New N-Town Residents and Council's Agenda

Only 2 agenda items for the Council meeting tonight, but before I get to them, let me introduce some new members of our community.

The golden retriever in the photo is Kindle, the newest member of the Norristown Fire Department. These days fire department dogs aren't just cool looking dalmatians who hang out at the station, now they have to earn their keep. Kindle is being trained to detect accelerants. He'll help the Fire Chief find the source of certain fires and determine if they could be arson. Kindle will be visiting all of our fire stations from time to time. You can follow him on the NFD's Facebook page.

The next photo shows one of the new red pandas at Elmwood Park Zoo. They'll make their debut this coming weekend. Red pandas are racoon-like, about the size of a large house cat (but with a longer tail), and are native to the foothills of the Himalayas. Like giant pandas, they eat bamboo, plus things like berries and bird eggs. According to the National Zoo, there are fewer than 10,000 adult red pandas left. They're listed as "vulnerable" on the Threatened Species List. And they are incredibly cute.

Now, after the exciting stuff, here's Council's agenda: Expect police promotions and recognition of those who attended the Citizen Leadership Academy. Announcements are listed twice, but no clue what they involve.

The first item is a motion to remove handicapped and loading zone signs that are no longer needed, and to install other HP signs at 319 Sterigere, 806 W Elm and 800 W Lafayette.

The second item concerns HARB certificates for remodeling work at 611 W Lafayette, 1018 Arch, 231 E Oak, and 1029 W Lafayette. These are all twins or rowhome and all retain a lot of their historical character.

That's it. A short meeting tonight.