By Rebekah Martin
Associate Editor

Mayor Gary Fuller recognized a number of city employees at last week’s city council meeting with service awards. Fuller said he believes everyone who works for the city is special and deserves the recognition.
“The employee service awards give us an opportunity to publicly recognize [our employees] for their years of service to our citizens,” Fuller said. “Our people are what really makes the difference in Opelika. I suppose every city has a police department, fire department, library, parks and recreation and so forth, but what makes us better is our people. The men and women who are picking up trash, repairing streets, cutting grass at ballfields and a thousand other things do an above average job because they are above average people.”
The following people were recognized for their commitment to their respective departments.
Accounting
Jon Hayes, 10 years,          Opelika Fire
Department
Kenneth Blair, 20 years
Tracey Johnson, 15 years
Robert Lee, 15 years
Tommy Beam, 10 years
Lewis Cooper, Jr.
Memorial Library
Diane Heard, 35 years
Laura Burke, 10 years
Municipal Court
Anita Comer, 25 years
Opelika Police
Department                 Ed Clark, 20 years
Richard Converse, 15 years
Frank Crnko, 10 years
David Lane, 5 years
Opelika Power
Services
Greg Callaway, 20 years
Zack Hester, 5 years
June Owens, 5 years
Larry Prince,  5 years
Craig Uptagrafft, 5 years
In other business, the council:
-approved a request for the 2016 Collinwood Christmas Luminaries.
-approved a request for a retail on-premise beer and wine license for Asian KTV.
-authorized demolitions of the compromised structures located at 204 2nd Ave. and 1405 West St.
-approved annual appropriation contracts for Opelika Main Street, Storybook Farm, the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lee County, the Opelika Chamber of Commerce, the J.W. Darden Foundation, the Lee County Youth Development Center, the Museum of East Alabama and Valley Haven School.