City Info Weekly - 2009/09/02 (Archive)

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15th Avenue Pavement Repair Project begins September 8

The City of Longview has contracted with RC Northwest to construct street pavement repairs on southbound 15th Avenue between Fir Street and Kessler Boulevard.  The project will rehabilitate concrete and asphalt surfacing, restore pavement markings, and provide a smoother ride for motorists.  The construction is scheduled to start on September 8, with the construction being completed by mid October 2009.

During the pavement repair part of the project, 15th Avenue southbound will be closed for traffic from 7 p.m. on September 11 through 7 a.m. on September 21.  The intersections at Fir Street and Delaware Street will be completely closed for traffic from 7 p.m. on September 11 through 7 a.m. on September 14, and westbound Douglas Street will be partially closed from 7 p.m. on September 18 through 7 a.m. on September 21.  During this time, detours will be in place.  Access to local businesses will be maintained in the construction zone. Please refer to the attached map for the proposed detour routes.  View detour map here.

During the construction, traffic delays and impacts are expected. The City will work with the contractor to minimize any inconvenience and disruption. We appreciate your patience during this work.

More information:  If you have any concerns or questions please contact project manager Ivona Kininmonth at 442.5208, or the Engineering Division at 442.5200.

City of Longview’s FREE Movie Day a huge success

The first annual “Free Movie Day for Kids*” has come and gone, and judging from the sounds of laughter from the kids throughout the theater during the watching of “Shorts,” everyone enjoyed themselves! 

The August 29 early morning crowd started gathering at 7 a.m. (doors didn’t open until 8:30 a.m.), and extended around the theater and into the parking lot.  With only 250 seats available, some late arrivals had to be turned away.  Due to the huge success of the free movie event, next year’s program will expand to two theatres, allowing over 400 to watch the film. 

As parents settled their kids in, Solid Waste and Recycling Manager Gregg Hannon spoke specifically to kids about recycling and why it was so important in our community.  They learned about the concepts of the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle), what are the materials that are recyclable in our two programs (Longview’s curbside and Kelso’s drop-off), what we can do to stop pollution and even reduce recycling contamination.  The presentation concluded with a surprise “pop quiz” with the suggestion that it would get the kids better prepared for school which was starting on Monday, August 31.  While most children were knowledgeable about recyclable materials, many were unsure about how to properly dispose of grass clippings.  With a 50/50 split in answers, Mr. Hannon shared that currently, both programs for Longview and Kelso do not allow for the recycling of grass clippings.  He did let them know, however, that even though clippings could not be recycled, they did make good compost that could be used for fertilizer for the home garden.  Mr. Hannon encouraged kids to take this recycling information home and share it with the family.

Each child and parent received a free “reel meal,” consisting of popcorn, candy and a drink.  At the conclusion of the movie, each child and most parents also received a goodie bag containing a recycling activities book, coloring book with a small pack of soybean crayons, some recycled pencils, and brochures about Longview and Kelso’s recycling programs.

This successful event could not have been possible without the generous sponsorship from the City of Longview and Cowlitz County (contributing funds for the recycling goodie bags), the City of Kelso (contributing funds for the newspaper advertisement), Waste Control Recycling (contributing funds for the free “reel meals”), Regal Entertainment Group for contributing the free seats, and the Regal Cinemas staff who worked tirelessly on seeing that everyone had their free meals, smiling through it all.

The promotion of this event consisted of a ¼ page ad printed in the Wednesday edition of the Daily News and a full week of radio ads from all the local radio stations.  The event was hosted by a variety of sponsors, including the City of Longview and Cowlitz County (purchased the post-event materials), the City of Kelso (purchased the ¼ page ad in the Daily News), Waste Control Recycling (purchased the free “reel meal”), and Regal Entertainment Group (donated the free tickets)

*While the admission price to this event was free, the City asked that each person attending provide two cans of non-perishable food for the CAP Food Warehouse.  A total of 672 pounds in donations was collected!.  What a great way to help our community!

City employee contributions give huge boost to the “One Pack, One Child” drive

Going back to school is looking a little bit brighter for local students thanks to the generous support of City of Longview employees.  The City began an internal drive to help fill backpacks for students, led by City Attorney Marilyn Haan.  A friendly challenge was extended to the County to also participate in the drive (coordinated by Stephanie Dunn), and the City of Kelso did their own drive to collect socks, underwear and shoes for their local kids (coordinated by Shelly Timm).  As of Tuesday, August 25, Longview employees filled 95 back packs and donated approximately $400 in cash and supplies.  The City’s top departmental donators included 21 backpacks from Longview Police, 19 backpacks from Executive/Legal/Human Resources, and 12 from the Transit Division.  Emergency Support Shelter received 21 of Longview’s backpacks and $60 in gift cards for their kids in the shelter or in transitional housing.  R.A. Long High School received five backpacks and $100 in gift cards.  The remaining 69 back packs and $240 were delivered to local schools.  “Whether I dropped off one or 20 of the back packs, everyone has been very appreciative of the donations,” stated City Attorney Haan.  “And we are so pleased to announce that the City of Kelso collected enough cash and merchandise to put shoes on at least 124 kids at Wallace School and received 464 pairs of new socks and 372 pairs of new underwear.  Cowlitz County employees collected 82 back packs and lots of miscellaneous supplies.” 

Questions about Longview programs or services?  Don’t forget to check with ASK Longview!