Tryon parking spaces to change north of Maple Street
• Tryon Town Council on Tuesday, Aug. 20 approved department of transportation (DOT) requests for parking space changes in the block north from Maple Street downtown. The first space beside the Rotary clock tower at the foot of the staircase will be eliminated, with town officials saying the space could be used for a bicycle rack; the first space north of the pedestrian crosswalk on the east side of the street will be designated as handicap parking and the delivery loading zone space will be the first space south of the pedestrian crosswalk on the east side. Two new spaces could be added south of the loading zone.

Tryon could take credit card payments soon
• Tryon Town Council directed town manager Joey Davis on Aug. 20 to select a company to take credit card payments for utility bills and taxes. Council discussed the 2-3 percent transactions costs, which will be addressed later if a surcharge needs to be added to the customer’s bills.

Polk recognizes finance officer for financial reporting certificate
• The Polk County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 19 recognized finance officer Sandra Hughes for receiving the certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for 2012. This is Hugh’s 17th consecutive year receiving the award.

Columbus July fire report
• During the month of July, the Columbus Fire Department answered 157 calls for service, including 59 emergency medical calls, 10 motor vehicle accidents, 30 public service, one natural gas leak, one power line down, two rescues, three fire alarms, two aircraft standbys, 12 lockouts, two smoke investigations, one structure fire, eight assist law enforcement/department of transportation, one arcing electrical equipment, four water rescues, one controlled burn, three false calls and 16 dispatched and cancelled calls.