VOICE OF THE VILLAGE 10/29/2020

October 29, 2020

Number 5, October 29, 2020

Fall weather is back and the leaves, although they started out beautiful in colors of yellow and red; are turning quicker than we’d all like…winter and rain is coming to fast! Remember, if you wish to participate in Halloween events, Caledonia United Methodist Church will hold their annual Trunk-n-Treat on Saturday, October 31st in Caledonia on Alexander Street and Hwy 21; candy will also be given out at Village Hall from 5:30 P.M. until 8 P.M. and some of the local businesses. Come out and be safe.

A couple other items that were discussed at our October 19th board meeting was a plan to start setting aside 1% of revenue in a savings account to be used solely for future matching grant funds. As I’ve spoken to other counties and communities over the last couple months, I’ve been informed they started by putting aside 1 to 5% of their general revenue income ( thru local sales tax, real estate & personal property tax paid to the municipality)… that built up into funds they used for matching grants when it was necessary. I presented to our board the idea to take 1% from general operating, sale taxes, Ameren MO revenue, and real estate taxes to set aside. The Board voted unanimously to start the savings program with our 2021 Budget. The other item was information provided by local resident Jim Weeks. For your porch or yard, he can make 2-seated cedar sealed or treated lumber benches with/without table. For additional information, Jim can be reached at (573) 766-5692. We continue to upgrade sewer lines and water meters throughout the village for accurate readings and usage.

I had the opportunity to be a part of the 57th Annual Missouri Community Betterment virtual zoom conference. The one-day zoom conference was held Sunday, October 25th starting at 1 P.M. The state -wide organization has changed greatly this past year; due to loss of state and corporate sponsorship funding, they lost their Executive Director person, the local community judging ceased and annual project book process ceased. It was disappointing that we could not take our local youth to the annual conference, but due to COVID, the in-person conference turned into a zoom call. I always felt that it was fun and educational to have our youth meet and talk with other youth from around the state. The state organization board will consider ways to re-organize and re-think how their programs will work. Ms. Kat Morgan, Missouri Community Betterment President, recognized Caledonia at the beginning of the virtual conference call as still one of the three communities that are still part of the statewide organization; she noted Perryville, Albany and Caledonia were all part of the first 5 communities since 1963 to start MCB. The Guest Speaker on the call was a youth motivational speaker named Kyle Scheele and he spoke on how do we, individuals and communities handle hard times (i.e. the pandemic or other crisis in a community) and how do we gather together and make through the hard times. His talked was entitled “It Only Takes One Person to Lift Someone Up”. I really hope the state organization will try to have an in-person conference next year and will be able to bring all the communities together again.

The Caledonia Business Association is planning their annual Caledonia Chocolate Walk for November 20th & 21st, the Black Friday & Small Business Saturday shopping on November 27 & 28th; I will be extending a courtesy proclamation for the local businesses as I did last year at our November 16th regular board meeting.

The Annual Caledonia Christmas Market in the Red Barn & Cookie Walk on Main Street on December 5th, 2020 10 A.M. - 4 P.M.; this will coordinate with the annual United Methodist Men’s breakfast (starting at 7:30 A.M.) with Santa in partnership with Bismarck VFW Post # 6947. Through the holidays, there will be plenty of time to check out all the local businesses and purchase those special gifts before Christmas.

Please continue to contact me with comments and suggestions to: MAYOR, Post Office Box 100, Caledonia, MO 63631 or city029@centurytel.net.