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The Mayor's Message

A variety of things have been happening in the last two weeks. Jan Eliassen, Director of the

09/10/2018

The Mayor's Message - 09.10.2018

A variety of things have been happening in the last two weeks. Jan Eliassen, Director of the Fargo Cass Public Health Harm Reduction Division, received the 2018 Pioneer Award on September 5th during the Recovery Reinvented event at the Civic Center. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and First Lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum co-presented the award to Jan at the beginning of a day that focused on advocacy, connecting community resources and eliminating the shame and stigma of addiction. Jan is a long-term employee of the City of Fargo and is doing great work in regards to this.

As we approach fall, we also approach flu season. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone 6 months of age and older get a flu vaccine every season, which is the best way to reduce the risk of getting sick with seasonal flu and spreading it to others. Fargo Cass Public Health will host several flu shot clinics in September and October. Employers are also having times to get flu shots as well. Dates and times will be announced soon.

The library’s weekly Fall Storytime series for toddlers, preschoolers and families starts today. The free, 14-week series is offered at all three Fargo Public Library locations and is a great way to introduce children to reading and to the library.

“Culture and Colors of Pakistan” is set for Sunday, Sept. 16, at 2 p.m. at the Main Library. The event is part of Welcoming Week FM 2018.

Next Monday the library welcomes author Robert Dodge to the Main Library for a reading and talk about his book “Tempest-Tost: The Refugee Experience Through One Community’s Prism,” which focuses on the experiences of refugees in the Denver area where Mr. Dodge now resides.

Police Department Community Trust Officers held their first Fargo United events recently at Madison and Jefferson schools. They had a great turnout and fantastic interaction with many children. We had big crows, right Chief? At the Madison event, Officer Emily Schares participated in a pie-eating contest. She ate how many pies, Chief?

Chief Todd: It was a short amount of time to eat as much of one pie instead of many pies. She did not win, the kids did. But, they ate it too fast so they almost got sick and they might not do that again.

And Officer Kevin Pallas took part in a dance contest doing the whip and the nay nay. Chief Todd will demonstrate the whip.

Chief Todd: No, no, no. I will not.

On Wednesday, approximately 400 youth and 150 adults will plant 4,500 new trees and shrubs as part of the annual Reforest the Red event. This year’s public event will be held from noon until 7:30 p.m. along 10th Street North between 37th Avenue North and County Road 20. The project is a partnership between the Fargo Park District, the City of Fargo, River Keepers, Dakota Audubon and the Cass County Soil Conservation District.