Mayor extends an olive branch

The request by the chamber of commerce to make changes in this year’s Oktoberfest has been tabled by the Walhalla City Council. The council acted unanimously last night, after a plea by Mayor Danny Edwards. Edwards appealed for a time-out and asked for a committee to work out differences among the chamber director, the police and fire chiefs, and the Oktoberfest chair. Earlier this month Vanessa Penton, executive director of the Greater Walhalla Area Chamber of Commerce, requested the city’s consent to close two blocks of Main Saturday afternoon, October 18 to allow vendors to set up their booths on the street surface. Penton also proposed allowing a beer tent on the green downtown at the corner of Main and N. Catherine. But, reading from prepared remarks last night, Mayor Edwards suggested while change is often for the best, Walhalla needs to assure itself that any changes made do not detract from the annual celebration of the city’s German heritage—an event that draws thousands of people each year.