Hometown Matters

By Pauline  Masson –  City leaders appear to be sticking to their guns in their decision that in order to receive telephone alerts of emergencies, citizens must sign-up. The Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) says without requiring citizes to sign up everyone in an emergency targeted area should be notified. “All citizens within the targeted geographic area should receive emergency alerts on their wireless  emergency alert (WEA) – enabled mobile devices, cellphone. This includes alerts for severe weather, natural disasters, … Continue reading “Defying FEMA, City Sticks To Its Guns, Says Citizens Should Sign Up to Receive Emergency Alerts”

By Pauline Masson – Caden Price entered the world of Scouting at an early age as a Cub Scout. Six years later he graduated to the Boy Scouts. And this month he entered the realm of Eagle Scout. “I was in Scouts for the full path,” he said. “Fourteen  years from Cubs to Boy Scouts.” At age 17 he turned his attention to an Eagle Scout project. “I talked with some people in my troop and I went up to … Continue reading “Eagle Scout Caden Price Joins Illustrious Group of Young Leaders Building City Amenities”

                                  Emergency notification list of 784 in city with population of 7,210              By Pauline Masson – A major break in a city water main early Tuesday morning that emptied reservoirs and reduced water pressure prompted the city to send an advisory boil water notice to some citizens – but not all. The city has a rule that citizens … Continue reading “Advisory Boil Water Notice Reveal’s Glitch in City Emergency Notification System – Only Citizens Who Previously Signed Up for Notices Were Called”

  By Pauline Masson  Twice elected Ward One Alderman Rafael Madrigal resigned from his seat early this month.  Alderman Madrigal  verbally reported to City Clerk Kim Barfield on Aug. 4 that he was resigning. Mayor Heather Filly announced his resignation at the Aug. 5 board of aldermen (BOA) meeting and said she would look to appoint a replacement in an upcoming meeting to serve the remainder of Mr. Madrigal’s term, which ends in April 2026. This brings to five the … Continue reading “Alderman Calls it Quits / Brings Number Of Seasoned Leaders Lost to City Government to Eight”

  By Pauline Masson –  The City of Pacific is set to approve a food truck ordinance this week that spells out food truck owner responsibility. The Pacific Board of Alderman (BOA)  plans to adopt an ordinance that legally permits the operation of food truck in the city at the Tuesday, Aug. 5 meeting. The city has not had an ordinance that regulates mobile food vendors but if the second reading of a bill is approved at the Monday Aug. … Continue reading “Aldermen To Adopt Food Truck Rules to Enable Food Trucks / Focus on Consumer Safety”

  By Pauline Masson – Aldermen heard last week that SGR, the search firm hired to aid in attracting a new city administrator, had submitted 30 candidates for the position to Alderman James Cleeve along with instructions that prompted Mr. Cleeve to tell his fellow aldermen that they were going to have to change the way they have been conducting the search. Some Hometown Matters readers stress that finding a new city administrator is the single most important thing the … Continue reading “City Administrator Search Moves Forward, Aldermen Quiet as One Man Runs the Show”

  By Pauline Masson – Public Works Commissioner Robert Brueggemann says the long promised First and Osage streets right turn lane will be built in May 2026. The promise of this improvements dates to 2018 as part of a plan to ease snarls in  truck traffic headed for the city’s industrial parks on South Denton Road. After eight years of traffic studies, plans, engineering, grant application and right-of -way acquisition, the project can now move forward Mr. Brueggemann reported at … Continue reading “Spring 2026 Construction Date Set for Long Promised First and Osage Right Turn Lane, Brueggemann Says”

By Pauline Masson – Over time, the bluff at the north edge of town that acquired the descriptive name Sand Mountain, had guided pilots to the erstwhile Pacific Airport that sat the south edge of town, attracted the first tourists to this city to see the Nativity Scene in the bluff, featured in news articles across the region and – under the hand of  local artist Joe McHugh – was depicted on dinner napkins, velum drawing paper, canvas oil paintings, … Continue reading “Nick Olmstead: The Man Who Lit Up Sand Mountain”