State of the Town is a six-part series spotlighting the municipalities in Carroll and Montgomery counties.
You may not see it, but there are a lot of great things going on in the Town of Vaiden.
According to Mayor Mel Hawthorne, the most significant issues in Vaiden are water and, as with almost every small town, streets. Hawthorne said the town is in the process of putting Well No. 2 near the old grocery story back online and taking Well No. 3 by the prison offline.
“Well No. 2 has better water than Well No. 3, and by switching them, it will improve the town’s quality of water,” Hawthorne said.
One complaint is that when residential water lines along County Road 430 have to go down, the town is not notified. Hawthorne said the town has created a solution by installing a Mission Communications System, or a call-out alert, that will alert the town’s Water Operator when there’s a malfunction at the station.
He also said there are critical spots in several streets that will be resurfaced within the next couple of months and a transfer switch will be installed at the Highway 430 Booster Station. “This will allow for a generator to provide electrical power if Delta Electric is offline for over two hours,” he said.
The town hasn’t had the best luck with grants, but Vaiden is not giving up, and is now applying for two grants. They’re applying once again for the Community Development Block Grant to upgrade the wastewater lagoon. There will be a public hearing at 5 p.m. on April 8 at City Hall.
Hawthorne said the town is also applying for a small municipality grant. If awarded, the money will replace a mile of four-inch waterlines with six-inch waterlines at the Highway 430 Booster Station.
“This will help us to keep up with the demand during freezing temperatures,” Hawthorne said.
Two more projects the town is working on are building restrooms at the North Vaiden Veteran Park, and possibly having someone paint a mural on the front of old storefronts across the open space (by the Carroll County Courthouse) on Front Street.
If you’re looking for something fun to do in April, Vaiden has you covered. Starting at 9 a.m. on April 13, the Mayoral Health Council will host a one-mile run/walk/jog. Participants will begin in front of the library and will end at the Vaiden High School gym where a health fair will take place.
Following the fun run, the Clever Clovers 4H Club and Community Organizers will have a Community Easter Egg Hunt beginning at 11 a.m. in the Vaiden Children’s Park.
Hawthorne said he appreciates everyone’s support and believes Vaiden is headed in the right direction.
