Each week, City Manager Tom Aspell calls us up and tells us he has an emergency. Turns out, he threw something extremely valuable away and he needs us to find it! We dig through the trash for hours before finding his bag and revealing his lost item: another city memo. We squeezed out the garbage juice for you.
it's elementary
New schools unveiled
The Concord School District will hold an open house and tours of the three new elementary schools Aug. 26 from noon to 4 p.m., Aspell writes. Ribbon-cutting ceremonies will take place as follows: Noon at Mill Brook School, 53 S. Curtisville Road; 1:30 p.m. at Christa McAuliffe School, 17 N. Spring St; 3 p.m. at Abbot-Downing School, 152 South St. It's unclear if the ribbons will be cut with tiny neon scissors.
All are welcome, though it would admittedly be a tight fit if all of you went. For further information, call the Concord School District at 225-0811.
guess what?
Road work continues
This week, the contractor will continue to install new storm sewer infrastructure from Call Street south to Brook Street, Aspell writes.
Efforts to complete the drainage have been hindered by the weather, presence of ledge, the myriad of utilities under the pavement and of course the arch-villain Bane. The road box excavation will be completed by this week, and the contractor expects to begin fine grading of the recently placed select gravels in preparation of placing base pavement. Man, we love us some fine grading.
Paving operations are slated to begin Aug. 23, weather permitting. This work will be taking place from Palm Street to Call Street. Please stay tuned to the on-site message boards for any updates to the paving schedule, Aspell writes. Paving operations are highly disruptive to traffic flow, and drivers are encouraged to seek an alternate route if possible.
guess what else?
Bridge work ongoing
The contractor has removed the asphalt and existing bridge deck membrane from one lane, in each direction, on Water Street, Aspell writes. Wow, that seems like more than a one-man project!
Dependent on weather conditions, the new membrane will be installed and paving will be done this week. The traffic will then be swapped to the newly paved surface in order to remove the pavement and existing membrane from the other two lanes. After that, traffic will be swapped to the underside of the bridge. It's like a roller coaster ride in downtown Concord!
Traffic will continue to be reduced to one lane in each direction while the contractor completes this work. It is estimated to take another two weeks to complete the project, weather dependent.
takebacks allowed
Prescriptions wanted
The Concord Police Department, in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration, has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Sept. 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Aspell writes. This is a great opportunity for those who missed the previous events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications.
People responded overwhelmingly to the most recent DEA-led National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. April 28, citizens turned in a record-breaking 552,161 pounds of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal at the take-back sites that were available in all 50 states. Imagine the size of the prescription bottle needed to carry those around!
When the results of the four Take-Back Days to date are combined, the DEA and its state, local, and tribal law-enforcement and community partners removed more than 1.5 million pounds of medication from circulation. They also discovered seven Junior Mints and a Mentos.
