Welcome Back VSU Students! Motorists are urged to please be careful in your travels-particularly around the VSU campus-due to the return of thousands of students and faculty today. Remember: Drive Alert. Arrive Alive.

August 17: Traffic Reduced on Gornto Road for Force Main Installation. Installation of the force main under a portion of Gornto Road, adjacent to the YMCA, will begin today, Aug. 17 and is expected to be completed by Friday, Aug. 28, weather permitting. Work will be performed daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. After 5 p.m. each day, the road will re-open. Due to the nature of the work, traffic on Gornto Road will be reduced to one lane between the railroad tracks and the main entrance of the YMCA. Motorists are urged to take an alternate route during the construction, leaving only those who must travel that route-i.e. school buses, YMCA patrons, emergency vehicles, etc.-to a minimum. Motorists who must travel this portion of Gornto Road should allow additional travel time to account for the expected traffic delays. Click here for more information.

August 17: Smoke Testing Continues. Smoke testing of the city's sanitary sewer collection system will continue this week. Click here to see areas where crews are expected to complete work this week and to get additional information.

August 17: LED begins. Today, Georgia Power will begin replacing all 100-, 150- and 250-watt light fixtures located on city streets-some of more than 3,600 Valdosta street light fixtures that will be replaced over the next four months. Visit the city's website to access the grid map, FAQ sheets, images of the new street fixtures, before and after photos and information concerning the progress of the installation. For additional information, click here or call Georgia Power Account Manager Robby Hastings at (888) 660-5890.

August 17: VFD Claims Trophy and Free Vehicle Washing. The Valdosta Fire and Police Departments received overwhelming community support at the second annual Guns vs. Hoses Blood Drive, which was held on July 31 and brought in 70 units of blood. Per the original agreement between the chiefs, VPD personnel-who lost by only two units of blood, 36 to 34-will have the soap and water out this afternoon at 2 p.m. scrubbing down the VFD vehicles at the VFD Station #1. The friendly interdepartmental competition aided the American Red Cross in their life-saving efforts at a particularly crucial time when blood donations have been low. Both chiefs are already looking forward to next year's event. 

August 20: Valdosta City Council Meets. The Mayor and City Council will meet this Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. The meeting is open to the general public and includes three special award presentations and other city business. Click here to view the agenda.

August 21: City Seeks Citizens' Input for New Valdosta Website. The City of Valdosta is seeking citizens' input for its new city website via an online survey. The survey may be accessed through Friday, August 21 from the "Residents" tab on the navigation bar of the existing homepage or by clicking here. 

August 21: Combining the Love of Art and Historic Downtown Valdosta. The popular First Friday event on August 21 will feature an Art Walk event, from 5 - 8 p.m. As always, First Friday also features live music, dining specials, shopping and more of the fun that the community expects on the first Friday of every month, in beautiful downtown Valdosta. For more information about the Art Walk or First Friday events, call Valdosta Main Street at (229) 259-3577.

OTHER CITY NEWS

Traveling Photo Displayed at Valdosta Daily Times. The winning photos in the 2015 Valdosta People's Choice Photo Contest are part of a traveling photo display, which will allow a greater number of citizens to appreciate the local art. The photos will be on display at Grassroots Coffee in beautiful Downtown Valdosta from August 17-28. 

This Week on Metro Valdosta 17. Click here to watch the most recent City Focus, Show 2015-16, which includes the following stories brought to you by Media Coordinator Marcus McConico: Valdosta Fire Department collects cans for burn survivors, Police Department get new body cameras, Smoke Testing continues in the city, Walking trails, 9/11 Memorial event; Red Cross Disaster Relief interview with Terri Jenkins, Ruth K. Council street renaming, Bicycle safety; LED Roadway Lights and more. Citizens can also view City Focus on demand from the city's YouTube channel, at Metro 17 Valdosta, or tune in to City Focus six times a day on Mediacom Channel 17 at 4 a.m., 7 a.m., noon, 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. 

For Information on these stories and more, contact Public Information Officer Sementha Mathews at (229) 259-3548 or at [email protected].