By Sarah Mansheim
It was a night of resolutions and proclamations at Ronceverte City Council’s April meeting, where Mayor David Smith fired them off during the half-hour meeting. First, Smith read the Arbor Day resolution, where he proclaimed Apr. 21 to be Arbor Day in the city of Ronceverte, urging River City citizens to plant trees in order to beautify the city and “gladden the heart.”
Next, Smith proclaimed April to be Fair Housing Month in the city. Fair Housing Month celebrates the anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, passed in 1968, which “prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and disability.”
Finally, Smith proclaimed Apr. 18 to be Make It Shine Day in Ronceverte, and urged citizens to come downtown and help clean up the streets. The Make It Shine initiative is aimed at making the state of West Virginia the cleanest state in the nation through the volunteer efforts of its citizens. Council members noted that many Ronceverte citizens will be working on the baseball fields at Island Park that same day, but Smith said he hopes people who aren’t volunteering in that capacity will meet at the train depot from 8 a.m. to noon armed with shovels, rakes and brooms to tidy the city streets.
Those who volunteer for Make It Shine Day in Ronceverte will receive free admission to a concert being held at the amphitheater on Island Park that night. Citizens who don’t volunteer downtown are asked to take the day to tidy their own properties.
In other business, council agreed to meet on Apr. 21 at City Hall at 7:30 p.m. to lay the levy in a special meeting of city council.
