Hundreds of postcards and New Year’s greetings
Literally—hundreds of postcards and tele­grams were received by the Mayor, the Chair of the Council and the City Board on the occasion of the New Year 1996. Warm wishes were also sent by the authorities of partner cities: Sieburg and Pirna (FRG), as well as Hobro in Denmark. Warm greetings (also for "Głos" and TMB) were traditionally sent by Bonn resident and former Bolesławiec resident Klaus Rosenthal.
Christmas Eve wafer ceremony for Wizów veterans
The active local branch of the Association of Veterans of the Republic of Poland (headed for many terms by Franciszek Zieliński) organized its traditional wafer ceremony for members, attended by many guests: Deputy Mayor Jan Jasiukiewicz, Polish Army garrison commander Colonel Chwojnicki, ZCh "Wizów" director Władysław Wyszyński, and the married doctors Piestrak-Babijczuk, who provide free medical care to veterans, among others. The ceremony took place in a warm atmosphere, and the recollections and reflections seemed endless.
From ZCh "Wizów" to America
The Bolesławiec chemical plant ZCh "Wizów" is doing an excellent job of finding foreign contractors for its products. So far, it exports them to South America (Brazil and Argentina), France, Italy, Denmark and Russia. This ensures not only sound economic condition, but also a strong position in competition with renowned Western companies for sales markets.
Average wage—nearly 10 million
Bolesławiec local-government employees have no reason to complain about their earnings: the average wage here in the third quarter of the previous year was PLN 923 (according to provincial consolidated statistical data), which was a considerable amount compared with the national average and wages in some nearby towns. There is no need to be envious, but good work and reliable service for residents may certainly be expected.
Illuminations—as in Europe?
Decorative Christmas-tree stars with glowing lights—along with the enormous Christmas tree by the Town Hall, lit by twinkling bulbs—put the residents of the town on the Bóbr in a festive mood. It felt European, although local vandals soon twisted out the colored bulbs decorating the impressive tree, and the damage had to be repaired. This year, the Christmas illumination will cover the entire Market Square as the historic center of the city. Shop owners, too, spared neither effort nor money on impressive window displays. The popular bookshop in the Market Square deserved special recognition.
President A. Kwaśniewski to craftsmen
Eugeniusz Stachowski, Senior of the Guild of Various Crafts in Bolesławiec and Vice-President of the Chamber of Crafts in Wrocław, received a letter from President of the Republic of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski concerning craft-sector proposals regarding the parliamentary bill on economic self-government. Copies of the craftsmen’s proposals in the form of the letter were passed on to parliamentarians interested in the issue.
There will be a second children’s playground
Good news for Bolesławiec’s youngest residents: the city authorities have decided that another large children’s playground, a so-called Jordan garden similar to the one already operating in Waryński Park, will be created here in the summer. It will probably be located on Asnyka Street (an empty space behind the defunct fountain, which is not suitable for renovation because of the cost and poor construction solutions in the water supply system). And, incidentally—perhaps one of the local ceramic plants, as an advertising initiative and while attending the annual plein-air workshop for ceramic artists, might donate a new, this time functional fountain to the city and its children? We would be happy to write about such an undertaking.
STVL Programme Council has regulations
Although the Programme Council of the Local Government Local Television, elected by councillors not without opposition, did not receive the legal status of another committee of the Municipal Council, it did draw up and adopt its own rules of procedure. They state, among other things, that its responsibilities include substantive matters related to TV programming, resolving disputes concerning broadcasting time (there is no shortage of those...) and giving opinions on the TV budget. Let us add that, in connection with the City Office’s move to the Town Hall, there is a chance to improve the television studio’s working premises.
Councillors’ office hours
In the new year 1996, the premises where councillors hold their weekly office hours changed. It is located in the Town Hall Council Chamber (second floor, room 203), and residents are received every Monday from 3 to 4 p.m. The detailed schedule of office hours in February this year:
1/ 5 February 1996 – Roman Maciej
Pawlik – Janina Piestrak-Babijczuk 2/ 12 February 1996 – Zenon Pilarski
– Dorota Pińczuk 3/ 19 February 1996 – Ryszard Pomichter
– Piotr Roman
4/ 26 February 1996 – Andzrej Rudziński
– Antoni Skobliński
December mini-session
On 29 December 1995, another—already the 16th—session of the Municipal Council was held. Its subject was changes to the city budget in the previous year, an essential formal and legal procedure, although one that aroused little emotion or controversy. On these matters, the councillors were exceptionally united and unanimous, so the proceedings were very brief. There was also an opportunity to share the traditional wafer and exchange good wishes.
Mayor Józef Król assessed the progress of local self-government democracy, emphasizing the councillors’ harmonious cooperation and civilized, substantive discussions during sessions and committee meetings, where differences of opinion concerned how tasks should be carried out, rather than individuals or their views. Municipal Council Chair Władysław Landsberg spoke of the satisfaction that comes from finding common ground on important public matters and from the gradual formation of an active group of councillors devoted to the city’s affairs. This is an encouraging development and a good sign for cooperation until the end of the term.
The last piece of good news was the transfer to the city budget of 5.5 billion old zlotys for buildings that until recently belonged to ZG "Konrad". This money will be very useful; it seems to have fallen from the sky as a New Year’s gift...
A portrait of the patron for the library
Along with the official document confirming that the Municipal Public Library had been named after Cyprian Kamil Norwid, local visual artist Mieczysław Kozłowski donated an oil portrait of the distinguished writer, painted by himself, as well as a landscape painting featuring the Town Hall. We will present the profile of the donor, who deserves to be called the Leonardo da Vinci of Bolesławiec, in one of the next issues of "Głos". Let us add only that he is currently pre­paring a series of colorful watercolors for an album about our city. The publication should appear later this year.