The village of Scotia Board of Trustees declared Wednesday, Aug. 8, Vern Foster Day in honor of longtime village barber Vern Foster. They also discussed the progress of the long-awaited official village Web site.
At the start of the meeting, Mayor Kris Kastberg presented Foster with a proclamation that pays tribute to the barber’s 50 years of business in the village. Kastberg said it is an example of the unique history in the village, as well as the loyalty of its residents.
There are not many business owners who are around long enough to celebrate 50 years of service to a community. We honor you and officially declare today Vern Foster Day, said Kastberg at the Wednesday meeting.
Foster’s wife, Rosemary, attended the proclamation, and jokingly asked whether the official day meant a day off for village students.
Foster said his wife is the reason he has been successful for so long.
`My wife is my nurse, my secretary, my accountant and my best friend, ` said Foster. `I appreciate this award and I know a lot of work and research went into making it happen.`
Trustees also discussed the progress of the village Web site. Currently, the village has an unofficial Web site that posts community events. Officials have been working on the development of a government Web site that would post documents such as meeting agendas and important village contact information.
Police Chief John Pytlovany was awarded a contract to develop the Web site through his business, Chief Web Solutions. Pytlovany said the Web site is still under construction and should be completed in the next couple of weeks. Trustee Tom Neals suggested posting the trustees’ pictures on the site, as well as e-mail information.
`It’s nice to be able to put a face with a name. Pictures on the site would allow people to connect to the people serving them,` said Neals.
Kastberg also discussed the maintenance fees Pytlovany will charge. The Web site will be updated about every two weeks at a cost to the village of $25 an hour. Pytlovany said he does not expect the maintenance and updating to take any more than two hours.
`Basically what we are looking to do is keep agendas, announcements and meeting dates current,` said Pytlovany.
The Web site will be found at www.villageofscotia.org.
`We are anxious to get this up and running. It really is time to have this site be functional for our residents,` said Kastberg.“