Appleton District 6

 Good afternoon District 6, I am enjoying the beginning of the big thaw to start the week, and being relieved that my family in Texas and Arkansas are mostly recovering from their experience with the brutal cold of last week. I hope that some of you got downtown over the weekend to check out the ice sculptures on College Avenue, as I have heard that some are already gone, and I suspect that the warm weather will take its toll on the rest in the next day or so. In the Common Council meeting last Wednesday, the mayor reissued the proclamation supporting the use of face coverings indoors and outdoors when social distancing cannot be maintained. The mayor issued the proclamation as the state legislature was voting to end the governor’s mask mandate. There was also a proclamation observing Caregivers’ Day. We also voted to confirm the mayor’s appointment of the teen member of the Library Board. The COVID-19 update was cause for some optimism last week. New cases were at the lowest lev

Good afternoon District 6, I hope everyone is bearing up reasonably well in the deep freeze that is the Fox Valley this week. I’m seeing a lot of discussion on social media about the road conditions on social media, along with many, many reports of accidents from the Appleton Police Department. It seemed to be worse on the south side of town, so my colleague in District 5 reached out to the Department of Public Works for some input. Basically, when the temperatures are below zero, especially with the strong winds, some of the normal methods for keeping the streets clear just don’t work as well. Salt will lower the freezing point of water, but not below the extreme temperatures we have been experiencing. Sand helps a bit but will eventually just freeze into the ice. We’re advised to stay off the roads if we can and be ultra-cautious if we have to drive. Remember that we should have the sidewalks cleared 36 hours after the snowfall ends. Now that school is back in session, we have stud