Photo by Jasmyne Ray
Chelsea Orthodontics came in first place for the city's storefront decoration contest.
During the Nov. 6 meeting, the Chelsea City Council awarded certificates of recognition to the winners of the first annual fall storefront decoration competition. The contest was the brainchild of councilwoman Tiffany Bittner and first lady Cindy Picklesimer.
“We worked on not only the decorations at Highway 280 and 47, but also we wanted to try and just highlight some of our local businesses, and ask them to participate by decorating their storefronts.” Bittner said.
There were nine participants, all of whom were judged by Cody Brasher from the Chelsea Central Podcast, Donna Bowles from Kool 96.9 FM radio station and Susan Guillen from Drayer Physical Therapy.
Chelsea Chiropractic received an honorable mention for their submission to the contest, with Dr. Justin Fogo overseeing the decorative process of their family harvest-themed storefront. Second place was given to Chelsea Coffee House, who’s decorations where overseen by Chelsea Apothecary, for their self-made pumpkin patch in the courtyard in front of the coffee shop. Lastly, first place went to Chelsea Orthodontics, with the decorations overseen by Dr. Kelly Page, who also stuck with the fall harvest theme. The braces painted on the pumpkins, done by Chelsea High School freshman and patient Lilly Dong, set them apart from the other participants.
Bittner said that the council has discussed doing a storefront competition for the Christmas holiday, but a date hasn’t been set for it yet. Something else that Chelsea residents can look forward to for the holiday season is the annual Chelsea Christmas Parade, of which Bittner has been the MC for the parade for the last few years. The parade is slated for Dec. 15, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
There was only one piece of council business for the evening, which was to authorize the purchase of Christmas lights for the city to use during the upcoming and future holidays. The lights will be placed along the intersection at Highway 280 and County Road 47, then further down the road in front of the Chelsea Walmart.
An unofficial order of business to conclude the meeting was the acknowledgement of Mayor Tony Picklesimer 60th birthday. Meeting attendees serenaded the mayor with "Happy Birthday" and well wishes for his special day on Nov. 9. Picklesimer is currently in the second year of his first term as mayor of Chelsea.
“It has to be election night. The night I got elected.” Picklesimer said when asked what his favorite memory of his time in Chelsea was. “That was such a special time for my family. We’d all worked so hard for so long.” Picklesimer began his campaign for mayor in March of 2016 and won the primary for the election in November of 2016.
Picklesimer said that his only birthday wish was a hunting trip, which he will be taking the day off on his birthday for, to visit one of his favorite hunting grounds in Wilcox county.