side parking begins November 15 through April 15. Midnight is the benchmark. Park on the odd side of the street for odd days, and the even side for even days. Property owners need to remove snow and ice from sidewalks before 5:00 p.m.the day after said snow or ice has fallen. No notices will be sent out as the snow and the ice is the notice. There is a minimum charge of $80.00 per hour.
PLEASE HELP US KEEP DEERFIELD CLEAN FOR CITIZENS AND PETS!