Even as they were working to help stage this week’s Veterans Day events, City of Andalusia employees have been hard at work getting ready for Christmas in Candyland.
Mayor Earl Johnson said earlier this week that one of the main projects has been the construction of the Polar Bear Slide that is going to be much bigger and faster this year.
“It looks like we’re building a rocket launcher out there,” he quipped.
What locals can see between City Hall and Springdale is the base for the slide, which will be 10 feet higher than the one last year, and 30 feet longer.
“Most of the support is being constructed of steel, so we don’t have to rebuild it every year,” he said. “Some of it will still be made from wood this year, but we’ll add more steel next year. This will save us a lot of money in construction costs in the long run.”
The Polar Bear slide was just one of many activities designed to entertain children and their parents during the weeks of December, when the city and Chamber of Commerce stage Candyland, designed to improve the local quality of life, and attract people to the city in hopes they’ll shop and spend entertainment dollars here.
City workers have already poured a slab that will be the base of the ice skating rink in winter, also saving annual construction costs. The tree has been erected in the court square, and there are snowflakes already on light posts throughout the city.
“There will be a lot of work going on in town next couple of weeks,” Johnson said. “We want to get everything decorated up and looking nice. It will be an exciting time.”
Community honors veterans
Those who have served in the military have learned applied the leadership lessons learned to many areas of life to make American a better country.
That’s the message Jack Hawkins, the Troy University Chancellor and a former U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant who saw combat action in Vietnam delivered to those gathered for a Veterans Day program Friday at the Covington County Veterans Memorial. The program followed the annual Veterans Day Parade.
“To the Marines present – Happy birthday!” he said. “Today marks 242 years of service. The Marine Corp was formed one year before the Declaration of Independence was signed. Read More>
Andalusia City Schools Superintendent Ted Watson is in the process of interviewing potential contractors for a massive project to renovate both the auditorium and the stadium at Andalusia High School.
Last month, the school board was set to open bids for the proposed project, but received none. In an earlier bid process – for the auditorium half of the project – the lowest bid was approximately $1.1 million higher than a professional estimator had predicted, and did not include architects’ fees.
“The next step, as far as the law is concerned, is to solicit a contractor with whom well be happy and who we are convinced can do the project,” Watson said. The school board can negotiate prices on the project.
The day after the bid opening that wasn’t, Watson said, he met with officials at the Alabama Building Commission to determine the proper steps for proceeding.
“He said we had already hired an architect who knew the rules, and we would be in good shape if we listened to him,” Watson told members of the Andalusia City Council Tuesday night.
Since that time, he said, several interviews have been conducted. He has been joined by the architect and by Andalusia Director of Planning and Development Andy Wiggins. Read More>
