Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending the Village Employee Recognition Program. Thus us an annual event where employees who have marked the 20th, 25th, 30th and 35th plus years of service with the Village of Garden City are recognized and presented with service pins and certificates. The accumulative years of service among the 13 employees who were honored was 330! We are both pleased and proud that these employees have chosen to spend their career in Garden City and we recognized that our Village is a better place because they are here.

The program also recognizes these employees who have demonstrated that extra effort to come to work each day or tour and in doing so achieved 100 percent attendance in the past year. I am pleased to report that 95 employees achieved this mark - representing 32 percent of the workforce. My compliments and thanks to all.

Come celebrate next Friday, Oct. 15 as the Chamber of Commerce celebrates the newly beautified Franklin Avenue. There will be a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony from noon to 2 p.m. at the new Pavilion on the north east corner of Franklin and Stewart Avenues. The program will feature live music, street entertainers and lunchfare.

Next Saturday, Oct. 16 will be a very festive day on our Village marked by the Chamber of Commerce's 21st annual Fall Festival Street Fair, combined with the annual high school Homecoming Day Parade and the annual street fair. Bring your family and enjoy the community spirit and fun.

The Chamber's Street Fair on Seventh Street and Franklin Avenue is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. and will run through mid-afternoon. Seventh Street, between Franklin and Hilton Avenues, will be closed to all traffic from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. For your convenience, please use the Hilton and Franklin Avenue entrances to Parking Field 7-S and the Stewart Avenue entrances to parking field 7-N.

The high school's homecoming parade will step off promptly at 12:15 p.m. from the most easterly end of Seventh Street and proceed west along Seventh Street to Cathedral Avenue, north onto Stewart Avenue, west to Oxford Boulevard and north to the high school parking field. The homecoming festivities and football game will follow the parade at the Warren King Field.