By By BRIAN BLACKLEY
Publisher
The city of Atmore is has a unique bond with the city of Syracuse, N.Y., thanks to fate and random chance that resulted in the city's zip code 36502 to represent the number of days in next calendar year.
The Syracuse, N.Y., YMCA has had high participation in an afternoon walking program. This interest has led organizers to put together a daily walk that will span the distance between Atmore and Syracuse figuratively, at least.
Each day, participants in New York will walk, logging their precise miles on a walking track. At the end of each day, they will determine where, in general terms, they would be if they had set out on an actual march to Atmore.
They have 1,246 miles to collectively walk to bridge the distance and have notified city officials that they are undertaking the project.
According to Atmore Mayor Howard Shell thinks the walk is a terrific way to establish kinship with the New York city of Syracuse.
The event is scheduled to begin next year.
The announcement came at Monday's Atmore City Board meeting where a bid was accepted from a company in Andalusia to eliminate more than 30 Bradford pear trees in the city.
Due to safety concerns over the durability of the trees, Shell and the city council have opted to remove those that pose serious concerns.
Monday, the city accepted the bid of Whatley Yard Service for $10,260 which includes the removal of 36 trees. Shell said the city is not likely to remove that many trees.
The next lowest bid came from a Mobile company and totaled $37,800.
Shell noted that the city is getting a good price for the tree removal.
City leaders also approved a permit request for a parade in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which will be held on Jan. 21.
The city approved the request unanimously and said the route for the parade would begin at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21 at Houston Avery Park.
In other business, the city:
Approved the reappointments of Letha Walker and Carol Crook to the library board.
Approved payment of bills.
Noted that the meeting was the last council meeting of the year due to the oncoming holidays. The next city meeting will be held Jan. 12, 2002.
Approved a resolution to cancel a mortgage on a home due to the debt being resolved. The mortgage was part of a city project 20 or more years ago in which the city applied for funds to help people with home improvement needs. The city assisted homeowners in making the improvements in certain areas and agreed to retire the mortgage when the terms were met.