MIKI PARK DEDICATION

Visalia has a brand new park known as "Miki Park."  This half-acre park, at the corner of Mineral King and Stevenson, near City Hall, has been in the works for many years.  The park is designed to reflect Japanese landscaping, including stone lanterns.  These lanterns light up and make the park particularly attractive for viewing in the evening.  The entrance to the park is an Americanized version of a Japanese torii, which is a traditional Shinto gate.

We dedicated our new park on Saturday, April 22, with the assistance of a 14-person delegation from our sister city of Miki Japan.  There were speeches, a ribbon cutting, the unveiling of the monument at the center of the park, then the planting of a "sakura" or cherry tree to symbolize the friendship between our sister cities.

Included in the Japanese delegation was the vice-mayor of Miki Japan, Shigetoshi Inoue and the chairperson of the Miki city council, Minoru Hatsuda.  Our sister city relationship began in 1966, and in November 2016, Visalia sent an 11-person delegation to Japan to celebrate our 50^th anniversary.  The dedication of this park celebrates the beginning of our next 50 years as sister cities.

We thank the various local host families who housed our Japanese visitors for several days.  We took our guests to a Rawhide baseball game, Sequoia National Park, to see the Riata Ranch cowgirls, and to tour various businesses and COS to get a taste of American lifestyle.  Their trip concluded with an all-American barbeque in the Gubler backyard.  A highlight of the program that evening was vice-mayor Bob Link and I singing and dancing to the hit Japanese music video "The Apple Pen Song."  If you're curious, look it up at youtu.be/0E00Zuayv9Q.

We thank all of those who helped make this a memorable trip for our Japanese guests and we look forward to our next visit to our sister city, maybe in 2018?  Be sure to drop by and check out our new Miki Park.  P.S.  I might add that the word Miki translates to "three trees."  Our new park even has three stately old growth sycamore trees, which someone pointed out is symbolic of the "three trees."

The Patio Place

I recently received an email from a local businessman, Ron Bock.  He wrote to mention that while in a prior article I had made mention of his business neighbors on either side, DSW and Home Goods on South Mooney Blvd., I had failed to mention his new store.  So my wife and I dropped by to check it out.  Ron's store is known as "The Patio Place."  Ron was raised in Visalia, moved away and opened stores elsewhere, then came back to Visalia to open this store.  He knew from experience how nice people from Visalia are and had been wanting to go into business here.  If you're looking for high-quality outdoor furniture of all types, drop by The Patio Place.  There you go Ron, I hope I made up for failing to mention you and your store previously, and good luck.  We appreciate all of our local businesses, and I enjoy attending as many ribbon cuttings as I can as a representative of the city of Visalia.

Visalia's F-15 Fighter Jet

On March 9, 2017, Vice-Mayor Bob Link, City Manager Mike Olmos, myself as Mayor and others from Visalia were honored to attend the dedication of a F-15 Fighter jet at the Air National Guard base in Fresno.  After some speeches by myself and Colonel Reed Drake, Commander of the 144^th Fighter Wing, we unveiled the city's crest/logo which will now be on the jet flown by Lt. Colonel Chris Corliss.  Visalia is working with the Air National Guard to arrange to have Ranger Corliss and our jet fly over Groppetti Stadium on July 4^th as part of our city fireworks display this year.  I should mention that we also had the opportunity to meet a number of Visalians who are members of the Fresno Air National Guard and we appreciate their service to our community, state and country.  And by the way, CASA of Tulare County was awarded the opportunity to put on this year's community fireworks celebration.  They have big plans for a day-long celebration.  Mark your calendars and plan on attending.  Together we can make this the best 4^th of July celebration ever!

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at warren.gubler@visalia.city.  For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.

SENIORS ARE WINNERS

It's a wrap for the 2017 Visalia Senior Games, held for five days over the last two weekends of March.  The goal was to double the attendance from the first senior games held in the fall of 2015, which had 239 participants.  We exceeded that goal, this time having a total of 513 register and compete.  New events that were added included track and field, swimming, disc golf, and trap shooting.  About 25% of the participants were from Visalia and the Tulare County area.  We had competitors from 90 different California cities, including San Diego to the south, and Sacramento, Santa Rosa and other towns to the north, and some came from as far away as Washington and Texas.  Some were grizzled, experienced senior games participants, having competed elsewhere in California and other states, and some were competing for the first time.  In 2017, senior games locations in California include Pasadena, San Diego, the Bay area, Sonoma and the Inland Empire.  Visalia's Senior Games were the earliest of the year and are the only ones being held in central California. 

