Community spirit is alive and well in New Port Richey.

Monday afternoon’s birthday bash was great.  We had quite the crowd and the entertainment was great.  The Gulf High Jazz Band was my favorite, but the others were excellent too.  I had the opportunity afterward to enjoy dinner with some of my predecessors, so it worked out as a really great afternoon and evening.

Halloween in New Port Richey was quite the event as well.  There were multiple “trunk and treat” events around town.  I set up my little car, decorated in Florida Gator stuff, at the event sponsored by First Methodist.  I managed to give out more candy than I ate.  My five grandkids arrived just before the police… A good thing.  Chief Bogart and his able assistant were handing out coloring books and DVDs to kids all over town.

Saturday marked the fall citywide cleanup day.  I hauled one load over to the River Road pickup site and then decided to see how things were going at the Frances Avenue park pickup site.  I managed to fill up my truck and utility trailer with a load of junk before arriving at Frances Avenue.  I went out again and managed to pick up more stuff before returning to Frances Avenue park a little later.

I wasn’t alone.  There were dozens of volunteers out cleaning up debris from all over our town.  Thank you to everyone who participated.  I’m sure we will get a report at this coming Wednesday’s council meeting on how many tons of junk we picked up.

Saturday also featured a family fun day in Sims Park.  Estimates were that there were several thousand people in attendance at the event.  The Boy Scouts had a zip line that proved quite popular.  Greg Smith keeps telling me we need a zip line in Sims Park.  Maybe he is onto something!

All of these events share one thing in common:  The community spirit that makes New Port Richey such a great place to live.   Everywhere you look, volunteers are out and about making a difference in our community.

Thank you.

Rob Marlowe, Mayor