In last week’s column, you may remember that I was letting you know about the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation’s Mayor’s Walking Challenge that occurs every October. Well, on the first day of the challenge, Saturday, October 1, I was a little late getting started. So, it was after dark before I went for a walk to get me past the 10,000-step mark.
I went up W. 1st Street to see if I could tell where the water main had broken the week before. When I got to Gladhart Avenue, I found where the main had broken, been fixed, and covered back up. But I also heard then saw a large white truck partially blocking Gladhart about a block and a half away and went to investigate.
What I found was the City’s vacuum truck sucking sewage from a maintenance hole. The Wastewater Plant manager, Lonnie Chambers, and the department’s newest member, Mack Kissel were there pumping a line that had backed up to keep it from re-entering houses.
It turns out that one of the adjoining homes had been working with an area drain plumbing service to put a plastic liner in their wastewater pipe. However, the plumbing service did not stop when they reached the wastewater main line and continued past that point. The result was a highly effective plug to the mainline that did not allow the line to drain, therefore everything above that point was backing up.
So, Lonnie and his crew had to pump water from the line several times and monitor it over weekend. On Monday, a camera and drill were brought in to punch a temporary hole in the plug. At the time of this writing, Friday, October 7, 2022, we are still working on the situation as the section of main line will need to be replaced.
I am mentioning this encounter with Lonnie and Mack because it is just a single example of the dedication that the City employees display in providing services for Weiser. I have worked closely with literally hundreds of businesses. I have not often seen the level of dedication and commitment to their work that is shown by the City’s employees. I am incredibly pleased to be associated with this bunch.
By the way, the homeowner will not be held responsible for plugging the main line. (But the drain and rooter service will be receiving a rather substantial bill.)
Another encounter I had this last week was much more pleasant. Last Thursday, I teamed up with the good people at the Association of Idaho Cities for a program called Readers Become Leaders, in which the mayor reads a book to third graders. The book is about a group of kids who live near each other, but they do not have any water, wastewater, garbage service, or any places to play. So, they go about forming their own city to provide for these things.
So, I had the immense pleasure and privilege to read to about ninety third graders. This was followed by an activity book for the kids. The kid’s first task was to fill out a questionnaire for drawing to be held in a few months for $100 to go to their class for supplies or whatever. One of the questions was what they would change if they were the mayor. I am looking forward to seeing their answers.
After the questionnaire was completed, we went out to where the busses normally park. The City had sent over Lonnie Chambers, Jason Blair, and Nick Edwards to show the Wastewater Department’s vacuum truck, the Water Department’s valve exerciser, and the Electric Department’s drilling truck. (Nick stole the show when he started pivoting the boom around on the drilling truck and the opening and closing the pincers for placing poles. The kids went nuts.)
The children were great! My admiration of the teachers, which was stellar to begin with, rose even further. I also want to say “Thank You” to the Pioneer School Principal, Dr. Sarah Hatfield, for allowing us to create a bit of chaos to her day by making this presentation!
Well, that’s it for this week. May all your wastewater lines flow smoothly! Hope you have a great week!
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