2015

Happy New Year!

I hope the Holidays have treated you and your family well. Kellie and I had a wonderful stay-cation, enjoying some quiet time at home
as well as fun meals with family and friends. I write this after a glorious Sunday, where a Packers win over the Lions and a sunny blue sky
brightened a gray December. I dont know about you, but seeing the sun for a day was a very welcome sight at our house! We took the
opportunity to go for a long walk out on the lake. I hope you were able to get outside and enjoy it too!
I always appreciate The New Year as a time to examine the year past, and the year that lies ahead. For me (and many others) its a time to
examine what Im grateful for, whats working, and what I can do better. The New Year provides an opportunity to set a new direction,
break an old habit, or create a new, more positive one.
As we reflect on the workings of government through the news and other outlets, we often turn to numbers, statistics and indexes to
measure how were doing. On a federal and state level we attempt to boil it down to things like unemployment rates, and GDP. On a local
level its things like property taxes, snow plowing and the quality of city parks and services. It is my job as Mayor to strive for improvement
in these areas through my official duties of shaping budgets, setting agendas and chairing meetings. I would like to thank you for helping me
do that job better with each passing year through your continued constructive feedback, suggestions and support.
As the Mayor, I also delight in the opportunity provided by the New Year to look beyond the meetings and the budgets to help set a tone
that makes Washburn an even better place to live. There are lots of elusive little things that are hard to measure with numbers and statistics, but they add up to make this the place we choose to call home.
Over the past few months Ive been reading and exploring research on the extensive benefits of kindness and the evidence is pretty clear.
Quite simply, kindness makes life better. If youd like to learn more, Google, kindness research, or follow my facebook page for the next
few weeks. As I looked forward to 2015, I began to consider how kindness could have a wide spread positive effect on our whole community; it is after all, proven to be contagious. So, in the spirit of the New Year, I would like to like to propose a community wide New Years
Resolution, in the form of a 21-day Kindness Challenge. I promise that it will be more fun than 2014s challenge of dumping ice water
over your head!
I am pledging to commit at least one act of kindness per day, for at least 21 days and I invite you to join me. There is a website called
KindSpring that helps communities organize these challenges. I have set up a page for our local challenge and named it Kinder by the
Bay. You can participate by visiting: http://www.kindspring.org/challenge/join/403 I will also be sharing interesting articles, ideas and
random acts of kindness committed by area participants on my facebook page. Im looking forward to seeing and hearing what you notice
over the next few weeks.
For many of you this may come as naturally as breathing, and for some it may seem a very tall order, but I would encourage you to see
how simple and rewarding it can be. These dont have to be monumental acts, sometimes the smallest deed can have the greatest impact!
Here are some ideas I have found in my reading that demonstrate how easy it can be. Buy a cup of coffee for the person behind you in line.
Shovel your neighbors sidewalk after one of those light (or heavy) snowfalls. Donate your kids old sports equipment to one of the local
teams, so someone who cant afford it may get a chance to play. Send a card or a letter to someone out of the blue. Carry someones groceries to the car for them. Hold the door open for someone. Look someone in the eye and give them a warm smile. It really can be that
simple, and after 21 days, you may just find yourself with a new habit for the New Year! I will leave you with a quote from Aesop, No act
of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted. Dont put it off, catch the wave and do something kind for someone today! May 2015 be
one of the best years ever, I am certainly hoping to make it one of mine. Happy New Year!
Sincerely,

Scott Griffiths
Mayor
cell- 715.685.4031
office- 715.373.6160 x7
wasburnmayor@gmail.com
facebook.com/washburnmayor

The City of Washburn now accepts credit

and debit cards for most payments.

Beginning December 10th, the City began accepting credit and debit
cards for utility bills, ambulance bills, and parking tickets. Property Tax
payments can not be made by credit or debit at this time but it will be
available in the future. This service is provided by GovPayNet. In order
to provide this service without adversely affecting other taxpayers,
additional service fees apply. We have no control over these fees, and are
unable to waive them for any reason. You can find the fee schedule as
well as the link to make your payments online on the Citys home page:
www.cityofwashburn.org

The story of becoming an EMT, Part 1

If youve been following the Notes from the Mayors Desk, or reading the Daily Press,
youre probably aware that our ambulance service is run by volunteers. In an effort to avoid
over taxing the existing volunteers, Ive been working with the ambulance service to
actively recruit new volunteer EMTs. One of the challenging shifts to fill in the schedule
has been the daytime, because so many people are unavailable to volunteer during the day.
In an effort to accomplish multiple goals at one time I decided to become an EMT myself.
First, I would be able to fill some of the daytime shifts that are more challenging to fill
because my schedule is fairly flexible. Secondly, we thought that by writing about my
experience, we may be able to interest a few more volunteers. Heck, if the Mayor can do it,
why cant you? The other piece of the puzzle, was that weve been trying to find ways to get EMTs trained, other than through the evening
classes traditionally offered by WITC. Many folks may want to get involved, but simply cant fit the night classes into their schedule.
WITC has decided to offer a set of daytime classes coming up in the summer of 2015, but we also wanted to explore the idea of intensive
courses. From my research I found two accredited EMT intensives offered in the US. Ambulance Director, Dan Clark and decided to use
the remaining training budget for 2014 to send me as the guinea pig. As I wrote in my last letter, I attended 19-day intensive training in
Wilmington, North Carolina. The training covered the required 180 hours, including a 12 hour shift on a very busy Paramedic ambulance.
Fitting a 180 hour training into 19 days was definitely intense! We covered a 1500 page textbook, took 5 tests plus a final exam and a day
long, hands-on physical skills test. By the time you read this, I will have taken my National written exam for final certification from
NREMT. I spent 14-16 hours per day in class, studying, reading and practicing. It was more rigorous than my time in college by a long
shot! My training will now continue here by completing at least 10 ride-along calls on the Washburn ambulance, so that our experienced
EMTs can assess my skills and knowledge. Over the next few months, we will be exploring if and how the Washburn EMS can offer this
type of intensive training to other interested volunteers. We are even looking at offering an intensive locally! Stay tuned. In the next edition,
I will get into more details of what was involved in the training, so that you can see if becoming an EMT may fit into your future!

Level 1 Firefighting Class in Washburn

Thursdays 6:30-9:30
January 15th through May 28th!
Local firefighter Chris Bulovsky will be teaching this
60-hour course for people interested in volunteering for
any local Fire Dept. For
questions or to register
for the class, contact
Carolyn Anderson at
WITC by calling 1-800243-9482 Ext 4319.

Time to
renew
your
dogs
license!
Dog licenses must be
renewed each year.
On April 1st, a $5
late penalty will be
added to the cost of
each license.

Do you know where

your water shutoff
valve is?
Knowing how to turn your
water off in case of a burst
pipe can save you
enormous headaches
and $$. Dont wait until
your basement is filling to
find it!