As impressive as these statistics are, they only tell part of the story.  Let me share with you the personal stories of three of our gold medal winners, that in my opinion are the true measure of the success of Visalia's Senior Games.

At the Saturday evening social put on by our local Lions clubs at the Garden Street Plaza, we enjoyed appetizers and dancing to a live band.  Dan Overstreet came over to introduce himself to me.  Don is a retired local businessman, and these were his first senior games.  He participated in golf.  I should add that Don is 90 years old.  I was a little startled when he told me that, because he looked much younger.  Obviously, he lives an active lifestyle and is enjoying good health.

At the track and field events, I got to meet another young man by the name of Bill Ferrell.  Bill told me that he lives in Murphys, north of Yosemite, and had driven down with his daughter to participate in our games.  His wife had passed away a few months prior.  He won gold medals in the 50 meter, 100 meter and 200 meter races.  Bill is also 90.  He stated that he started running when he was 52, and stopped counting how many miles he had run when he hit 75,000 miles.  What an inspiration!  Bill indicated that he is a regular participant in senior games throughout the west.

The last gentleman I want to mention is Donald Welton of Visalia.  Unfortunately I didn't get to meet him, but I learned from a colleague about how well he did in bowling.  You see, Donald is 95 years old.  I was told that his children, grandchildren and others came out to watch him bowl six games and to cheer him on.

These three gentlemen are representative of the competitive spirit and can-do attitude of the participants in the 2017 Visalia Senior Games.  Our ten oldest competitors were ages 82-95.  As more and more Baby Boomers retire, they are looking for ways to stay fit, stay healthy, and to enjoy a better quality of life.  There's no need to retire to the rocking chair, and exercise and fitness are a great way to avoid the never-ending medical care debate emanating from Washington D.C.!

For me personally, these games were the motivation I needed to drop 10 extra pounds I've been carrying around, and I even came home from the track meet with a little bling myself. I want to thank our Parks and Recreation Department, the many volunteers, the Lions clubs and all those who made our 2017 Senior Games the best ever.   For those of you lucky enough to be 50 or older, start working out now and getting in shape, select an event to participate in to prove to yourself what you can do, and plan on joining us for an even bigger and better Visalia Senior Games in 2018!

Happy City

According to the 2016 Community Wellbeing rankings by Gallup.Healthways, the Visalia-Porterville metro area ranked 25^th in the nation (out of 189 metro districts).  Their article noted that "where you live can impact your health and wellbeing.  Innovative leaders are transforming their communities to create improvements in how people socialize, work, eat, play and move. These changes are empowering citizens to make healthier choices, be more productive and have better quality of life."  The rankings were based on social, financial, community, and physical indexes.  I'd suggest that our Senior Games are an example of a healthier choice by our community.  While there were two or three California coastal communities that ranked up there with us, Visalia scored the highest ranking in the entire San Joaquin Valley.

                                                                                                Warren Gubler

DOWNTOWN'S DECORATIVE LIGHTING

If you've been downtown at nighttime lately, you've probably observedthat decorative lighting has been added to the trees.  This was particularly noticeable at Christmastime when Visalia also had its Candy Cane Lane lighting on display.  This new lighting has lent a festive look to our historic downtown and I have received many positive comments regarding the same.  You might be interested in knowing about all the work and effort that went into making this possible.  I credit downtown businessman Myron Sheklian for providing me with most of the following information.

The downtown Christmas lights upgrade began in the fall of 2011.  Some of the wiring on the decorations was frayed and a safety hazard.  The cost to completely replace the decorations with state-of-the art LED lighting would have been in excess of $100,000.00!  The Downtown Visalia Property Owners Association (POA) instead donated over $9,000.00 to remove and replace the old wiring and replace the lights with LED lighting in order to reuse the existing decorations.  Labor parties of POA members, downtown merchants, service clubs and church members were organized to replace the lighting on all of the decorations.  Because the new lighting could not be plugged into the fluctuating antiquated streetlight power, local merchants allowed the Christmas lights to be plugged into their business locations along the parade route and paid for the additional electrical use.

