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From the Desk of Carroll Valley Mayor Ron

(7/2016) The Greater Carroll Valley Community and Educational Complex building will break ground in July. Carroll Valley Council at the June 14th meeting approved the notice to Lobar Associate to proceed with construction. The decision was made based on the completion of the solicitor’s review and council’s approval of the agreement for the extension of a water distribution line with York Water and the lease agreement with the Adams County Library System. Lori Davidson, a member of the Recreation and Environmental Advisory Committee, briefed the council on a proposal to construct a 5-mile walking/bike path that would connect the Fairfield School to the Ranch section of Carroll Valley. The project consists of three phases. The first phase focuses on providing a path between the Fairfield School and the K section. Council approved her request to apply for a grant to help fund this first phase.

The 12th Annual July 4th Picnic Celebration will be held on Monday July 4th starting at 2 p.m. There are many activities to participate in. There is a climbing wall, a youth obstacle course, mechanical bull, moon bounce, pony and hay rides. Sign up for the new Corn-hole tournament. This year the 6th Annual 3 vs. 3 Team Basketball Tournament will start at 3 pm instead of 9 am. The Championship game will be played in the evening under the lights.

After the game, you will be entertained by Ray Owen’s "Hats Off to America" – a musical journey through history celebrating our cultural heritage. Besides food vendors serving up that delicious food, we have service and craft vendors to visit. The Lip Sync competition was so successful last year that it is back again. It should be a lot of fun cheering your favorites on. Come out and share your talent. The celebration ends with fireworks being launched from on top of Ski Liberty Mountain. Free Parking at Ski Liberty. You will be bused over to the park. Hope you and the family will be able to join us. Check it all out by going to www.cvjuly4th.com. It is going to be a great day to celebrate our country’s Birthday. I hope to be there taking pictures.

Summer has started which means those heat alerts are going to be broadcasted again. There are three types of messages that are sent out to the populace and they are: Excessive Heat Outlook, Excessive Heat Watch and an Excessive Heat Warning/Advisory. An Excessive Heat Outlook is used to indicate that a heat event may develop and the emergency management and public health officials should be prepared. An Excessive Heat Watch means an excessive heat event may occur in the next 12 to 48 hours. Finally, an Excessive Heat Warning/Advisory is issued within 12 hours of the onset of the following criteria: heat index of at least 105E F for more than 3 hours per day for 2 consecutive days, or heat index of more than 115E F for any period of time.

Why pay attention? According to the NOAA National Weather Service, the statistical data shows that heat causes more fatalities per year than floods, lightning, tornadoes, and hurricanes combined. What to do? Here are a few tips. Slow down and do not perform any strenuous activities. Drink plenty of water or other non-alcohol fluids even though you may not feel thirsty. If you have problems retaining fluids, consult your physician before increasing your fluid intake. Eat light meals to decrease your metabolic heat production. Wear lightweight light-colored clothing. And naturally, try to spend time in an air-conditioned place.

I cannot believe it, but a year has passed since Councilperson Sarah Skoczen reported to council that she was working with Dr. Lisa Wolkind to have a representative from The Nobody’s Cats Foundation in Camp Hill to hold a seminar addressing the topic of taking care of free-roaming cats. Working with Dr. Wolkind and a great group of volunteers, the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program was implemented in Carroll Valley. The TNR program is an effective management strategy to humanely stabilize and reduce the free roaming domestic feline population. A year later, Sarah’s group has treated 91 cats in Carroll Valley. The first colony started last August and is now 100% complete and the others are getting close to 80% complete as the group tries to get the last few very stubborn cats. Sarah said, "that while it will take time for the number of cats to decrease, residents are already noticing a decrease in the nuisance behaviors of unfixed ferral cats."

Meanwhile, the Carroll Valley TNR group plans to continue to do targeted TNR on colonies in Carroll Valley as they find out about them. The TNR program is funded by the borough, fundraiser events, and SNAP vouchers. If anyone would like to TNR cats on their own in their neighborhood, the Adams County SPCA is doing several TNR clinics in July, call for an appointment or they can take them to Nobody's Cats Foundation in Camp Hill. Go to the website to make an appointment. http://www.nobodyscats.org/. Thank you Sarah and please extend my appreciation to everyone in your group. For some information on how to keep cats out of your garden go to the following link: http://fixourferals.org/home/about/faq/10-tips-for-keeping-cats-out-of-yards-gardens/

Borough meetings to be held in July are: Planning Commission (July 5th), Finance Committee (July 11th), Council Borough (July 12th), Parks/Recreation (July 27th). The Borough Office is closed July 3rd. Please reduce your driving speed when you are in the Valley. If you have any questions call me at 301-606-2021 or email MayorRonHarris@comcast.net.

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