With spring finally arriving, I want to remind everyone of some items associated with wet and warmer weather.

First, grass and weeds are not allowed to exceed five inches in height in Waitsburg, so please keep your lot(s) mowed and/or sprayed.

Second, warm weather brings on puncture vine; depending on what stage you catch it, the best course of action is to spray it, burn it with a weed burner, or dig it up and throw it away. The city crew only has a limited amount of time to spray and doesn’t typically devote a lot of time to spraying road edges.

It would go a long way if you happen to see a puncture vine plant in the shoulder or next to the road or in an alley if you could dig it up or spray it to keep it from blooming out and leading to more plants.

Lastly, the spring cleanup event that is normally held in May is not happening this year. The city has always provided its crew and equipment to volunteer for this Commercial Club event, but with community volunteers dwindling over the last few years, the city also had to start providing an inmate labor force to supplement their effort.

However, this year the City was not able to get the inmates scheduled at all in May and quite possibility won’t have them again until July. So with the City not being able to provide enough of a work force to support the spring cleanup, the Commercial Club made the decision to cancel it.

The City would like to remind everyone that they can take their own branches, shrub clippings, etc. (material needs to be able to be chipped), out to the Wastewater Treatment Plant Monday-Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. This service will only be available as long as people do not abuse it and bring down material that shouldn’t be there; if non-complying materials are brought there, the City will be forced to close the gates and citizens will have to find alternative means of disposing of their yard debris.