The following year, the POA spearheaded a project to power one side of Main Street, Court and Locust with permanent wiring strung from the light posts, and the next year the electrical upgrade included powering the other side of the streets.  The total cost for the parts and labor for this two-year electrical upgrade project was $48,852.35. 

In 2016, the POA operations committee was given permission to installdecorative tree lighting to remain for up to three years at a time.  Tree pruning was coordinated prior to installing the new lighting on the trees.  A survey of trees on Main Street was conducted to determine which trees were appropriately sized and near enough to power sources.  There were roughly 100 trees that were considered and the POA decided to illuminate 48 of these trees based on cost.  The trees selected were evenly balanced out on both sides of Main Street.  A professional holiday lighting company was contracted to do the actual installation of the lights.  Volunteers such as Mr. Sheklian and Mike Fistolera and their employees ran power to each of the selected trees to greatly reduce the charges by the professional company.  The cost for the electrical cords, additional lights and the installation came to $24,614.55.  The tree lighting project could not have happened had the POA not installed the electrical wiring upgrade in previous years.  The total cost to refurbish the Candy Cane Lane light decorations, to purchase replacement bulbs and strings as needed for maintenance, to install electrical upgrades, and to light the trees was well in excess of $80,000.00, with the entire amount being contributed by the POA.  At our February 21, 2017 city council meeting, a Resolution of Commendation was presented by the city council relating to these lighting projects.

So the next time you're walking down Main Street enjoying the new twinkle lights, remember the time, effort and money that went into making it all possible.  To conclude this article, let me share a recent letter received by the city from Rachel Mano, a Visalia resident since 2001: "My husband and I would like to let you know that Main Street is our favorite weekend hang out.  So much to choose from (dining).  I'd like to congratulate whoever is responsible for the decisions and dedication that goes into keeping Main Street a safe and thriving atmosphere.  I hope you can pass on this credit where credit is due.  Anyway, I wanted to comment on the "tree lights" that have been lit up since Christmas, what a wonderful idea.  Love, love, love, love, them.  It reminds me of being in a different city (i.e., SLO, Cambria, etc.).  It's warm and welcoming.  I hope they stay up forever!  Everyone we talk to feels the same way.  I have noticed more and more people walking down Main Street and commenting about the lights.  Please thank those responsible for the idea and the effort of the business owners."

Let me add my thanks and appreciation to the many individuals, merchants, the POA, City of Visalia employees and all those who made these lighting projects possible so that the rest of us can enjoy them, now on a year-round basis!

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at warren.gubler@visalia.city.  For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot

VISION FOR VISALIA

On Friday, January 27, 2017, the Visalia City Council, along with our City Manager, city staff and members of the public held our annual planning retreat.  We reviewed the city's mission statement and values, identified issues needing to be addressed, and developed an action plan on priority issues for 2017.  We were ably assisted by Vicki Stasch, a professional facilitator.  Attendance from the public was the highest I've seen, this being the eighth such annual retreat which I've attended since being on the city council.  Another way of describing this gathering was a "brainstorming" session.  We started at 8:30 in the morning and went through 5:00 p.m.  We took public comment and the council informally shared ideas and priorities.

One of the more interesting aspects of the meeting was a panel discussion we had regarding the homeless issue.  We had representatives from Family Health Care Network, CSET, Health and Human Services, the Rescue Mission, Self Help Enterprises, Tulare County Housing Authority and the Visalia Police Department giving their insights into the causes of homelessness and suggestions on how we can address it locally.

The following is a summary of our action plan for 2017.  This will serve as a roadmap and direction for the year.  Feel free to follow the city council and staff in 2017 to see how we do on accomplishing these goals. 

·      Reduce homelessness – Visalia will participate on the new Tulare County Task Force on Homelessness to see what can be done countywide to address this issue.  We will have presentations at future council workshops from other successful cities to hear their ideas.  Another goal will be to locate at least five people who are currently homeless and to develop a work program with funding from Workforce Investment to help them become employable.  We will also look to partner with entities which can assist in building and managing housing for the homeless.

·         Circulation and Transit – We will investigate possibly opening up more streets which cross the railroad tracks on west Goshen to improve circulation patterns.  We will hold a future work session on all roads in the city to see where we can improve traffic circulation.

