Finally winter
 

  OK, I have to admit it. Having grown up in the midwest, I'm one of those folks that doesn't get too excited to see a snow flurry.

   However, I've lived in Texas long enough to understand why most people will freeze in place for some frozen precipitation.

  First, it's a rare thing so a certain degree of gawking is in order. Secondly, we may feel confident in our own driving abilities in adverse conditions, but we're not remotely confident in everyone else's talents on icy roads.

   What I do know and am very proud of is the way our City employees prepared for and operated in this week's winter weather. Even though we closed early on Monday and opened late on Tuesday, don't think for a minute that there weren't scores of employees on duty and working around the clock to be sure you could move around town until the ice goes away.

   Although this morning's promised snow event turned into a minor slush shower, Monday's ice storm was prominent enough to spur specific action on the part of many City departments.

   Our Police and Fire Departments geared up for the weather ahead of time and brought in additional people to handle the call volume, which included a pre-dawn fatality accident on the George Bush Turnpike in Carrollton.

   Public Works crews had trucks outfitted for sanding and were on the streets by 4 a.m. on Monday to help ensure safe driving. Parks personnel were up extra early as well, keeping sidewalks and pedestrian approaches to City buildings open and passable.

   Even though the Manske Library did not open on Monday, Director Denise Wallace told me that patrons still took advantage of 24/7 online Library operations to renew materials, access research databases and download eBooks and audio books.

   And, of course, we did our best to keep you up-to-date on Monday's early closing hours, Tuesday's late opening hours, whether or not garbage was going to be picked up and what other meetings or activities were affected by the icy weather.

   Part of my job description is to worry in winter weather about the things that could go wrong. However, with this City crew on the job, that worry is kept to a minimum.

   My thanks to these and all other departments and employees that undertook the extra effort to take care of our citizens during this weather event. 

Original Bell's return celebrated by standing room crowd at Old Church

Tom Bryson Historical Park Superintendent Derrick Birdsall explained some of the history of the Old Church during the ceremony, held Thursday.

HISTORICAL PARK ~ With handbells symbolically sounding in celebration, the 30th anniversary of the Old Church's relocation from Renner, Texas to the Farmers Branch Historical Park was observed in ceremonies last week, along with the reunion of the original bell to its building host.

   A capacity crowd was on hand for the community celebration, along with ringers from the Brookhaven College Handbell Ensemble.

   Since it's location at the Historical Park in 1985, the 1890s-era church has been the site for lectures, demonstrations, recitals and many, many weddings. However, the original bell had been given to the Renner Baptist Church prior to the move. Recently, its custodians reached out to the park in an effort to return the bell to it's original loft.

   The Friends of the Farmers Branch Historical Park took on the task of funding the restoration of the bell by Siebler Inc. who also removed the railroad bell and placed the original, 600-pound bell back inside the bell tower at the park in January. 

The audience packed the 1890s-era church, which was relocated from Renner, Texas 30 years ago.

   As part of the ceremony, a short film of the bell's re-installation, commissioned by Ron Siebler, was shown inside the church. To cap the ceremony, Mayor Bob Phelps and "Draw the Historical Park" contest winner Eli Toulim, a 5th grader at Janie Stark Elemen

tary School, pulled on the rope to let the 100-plus-year-old bell peal from its original belfry once again.

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