Message from the Mayor:
On Tuesday, August 21st, Oak Creek’s Common Council will present Resolution No. 11280-082112, a resolution of condolence to members of the Oak Creek Sikh community. It will honor those killed or injured in this act of senseless violence, and recognize the Sikh Temple members and families for the tremendous strength, grace, and dignity they have demonstrated in the midst of this horrible tragedy. Each of us benefits from a better understanding of our community, and all its members, including the many faith-based groups who call Oak Creek their home. As a city, we will continue to reach out to local, state, and federal agencies to help us cope with the aftermath of this shooting, but also to put in place resources to inform and educate our citizens on diversity, and its role in building a stronger community.

The Common Council will also be adopting Council Proclamation No. 12-14, a recognition to the Wisconsin Association of the Deaf, and their 3rd bi-annual Deaf Awareness Fest on Saturday, September 29th, from 9:00am to 3:00pm at MATC South Campus in Oak Creek. The Association advocates for the civil rights of deaf and hard-of-hearing Wisconsinites in the areas of public access, employment, and communication. We will have an interpreter for the deaf community on hand at the Council meeting.

One of the great duties of being Mayor is getting to attend special events in and around our city. On August 3rd I visited our local Meadowmere facility on Puetz Road for the 100th birthday celebration of one of their residents, Carmella Bellante. All of the residents and staff turned out, as well as a local band, to help her celebrate this milestone birthday. Carmella is one of the youngest-looking centenarians I’ve ever met, and her enthusiasm and sense of humor was evident immediately. We will honor her with a special Proclamation at Tuesday’s Council meeting. Here is a link to that proclamation.

I continue to receive interest from local health organizations and fitness professionals for our 1st Annual Mayor’s Fitness Challenge, which will run from October 1st to December 31st. Our goal is to see how many pounds we can lose as a community, and in the process, learn about wellness techniques and fitness regimens to keep us healthy. I’ll be putting an organizing committee together in late August to set up a timeline for community events, and to work out the logistics of conducting a community-wide initiative. If you would like to participate, please call me at 414.335.6330 or e-mail at sscaffidi@oakcreekwi.org.

Thanks to all of you for the tremendous support and good will you’ve demonstrated in the past week. We’ll get through this together, and be a stronger city for it.

Steve Scaffidi
Mayor
City of Oak Creek