·              Business friendly - The council will look into continuing to make Visalia a business friendly city.  We'll survey the development community about their experiences with our staff and continue to use best efforts to streamline permitting and fees.  We want to continue to support Kaweah Delta Health Care District and Family Health Care Network downtown.  We will explore a possible branch campus in Visalia from a four-year university such as Fresno State and we will get a status update from the developer of Sequoia Mall.

·               Visalia as a Destination – We approved going forward with re-establishing the annual Fourth of July fireworks celebrationat Groppetti Stadium in 2017, seeking to develop a public/private partnership for this project.  We'll continue to emphasize sporting events such as the Senior Games, the Cal League Summer All Star Game, and holding other allstar games and championships here in Visalia, which is centrally located. We will investigate further the possibility of an aquatics complex.

·                     Water –We will continue to encourage conservation of this precious resource.  We will look to our landscape and lighting districts for reduced consumption, seek additional funding for recharge basins on the east side in particular, and bring the new water conservation plant online this year to assist in recycling water.

·                  Sustainable Community – We'll use Measure N funds as a tool for improving our parks, streets and public safety.  We'll continue to emphasize connectivity between subdivisions and parks.  We'll work to complete more trails such as the St. Johns Parkway and Modoch Ditch Trail.  And in a future city council work session, we will receive a report on the status of downtown lighting and how to improve and update that system.

·                Strong Downtown – We will explore ways to fund the new east downtown civic center, including a new city hall.  We will also review city-owned properties and identify those to sell to help raise funds.

Last Call for the Visalia Senior Games

Just a reminder that Visalia's second annual Senior Games will be held March 17^th - 19^th and March 24-26,2017.  If you haven't signed up yet, visit www.visaliaseniorgames.com and come join the fun!

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at warren.gubler@visalia.city.  For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.

REORGANIZATION

On December 16, 2016, the Visalia City Council held a special meeting at which we said goodbye to council member Amy Shuklian, and welcomed new council member Phil Cox.  The council was then reorganized whereby I was appointed mayor, and veteran council member Bob Link was appointed vice-mayor.  Bob and I look forward to serving for the next two years in these positions.  I am frequently asked how the mayor and vice-mayor are selected, so let me explain.

Visalia previously elected its five council members citywide for four-year terms, but beginning in November 2016, council members are elected by district.  Two council member positions were on the ballot in 2016, the other three positions will be on the 2018 ballot and voting will continue accordingly.  After each such election, the council meets to swear in the newly elected.  The five council members then take nominations for mayor and vice-mayor from amongst themselves, and then vote on the same.

Certain issues that I would like to emphasize in the next two years include:

∙ Reevaluating our work with the homeless, to build on our successes and to see how we can better partner with non-profits, churches, the county and other local cities to address this need.  In particular, I'd like to add a work component to our outreach whereby we give opportunities to the homeless to give service back in return for what they receive, thus assisting them to be responsible for themselves, to become employable again, and to eventually afford housing.

∙ A delegation just returned from visiting our sister city in Miki Japan in November 2016.  Visalia will be dedicating our Miki City Park in April 2017.  I'd like to continue to work on strengthening our ties with our sister cities in Japan and Italy.

∙ Visalia has not held a Fourth of July fireworks celebration the last two years.  I look forward to the city partnering with a service club(s) to reinstate such celebration on July 4, 2017.  This will hopefully cut down on the 50-60 citations issued last Fourth of July, when we also had five fires attributable to fireworks over the Independence Day weekend.

∙ We thank local citizens for recently passing Measure N, and the council looks forward to using these new sales tax revenues as promised, to strengthen public safety, for road improvements, and for parks and recreation.

∙ I'd like to reinstate the mayor's dinner whereby we honor past mayors and councilmembers for their service to the community.  Additionally, I will hold monthly "meet the mayor" office hours at City Hall so that citizens can meet with me to express their ideas and concerns.

Of course, the foregoing are just a few ideas and initiatives I'd like to push, on top of the ongoing day-to-day operations of our grand city.


Mayor Vollmer
Ed Vollmer served as mayor of Visalia from 1965-1973.  He was a big man with a big personality, he loved his family and community.  Ed was born April 15, 1923.  His wife Betty was also born on April 15, and they were married on April 15.  A great date for a CPA/tax advisor like Ed!  Ed made many contributions to this community both as a mayor, family man and businessman.  I consider him a mentor, and he was one of those that encouraged me to run for city council.  On December 16, 2016, after the council meeting where I was appointed mayor, I dropped by the local hospital ICU to visit briefly with the Vollmer family.  Ed passed away later that night at age 93.  From Visalia's newest mayor to Visalia's oldest mayor, I will say that Ed will be greatly missed, and I express my personal as well as the city's condolences to the wonderful Vollmer family.

