City hall crowded for swearing-in of officials

By: 
Steve Lyon
I got a little ahead of myself of late,
counting down the last two weeks
of January and looking forward to
February.
Maybe it was the longer days. It’s not
getting dark at 5 p.m. like it did in the
dead of winter. Maybe it was the 40-
plus degrees the other day
that stirred a little cabin fever
in me.
I was already thinking
someone will need to wake
up Punxsutawney Phil in
just a couple of weeks. And
before you know it we’ll be
enjoying the 68th installment
of the groundhog day
dinner.
Not so fast. The two inches
of snow that fell Monday
night and subsequent blast
of cold temperatures were
reminders that winter is still
in full force for the month of January.
While it’s a bit premature for a change
in seasons, there were a few changes in
city government on Monday night.
It was nearly standing-room only at
city hall. Family, friends, well-wishers
and others showed up to observe the
democratic tradition of swearing in
elected officials.
There is always a sense of optimism
in the air with the transition, an event
that happens every four years.
City voters stayed the course last
November by re-electing the three city
council incumbents. Weiser does have
a new mayor in Randy
Hibberd, who immediately
appointed Mike Hopkins to
serve out his term on the city
council. So there were two
new faces.
Hopkins is no stranger to
public service. He currently
sits on the hospital board
and has served as a county
commissioner and school
district trustee.
There were a few tears
shed as outgoing Mayor Diana
Thomas was lauded by
many for her eight years in
office. All said she governed with integrity
and with the interests of Weiser and
its residents at heart.
• • •
We are still waiting for the arrival of
the first baby of 2020 at Weiser Memorial
Hospital.
The members of Xi Nu Sorority will
present mom and the first baby with a
basket of fun and useful stuff. The sorority
has been welcoming the first baby
for more than 30 years.
Val Donicht does the shopping for the
first baby. She can’t buy the gifts until
she knows if the baby is a boy or girl.
I dug into the archives to see how
punctual the first baby has been over the
past few years. In 2019, the first baby
arrived at 8:39 a.m. on Jan. 2. The first
baby of 2017 made a grand entrance
right on time at 2 p.m. on Jan. 1.
Talk about a premonition. Just as I
typed these words, Layna Hafer, the
hospital’s marketing manager, called to
say Weiser’s population could grow by
one on Wednesday afternoon. The exact
timing of these things is, naturally, a bit
difficult to pin down.
Mom will need a little time to recuperate
before allowing a host of strangers
in her hospital room to snap a few
photos and answer questions.
It’s always fun to meet the first baby.
Check out next week’s issue of the
Weiser Signal American in print or online
for the story.
Steve Lyon is the editor of the Weiser
Signal American. Contact him at

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