point of view

Indigenous Peoples' Day is a holiday in the US that celebrates & honors Indigenous American peoples & commemorates their histories & cultures. It is celebrated across the US on the 2nd Monday in October, & is an official city & state holiday in various localities. It began as a counter-celebration held on the same day as the US federal holiday of Columbus Day, which honors Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. Some people do not observe Columbus Day at all, citing the lasting harm indigenous tribes suffered because of Columbus' contributions to the European colonization of the Americas. Numerous efforts in NA have honored Native American people as part of Columbus Day, or by designating 2 holidays for the same date.

Monday - Columbus Day &/or Indigenous Peoples Day; 4pm - Capital Improvements

Tuesday, 4:30pm - Municipal Court; 6pm - Friends of the Wells

Wednesday, noon - Chamber Luncheon; Farmer's Markets

Thursday - Saturday - Museum Rummage Sale

Friday, 7:30am - City Council Work Session;

Saturday, 10am - Mario Kart Tournament; 10-4pm - Westside Business District Fall Festival Celebration; 6-8pm Fall Festival at Community Center

Capital Improvements - Hall of Waters elevator modernization - $263,881; upgrade of gas/diesel fuel Island - $27,248.41, Purchase of 4 buses $333,464 with 80% from federal funds; local match of $71,693 is needed. Previously approved $58,000. Need additional $8,693 + $5,000 for logos.

Farmer's Markets - (morning @ Community Center 9-11:30am & afternoon @ Hitch Lot 4-7pm)

City Council - agenda items under development include Proclamation for Business Women's week & recommendations from Capital Improvements; waiting for Army Corps of Engineers to approve funding agreement for sewer line projects & agreement with McClure to update bid documents, September Financials.

Westside Fall Festival, 10-4pm - Blue Sparrow Garden Center, in partnership with Tiger Bowl, is assembling fun Halloween Gift Bags hand out to the first 50 customers. Stop by for games, food, music, & a mock pumpkin patch. Shop for all your favorite fall decorations. They want to take this opportunity to promote the Westside Business District & their business with these gift bags. 6-8pm @ Community Center, come dressed in your best costumes for trunk-or-treating, food trucks, & activities for the whole family.

Celebrating work anniversaries this week - Kimberly Herring, Finance Account Tech - 31 years; Brian Kennedy, Police Sergeant/Investigations - 27 years; Pam Sanders & Theresa Happy, Group Fitness Instructors - 8 years; Josh Hyatt, Police Corporal/Patrol - 3 years; Justin Linard, Police Corporal/SRO - 2 years; Kate Houck, Recreation Program Supervisor - 1 year.

ESHS Students did a great job cleaning up downtown after the Homecoming Parade. We appreciate their efforts.

• Garland Bridge discussion this week with MoDOT & SEMA regarding the need for additional right-of-way around the bridge from adjacent property acquired from flood buyout program. Roadway right-of-way on east side of bridge is only 15' & described as alley when bridge was originally constructed in 1917. Approvals are needed by SEMA to transfer title to property acquired under the flood buyout program for road right-of-way. MoDOT is administering the funding to support the bridge replacement.
• Pre-bid conference is scheduled for Dry Fork Greenway project, 10/17 for contractors interested in bidding. Bids due 11/7.

I LOVE Downtown ES. Whether it's grabbing coffee, shopping for unique finds in locally owned boutiques, or just chatting with the friendly shop owners, this community is what makes our downtown special. Every time I walk through the heart of ES, I'm reminded of how lucky we are to have such a tight-knit, supportive group of entrepreneurs making our town feel like home. Read it on Facebook.