2017 Visalia Senior Games
Visalia is hosting its Second Senior Games, March 17-19 and March 24-26, 2017.  Planning has been going on for months.  This year we have added track and field, swimming, disc golf, race walk, and team mens soccer, men's softball, men's volleyball, women's soccer and women's volleyball.  We encourage everyone 50 and over to start getting in shape, and to participate.  Registration is now open, and can be done online at www.visaliaseniorgames.com.  Or go to the same website to volunteer.  As before, we will have an opening ceremony event but this time Downtown, a Friday night social and lots of other fun activities.  We thank the Visalia Parks and Recreation Department and all of our sponsors and volunteers, and look forward to these games being even bigger and  better than our inaugural event.

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at warren.gubler@visalia.city.  For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.

ANOTHER NEW YEAR

Is 2017 really here already? It's fitting to look back and reflect on the accomplishments of Visalia and its business community in 2016.

Mooney Boulevard
Outback Steakhouse is replacing the former Mimi's Café and construction will be finished soon.  There's a 30,000 square foot regional retail use moving forward on the bare land just west of Costco, which will hopefully spur development of The Grove at Packwood Creek.  Also at The Grove, a second Surf Thru Car Wash is going through the permitting process.

The Weatherby's Furniture site at Walnut and Mooney sold, and will soon be redeveloped into a new multi-tenant retail building that will feature at least one new restaurant.  The vacant Circuit City building was back-filled with a new Joann's, and a new Smart & Final Extra will be moving into the old Joann's location.  Blaze Pizza opened in front of the Visalia Mall, Rubio's opened in Packwood Creek and Pieology opened in the Dick's Sporting Goods center, along with designer shoe retailer DSW.  A new building is being erected next to IHOP which will include three to four new retail/restaurant tenants.

Historic Downtown
Suncrest Bank will soon be moving into the old Citibank building on Main Street which is currently being remodeled.  The city council approved a micro brewery overlay district in east downtown this year, which will hopefully spur development in that area.  This means that microbreweries and micro-wineries can operate there, no longer require a food service component, and can sell their product off-site to restaurants and other entities.  There is already a proposed tap room and beer garden slated for the 500 block of East Main Street.  The former Caskey Paper building on East Center is being repurposed for office use and as the new location for the Planing Mill Artisan Pizzeria.  This mixed-use development may also include residential units and a microbrewery.  Deli Delicious has opened  across from the Convention Center.  Left of Center is a new dining option in Sue Sa's Clubhouse on Center Street.  Chelsea Street Boutique is opening their second store at 110 West Main Street.  The old Link's building on Main Street is nearly complete.  This development features six residential units and two retail spaces on the ground floor, one will be used by Provoke Salon, and Blend Wine Room is expected to occupy the other.

North Visalia
Del Taco will soon be completed, as part of a new gas station/convenience store complex currently open on the southeast corner of Dinuba and Riggin.  Four new retail spaces have been built at the Orchard Walk East Shopping Center, and are expected to bring in new retail and restaurant tenants.  Self Help Enterprises recently opened Highland Gardens, their 36-unit rental community featuring single family homes, a community center, garden and more on Ferguson near Dinuba Blvd.

Industrial Park
AGCO Parts opened its West Coast distribution center, relocating from Stockton, as Visalia offers improved regional shipping turnaround and next day delivery.  Approximately 30,000 square feet of new industrial warehouse space is being built at the Able Industries location.  New construction is proceeding for ServiceMaster on West Sunnyview.  Cencal Movement, a fitness facility that features a ninja warrior training course is now on West Pershing Avenue.  Perfection Pet Foods continues to grow and will be adding 148,000 square feet at their existing site.  Visalia Ceramic Tile also expanded with a new 10,000 square foot building for their manufacturing process, while a new 25,000 square foot distribution warehouse has been constructed for RSD (Refrigeration Supplies Distributor).  Diversified Development Group will soon begin construction of a 402,000 square foot project at American and Riggin, including at least three spec facilities.

