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City of Saraland - "Gateway to Progress" By Howard Rubenstein, Mayor, City of Saraland
Saraland continues to shine as the “Gateway to Progress”! Our city school system continues to excel as one of the top-ranked school systems in the state. Saraland Elementary School was recently named as a Blue Ribbon School. The first phase of the Infirmary Medical Campus opens this month in Saraland. This state of the art medical facility will offer diagnostic services including MRI/CT, mammogram and ultrasound. In addition, it will offer both primary care and specialty medical services. Later phases will include a 24 hours emergency room, ambulatory surgical center and a small hospital. Saraland has been pleased to also welcome several other new businesses to our community. These include Whataburger, Piggly Wiggly, and CVS. Under construction are a Cracker Barrel, Hampton Inn and Publix. Saraland was one of only 10 communities nationwide to attract a new Publix store this year. Our recently constructed McAuthor/McKinney youth recreational center celebrated their one-year anniversary providing safe activities for many local young people. A new splashpad is slated to be ready by this spring. Saraland is well on its way to its goal to be the premier community to live, work and play!
City of Heflin Launches New Municipal Website By Shane Smith, CMC/CMRO, City Clerk, City of Heflin
The City of Heflin launched a new website, cityofheflin.org, in November 2017 with updated features. We wanted a site that would give our citizens quick access to important information, direct contact with their local officials, easy access for new businesses, and a great place for anyone to find up to date information about Heflin. The site was created by Red Sage Communications, which also did our industrial development site as well.
When you visit our homepage, you will be treated to a beautiful video done by Eagle Eye Films, which provides a lovely panoramic view of Heflin. Within the site, you can access information on our Parks and Recreation programs and local attractions as well as view our social media posts. One of my favorite sections is the Main Street Heflin page. Here our citizens will be able to view the Main Street work plans that we have developed and are putting into place. Heflin’s new site also includes building permit forms, business license applications, sales tax information and zoning information – extremely beneficial to folks who need the information quickly and easily and can’t make it in person to city hall. Another distinctive feature of the site is the social media section. All our posts from Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are compiled onto the Heflin News and Announcements page, which is helpful for those that may not use social media and want to gain information from the City.
It is extremely important for a city to have an updated, functional and informative website – one that is easy for people to access. You want your citizens and well as potential new business and industry to know that your city is up to date on technology and that your community has much to offer. If you don’t have a website – or if it’s bland and never updated – you are essentially invisible, not only to your citizens but the rest of the world.
We look forward to how our innovative website will create new opportunities to reach others across the world so they, too, can learn why Heflin is "A Great Place to Call Home".