Government

Before County Council’s first meeting of the new year, three incumbent members will be sworn in for new terms.
Council members Charlene McGriff, Larry Honeycutt and Jack Estridge, who represent Districts 2, 4 and 6, respectively, will take their oaths of office at a special swearing-in ceremony at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The three were re-elected to new four-year terms in the November election.
Council officers will also be chosen at the ceremony, which will be held directly before council’s regular meeting in council chambers.

GREAT FALLS – Pull up your pants or be fined.
That’s the gist of the ordinance Great Falls Town Council gave first reading approval to Dec. 20.
Mayor Don Camp presented the ordinance to council.
“This is primarily to stop what we see everyday on the street,” Camp said.
“Great Falls Town Council recognizes that our young people are a product of their environments, and, therefore, it is important that the adults around them demonstrate qualities which best characterize Great Falls,” the ordinance said.

Harlean Howard will become the city of Lancaster’s next police chief.
City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to appoint Howard, who’s in her 20th year with the Lancaster Police Department. She’s held the rank of captain since 2003. 
Howard will succeed Hugh White, who recently announced plans to retire. White has been with the department since 1982, serving as chief the past 11 years.
Howard’s appointment as chief becomes effective Jan. 7. 

HEATH SPRINGS – Prep work has begun on the long-awaited expansion project at the Heath Springs Fire Department station.
Fire Chief Patrick Helms gave Heath Springs Town Council members an update on the work Tuesday. The department will more than triple the size of its existing Duncan Street station – going from about 3,000 square feet to more than 10,000 square feet, Helms said.
The work is being paid for through a $976,000 federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant that the fire department received last year.