In 2022, the hugely popular 1st Avenue Plaza will become a permanent public gathering space. With input from a variety of stakeholders, engineers are proposing an accessible, comfortable, and flexible space with a variety of amenities. We're hosting an open house from 1-3 p.m. this Friday, Dec. 3, at the 1st Avenue Plaza (1st Avenue between Main and Alder streets) to see the conceptual design for the renovated space, ask questions, and share feedback.

Happy December, folks! We'd like to re-introduce Wally and Juana, the Walla Walla Elves — back for their second year of local fun. This month they'll be traveling around town visiting City facilities and meeting more City employees. We're planning to post a photo of their adventures on our Facebook, Instagram, and Nextdoor accounts every weekday until Christmas Day. We hope you enjoy following along as the elves learn more about the City of Walla Walla.

The elves' first facility visit was at City Hall this morning, where the Walla Walla Police Department's five brand-new officers were having their first orientation session. The officers will be sworn in on Dec. 14, and in February will begin their initial five months of training.

The Park Maintenance crew recently harvested this remarkable tree and installed it at Heritage Square on Main Street. Join us this Saturday, Dec. 4, for our official Holiday Tree Lighting event and arrival of Santa. The event gets underway at 4:50 p.m. with live music from the Walla Walla Choral Society. Afterward, stick around for the Holiday Parade of Lights, beginning at 6 p.m.

The Walla Walla Police Department is once again hosting the GIVING TREE for local Foster Kids, set up in the WWPD lobby. Each of the paper ornaments has information about a local Foster Child — their gender, age, and holiday wish list. We invite you to help out by buying gifts for one (or more) of these kids and make their Christmas special. The deadline is Dec. 10; complete details are posted next to the tree.

The annual COPS and KIDS program is underway, and WWPD officers are working to provide a memorable experience and holiday gifts for needy children and their family members. They're reaching out to our community for donations and for nominations of families who are financially struggling this year. Click here to nominate a child/family,  and click here to make a donation to the program.

Just in time for baking season, the Walla Walla Public Library now has baking pans available to check out with your library card or placed on reserve. Borrowers are limited to two pans per check-out, for three weeks at a time. (Please wash the equipment before and after use.)

Library staff distributed activity bags including books, coloring sheets, and magazines to kids waiting at the first COVID-19 vaccine clinic for children ages 5-11, on Nov. 6. At the follow-up clinic for shot #2 on Dec. 4, Young People’s Librarian Liz George and Library Technician Yvette Selfa will team up with the Walla Walla County Rural Library District to offer another round of activity bags and engagement with library services in the community.

Barring unforeseen complications with this week's work plan, the contractor is expecting to open the Rose Street/Third Avenue intersection by the end of business this Friday, Dec. 3. Crews may still need to perform additional work outside the roadway after that, which might require them to temporarily occupy the roadway. For a preview of the projects that are scheduled to happen next year, visit our GoWallaWalla.us website.

In case you missed it, the results of the Nov. 2 General Election were certified last week, and Walla Walla voters officially elected three new City Council members: Brian Casey, Rick Eskil, and Gustavo Reyna. The new members will begin their four-year terms in January 2022. We're extremely grateful to Walla Walla residents for overwhelmingly voting to renew the 10-year Transportation Benefit District 0.2% sales tax (TBD), which provides essential funding — around $1.2 million each year — for street improvements.

In November, library staff completed the overhaul of the Pacific Northwest Room, which houses local history information and has books about Walla Walla dating back to the 1800s. The entire project cost was two gallons of paint and some IKEA picture frames! The PNW Room can now be used by anyone for research, a quiet place to study, read, use a laptop, or have a meeting.

Kanopy, the streaming service for libraries, is now live on the Walla Walla Public Library website. With your library card you can access thousands of movies, documentaries, and kids’ content, all for free! Not that you needed another reason to get and use your library card, but now you have one...

Come check out our new solar phone charger, the snazziest piece of equipment on East Alder Street! After Facilities staff Les Wright and Luís Cuellar installed the charger, they were joined by Library Technicians Laura Soto and Yvette Selfa to test it out. The charging station was paid for with an American Rescue Plan grant from the Washington State Library, and Library Technician. Lindsay Tebeck designed the colorful graphics adorning the unit.

The Walla Walla Fire Department's Keep the Wreaths Red campaign is back for 2021. A wreath decorated with red lights is mounted at each of Walla Walla's two fire stations. For every fire that happens from Nov. 22 through New Year's Day, WWFD will replace one of the red bulbs with a white one to signify a fire has occurred. We invite residents to glance at the wreaths and be reminded that fire safety is everyone’s job.

In November, WWFD's Fire Prevention Bureau completed its Safety Always Matters fire-prevention program throughout our local schools. The program was once again a huge success, with 2,461 students in grades K-5 receiving the education. A special thank you to Fire Inspectors Tim Thompson and Jason Strang, and Firefighter/EMTs Cesar Lopez and FF/EMT Brandon Wilson, without whose time and dedication the program would not have been a success.

Even though winter isn’t quite here yet, it’s not too soon to start thinking about all the fun your family could have at Veterans Memorial Swimming Pool next summer! Pool passes make great holiday gifts, and the Early Bird Pool Pass Sale is happening now. You can learn more and purchase your pass(es) here.

This year's leaf collection is moving right along. After completing the first round, crews are currently working in Tuesday's sanitation-collection area. You can follow their progress on this page, and if you'd like to receive updates by email, you can do so here (sign up for "Leaf collection" news).

In this month's utility-bill insert we're reminding residents to follow the City's recycling guidelines. We’re making some progress on reducing contamination, but it’s a good time to remind ourselves that the only items we should be putting in our recycle bins are clean, dry paper, cardboard, and aluminum and tin cans.

Wall 2 Wall Furniture & Mattress selected the Walla Walla Police Foundation as the recipient of their October Community Give Back Sale, and in November, owners Tracy and Brian Gaines presented the foundation with a donation in the amount of $12,000. This gracious donation will allow the foundation to continue to provide emergency financial assistance to community members in need.

The City is currently hiring for a variety of full-time and part-time positions, including Human Resources Specialist, Civil Engineer, Entry-level Police Officer, and more. For more information and to apply, visit the Human Resources page on the City website.

We're currently accepting volunteer applications for residents to serve on the Arts Commission, Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Civil Service Commission, Transportation Benefit District Improvement Committee, and other committees and commissions. Click here to learn more and to apply. For additional information, call 509-527-4424 or email khill@wallawallawa.gov. The application deadline is 5 p.m. on Dec. 8.