Parks Department reminds residents to water street trees
Fort Wayne's Parks and Recreation Department reminds residents with street trees that are three years or younger to water these trees every 10 to 14 days while the area experiences dry weather. With little to no rain predicted for the holiday weekend and beyond, watering may be needed for the trees' health and survival.
Trees that have yellowing leaves at this point in the season are not turning colors because of fall weather but because they need water.
Watering is best done with a slow trickle from a garden hose for about an hour, completely soaking the surrounding soil. If a hose is not available, a slow watering with five to 10 gallons of water also works.
City offers free transportation to neighborhood conference
The City of Fort Wayne is offering free charter-bus transportation to the Regional Neighborhood Network Conference (RNNC) held in Lima, Ohio, Oct. 2 through Oct. 4. The conference, open to anyone, offers an opportunity to learn from nearby cities and neighborhoods that have similar opportunities, successes and challenges as Fort Wayne. Some cities that participate are Evansville, Louisville, Ky., and Columbus, Ohio.
Anyone planning to attend conference and would like transportation, contact Cherise M. Dixie at 427-1130 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For information or registration about the conference, visit www.LACNIP.org
Animal Care & Control hosting fund-raising walk
Grab your leash, dog, and tennis shoes and let your feet help beat animal cruelty and neglect through education. This is a fund-raising event from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Franke Park to benefit Animal Care & Control, so registration and a minimum pledge of $25 is required of all participants to walk, win a shirt and sample great vendor products. Prizes are awarded for top-fund-raisers. Get forms online at www.fwacc.org, at local veterinary clinics, at Animal Care & Control, or by calling 427-5508.
CPR training registration forms available at Fort Wayne Scott's, Kroger stores
Registration forms for Don't Miss a Beat, the free hands-only CPR training Oct. 25 at the Regional Public Safety Academy, are now available at Fort Wayne and New Haven Kroger and Scott's grocery store service desks. Drop boxes for the forms are also available at these locations. For more information about the communitywide training or to register online, visit 3rcpr.org.
City's biosolids yard open Saturday, Sunday for holiday weekend
The City of Fort Wayne's biosolids yard, 6202 Lake Avenue, will be open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday of the Labor Day weekend. It will be closed Monday.
The biosolids yard offers free compost biosolids soil, mulch, firewood, grass clippings and unscreened lime if customers load it themselves. The facility's staff will load compost biosolids dirt for $8 per ton, screened lime for $250 per ton, and mulch for a $5 flat fee. The facility will also take grass clippings, brush, trees or other natural materials but no stones and rocks for a nominal fee. For more information, call (260) 427-5535 or visit http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/index.php/content/view/1346/1463/.
More than 20 videos on City's YouTube channel
The City of Fort Wayne's Public Information Office has posted more than 20 short video clips to the City's YouTube channel since launching it less than two months ago.
All the videos to date are unique to YouTube, often taped from press conferences or responses from Mayor Tom Henry or City staff members. The most recent videos are from the Lloy Ball community rally at the City-County Building.
The Web address for the YouTube channel is: www.youtube.com/user/fwpublicinformation.
City employees earn tower climbing certification
City employees from the radio shop, risk management and the fire department earned authorized climber certification this week, including on site training at the City's radio shop and the water tower on Rothman Road, to be able to safely climb communications towers and water towers. The radio shop employees need to be able to climb towers for Fort Wayne's early warning flood control system.
City Utilities managers speak at conference on sewer overflows, rain gardens
Four Fort Wayne City Utilities employees spoke at the Indiana Water Environment Association conference for other sewer system professionals in Muncie Aug. 21.
Deputy Director for Engineering Matthew Wirtz and Long Term Control Plan Program Manager Justin Brugger spoke about Fort Wayne's program to reduce sewer overflows going to the rivers. Susan Beck, the City's Stormwater Quality Manager, and Water Quality Regulatory Specialist Brandi Wallace talked about Fort Wayne's rain garden program.
Just over 100 communities in Indiana have combined sewer systems ' systems that carry both sanitary and storm sewage. During rainy weather, the sewers are designed to discharge some of the combined sewage and stormwater to local streams and rivers. All communities where this happens will soon be under agreements with the state or federal government to reduce these sewer overflows. Indianapolis was the first, and Fort Wayne was the second, in Indiana to be subject to such an order.
At the Aug. 21 conference, Wirtz and Brugger shared information with others of other sewer systems around the state about the process that Fort Wayne went through to reach an agreement with the federal government to reduce sewer overflows. He also outlined the specifics of the plan that includes the construction of nearly $240 million in sewer system improvements by 2025. The result of the program will be a 90 percent reduction in the amount of sewage going into Fort Wayne's Rivers.
Beck and Wallace talked about the City's rain garden program. As part of the agreement with the federal government on reducing sewer overflows, Fort Wayne City Utilities will build 20 demonstration rain gardens around the City and will offer incentives to encourage 1,000 homeowners to plant rain gardens. Beck is overseeing the City's first demonstration rain garden that was planted in April at the sewer maintenance facility.
The conference was sponsored by the Indiana Water Environment Federation ' the state chapter of a national organization for sewer system managers.
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- News from the Ninth Floor for Aug. 29, 2008