Just a reminder that our downtown business/development meeting will be this Tuesday at 8 a.m.
Everyone is welcome to attend. This meeting will be held at the refurbished Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame located in the Covenant Manor Building at 15 W. Third St. We want everyone to have the opportunity to see how great a place and asset the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame is to Jamestown. Following the meeting Randy Anderson will be available for a tour and to answer questions. In our, meeting we will be discussing upcoming events and activities. Attending attractions will summarize their activities. If you would like to attend please feel free - the meeting is open to everyone and the better communication we have, the better we can all do in support of our community
Our free Riverwalk Concert Series, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, will continue from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday in Brooklyn Square next to the Chadakoin River. This week's concert will be the Kokomo Time Band. This is a great group that provides lots of fun through a variety of music. If you have not heard them they will make you smile - we guarantee it! Then, or course, we have the Big City Summer Concert Series that will host 100 Proof Justice on the stage at the patio of the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena on Friday, July 13, at 6 p.m.
We would also be remiss if we did not mention the World Series of Cars, which will be held Sunday, July 22, at Bergman Park. The gates open at 8 a.m. They have lots of food available and you will see cars and vehicles of every description. This is a must for car buffs, and even if you are not you will enjoy the display of vehicles the park is full! The Der Kobblers, the Chautauqua County Antique Equipment and Tractor Association, Chautauqua County Corvette Club and the Southern Tier Classic Chevy Club all team up to make this one of the best car shows you will ever see. Remember, proceeds benefit the Babe Ruth World Series - an event that will remain with the youth who participate for the rest of their lives.
We do have one thing of a very serious nature to let everyone know about. If you have mulched your flower gardens or landscaped using wood mulch, you must keep a real eye on it. People are throwing their cigarette butts into the mulched gardens and flower beds, and this has produced a number of fires. The Jamestown Fire Department has been called to respond to a large number of these types of fires. The cigarette butt lands in the mulch and it catches the mulch on fire and it burns from underneath. If the entire area is not soaked with water it will flare up again quickly.
These gardens are next to buildings and automobiles and could potentially be very harmful. The fire department has been called to our parking lot a number of times to deal with these types of fires. Last week I came in to work to write this article. I could smell smoke on my way into the building. I looked across the street and could see smoke in their parking lot. Upon investigating I found the mulch to be on fire at the back of the building right next to their generator.
I actually put out a warning to our business and member list. I got a number of responses that indicated they are having the same problem. One of our local hotel owners told me he was dealing with this problem on a daily basis. Many others, including banks, have also had trouble. Hot dry weather is making this problem worse.
I guess the answer would be to mulch your gardens and shrubbery with rubber or stone mulch. This should help. We would also ask people who smoke and discard their buts in a haphazard manner to be more cognizant of the fact there is a real danger. Use proper containers for the discard of cigarette butts. If you have mulched with wooden mulch and you are near any public areas, we would suggest you keep a close eye on your gardens to make sure something unfortunate does not happen.