County employee of the month announced Monday

Matthew Perry, a senior inspector in Osceola County’s Road and Bridge department, was honored Monday by the County Commission as the county employee of the month for January.

Perry’s duties include overseeing asphalt resurfacing and dirt road paving projects, scheduling various contractual services, guardrail repair, specialized cement repairs and aluminum handrail repairs. Perry ensures that these services are provided in the guidelines of state and county specifications.

Recently, Perry was assigned the Neptune Road milling and resurfacing project from Commerce Center Drive to Stroupe Road. His duties included scheduling the project, obtaining the proper purchase orders, having onsite pre-construction meetings, scheduling message boards, sending construction information to the public information office and overseeing the project for quality and professionalism.

“This project was scheduled to take place between the hours of 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. to cause the least amount of traffic disruption as possible to the citizens,” Brooke Stearns, Osceola County human resources manager, said. “This timetable caused Matt to be away from his family for approximately three weeks. The project was completed within the designated budget and with no overtime. Through the commitment, dedication and pride that Matt displayed, the citizens of Osceola County now have a quality road to ride on. Many citizens and fellow employees have called to say thank you for a job well done.”

Perry has been employed by Osceola County Road and Bridge for 11 years and has lived in Osceola County for 25 years.

Tree trimming in Kissimmee

The city of Kissimmee Public Works and Engineering Department will be trimming the palms and oak trees on Main Street from Vine Street to Neptune Road.

Crews will begin work Monday, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. This project should take approximately one week to complete. The city’s tree trimming crew will be removing the lower quarter of palm fronds and their seed pods. Crews also will be raising the tree canopy above the sidewalks and road.

The public is asked to use caution when traveling in this area and to be aware of possible lane shifts during this period.

For more information, call the Public Works Department at 407-518-2170.

OSCAR 2011

installation banquet is today

“Celebrating our history and embracing our future” is the theme for this year’s installation banquet for the Osceola County Association of Realtors.

Incoming 2011 President, Tim Weisheyer, will be inducted into office during the event. Several awards also will be given during the ceremony today at Harmony Golf Preserve, 7251 Five Oaks Drive, Harmony.

Festivities will begin at 6 p.m. with cocktail hour. Dinner begins at 7 p.m. and the event is cocktail attire. A ticket for the evening is $35 per person or $300 for a corporate table of 10.

For more information, call 407-846-0117.

Rubio announces office openings

U.S. Senator-elect Marco Rubio, R-Florida, earlier this week announced several key hires for his Senate office staff.

These individuals were selected from among approximately 1,000 applicants for a total of 53 Senate office positions in Washington and Florida, which will continue to be filled in the coming weeks.

“Florida will be well-served by the team we are putting together. Together, they will assist me in the U.S. Senate as we work to jump-start the economy, tackle the debt, repeal and replace ObamaCare and defend America at home and abroad,” Rubio said in a press release.  “Each of these individuals brings a wealth of talents and experience to our organization, and I am confident that their collective abilities will be of great service to me and all Floridians.”

Rubio also announced the initial opening of five regional offices in Pensacola, Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and Miami, which will be staffed by 17 workers.  This regional operation will serve as the center of constituent casework, with an expected workload of over 5,000 cases to be handled this coming year.

“I am especially pleased that we have met our top priorities of the transition, which were not only to begin putting together a top-notch team, but also to have our Florida offices operational to ensure a seamless handover of constituent casework,” Rubio said.  “On day one, our offices are ready to serve all Floridians.”

Posey Sworn-in for second term

U.S. Rep. Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) was sworn-in Wednesday afternoon for a second term as a member of the United States House of Representatives vowing to make job creation and accountability his top priorities.

“First and foremost, Americans expect their elected representatives to get to work putting policies in place which will spur economic growth and create jobs,” Posey said. “Washington has been growing bigger and bigger by the day, spending more taxpayer money than ever and expanding regulations without regard for their impact on the economy. Congress has an obligation to ensure that Washington is not putting up roadblocks to prosperity for American businesses; and that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and within our means.”

Posey was first elected to U.S. House of Representatives in 2008 and currently serves on the Financial Services Committee. Last year, he served on the subcommittees on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises and Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology. He represents Florida’s 15th Congressional District, which encompasses most of Brevard County south of the cities of Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island, Indian River County, most of Osceola County and a small portion of northern Polk County.

Prior to being elected to Congress, Posey served in the Florida State House and Senate where he led the successful effort to reform Florida’s insurance laws to increase competition and lower rates for homeowners and businesses. He also sponsored and passed legislation to reform and modernize Florida’s election process, oversaw reforms to lower the cost of workers’ compensation, medical malpractice and automobile insurance laws.

“Making government more transparent and accountable to the people it serves will force dramatic changes in the legislation that Washington produces,” Posey said. “The last two years were characterized by thousand-page bills written behind closed doors and no member being afforded the opportunity to amend those bills. My hope is that the transparency and accountability reforms we enact at the outset of this new Congress will serve as a safeguard to the liberties of all Americans, promote economic and individual freedom and fiscal responsibility.”