Other Developments
A Planet Fitness will soon be opening in the former Young's Market at Demaree and Walnut.  A gym is also proposed at the former Marinello School of Beauty on Mooney.  Construction is going forward on a new Holiday Inn Express across from Adventure Park, bringing 104 new rooms.  In the old Vons shopping center, a new gym facility and a Skywalk Trampoline Park are still in the works, making this a key family entertainment destination.

The FBI in September released its annual compilation of crimes reported by law enforcement agencies around the nation.  The Visalia-Porterville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) listed a crime rate of 395.8 per 100,000 population, the lowest in Central California.  Compare this to Fresno 537.3, Bakersfield 556.3, Merced 621.1, and the highest Stockton-Lodi 797.1, more than double Visalia's MSA rate.  Kudos to our public safety officers for achieving this remarkable result!

Finally, Visalia has a new mayor, yours truly, for the next two years.  I consider it a privilege and look forward to serving you in that capacity.

Happy New Year to all in 2017!

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at warren.gubler@visalia.city, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313.  For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.

VISIT TO JAPAN

As promised, the following is a brief report on our Visalia delegation's recent visit to Miki Japan, celebrating the 50th anniversary of our sister city relationship.

Miki is located next to Kobe, Japan.  Unlike Kobe, which is a major city, Miki has a population of about 81,000 people.  There is much farmland surrounding it, and the population is not densely packed in, giving it the impression of a country town.  Miki is well known in Japan for carpentry and hardware production, and for a special brand of rice which is used to make sake.  The name "Miki" means "three trees."  They are also known for their beautiful giant chrysanthemum flowers on individual stalks.  While we were there, the weather was pleasant and in the 60's.

On Thursday evening, November 3, our delegation of eleven arrived and were greeted at Osaka International Airport, then bussed to Miki where we met our host families.  Other than a couple of nights' stay in hotels, we spent the nights with our host families and were fed by them.  We ate rice with every meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner.  In fact, another name for breakfast in Japanese is "asa gohan" which translates as "morning rice."  Other than rice, their foods were colorful, varied and delicious.

Friday morning, we were met at city hall by their city staff and employees, who lined up and applauded as we walked in.  We felt like celebrities.  We had a Welcome Ceremony where their Mayor Yabumoto and I as vice-mayor of Visalia addressed the group.  Miki has a mayor, two deputy mayors, and sixteen city council members.  All of their jobs are full time and they are paid commensurately.

At the Welcome Ceremony, we presented a  large clock as a gift to the city of Miki from our city, and we also presented their council members with gift bags including locally grown pistachios, honey and olive oil along with brochures about Visalia.  That afternoon we toured a local junior high where the students demonstrated judo, and showed various types of artwork and activities they were involved with.  We then toured the Okada Manufacturing plant, whose specialty is the manufacture of all types of saw blades.  They are completely mechanized and make over 6 million blades per year.

Saturday was a free day.  Most of us went with our host families to tour nearby Himeji Castle, a 400 year old castle.  This magnificent seven-story edifice is also known as the White Castle, and compares favorably with any of the castles of Europe.  This castle was spared in World War II, and is surrounded by high rock walls and an elaborate moat.

Sunday was their hardware festival (Kanamono Matsuri).  Their festival is on par with the World Ag Expo locally.  We were given "hopi" coats (happy coats) to wear and our entire delegation was on stage.  After a band played several numbers, their mayor and I addressed the attendees, then the confetti and streamers flew.  We had the afternoon to visit the many booths.  That evening we had a gala golden anniversary party.  Our delegation was dressed in kimonos which were provided.  After a drum show and more speeches, we visited and ate various Japanese appetizers and delicacies.

Monday morning our group was put on the Shinkansen (bullet train), then toured the peace memorial at Hiroshima as well as the temples and shrines on Miyajima Island.  On Wednesday morning farewell speeches were given, goodbyes were said, and the flight home.

In summary, the wonderful people of Miki, Japan treated us like royalty.  Really, the main cost to our delegation was the flight over and back, which the delegation members paid for on their own.

The city of Visalia is currently constructing Miki city park on Mineral King Avenue near city hall.  The city has had grant money for a number of years to build this park but it was put on hold during the recent recession.  We look forward to a visit by a delegation from Miki in April 2017 when we will dedicate our new sister city park.  That will be a fitting start to the next 50 years of our sister city relationship.

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at warren.gubler@visalia.city.  For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.