In Monday night's regular February meeting, the Washington City Council honored city Supervisor of Sanitation Hal "Sonny" Barnes Jr. for his 47 years of service and proclaimed February 2009 to be "Sonny Barnes Month."

Mayor Willie Burns, city council members, city employees, family and friends had hosted a reception for Barnes at City Hall last week, and Monday night Burns signed the proclamation praising Barnes for his "exemplary work ethics" and "courteous, respectful, and professional" demeanor during his decades of service.

The city council voted unanimously in favor of the proclamation naming the month in his honor.

To fill the void left by the retirement, council members discussed looking in-house first, then advertising for a Director of Public Works as they combine the Sanitation Department with Streets, Buildings, and Grounds.

In other action, the council approved a city proclamation naming February 12, 2009, as the 100th Anniversary of the NAACP; approved the city's application for a Rural Business Opportunity Grant; and authorized the use of The Square for a Girl Scout cookie sale Saturday. The council also authorized the Wilkes Ministers United to use The Square on May 7 to observe the National Day of Prayer.

The mayor and council, along with City Administrator Mike Eskew, discussed the list of city infrastructure projects that are ready to go if any new funding comes from the Obama administration.

Councilman Ed Pope Jr. asked if the push to increase recycling in the city was showing results. Eskew reported that there has been "a big increase" in the number of households recycling, but more important was that the volume of recycling is much greater.

Opening the meeting were reports from Tourism Director Ashley Barnett and from Alan Soto, board member of the Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce, reported that a Chamber After-Hours was scheduled for March 19 and the STAR Student Breakfast was set for Talk of the Town at 8 a.m. February 26.