City of Baltimore

Loch Raven Day

Public Works Director Alfred H. Foxx today announced the third annual Loch Raven Day event which will be held on Sunday, May 15, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

Have you ever wanted to walk out on Loch Raven Dam? On Sunday May 15th you can do that and get a breathtaking perspective of one of Baltimore's three raw-water reservoirs. At the same time engineers from Gannett-Fleming, who worked on the 2005 dam reconstruction, will provide presentations on the history of the dam and how the massive undertaking was accomplished. Watershed personnel will be present to tell you the history of the Gunpowder Valley and how our water system operates. From the river to your tap - the story of your drinking water is fascinating and fun.

Exhibits of live local wildlife from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources - Scales and Tales - will show and tell about the animals which inhabit the watershed lands. Rescued wildlife will be there to squawk and hiss for you from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. The predecessors of our watershed rangers (1690 Maryland Rangers Re-enactors) will also be there.

Do you like to hike? Organized guided hikes will take place and you will discover the hidden and not-so-hidden flora and fauna of the Loch Raven forest and how the land is protected and renewed.

Pack a lunch, and bring your hiking shoes! Call 396-3500 for more information.

Here is the follow-up story in the Baltimore Sun.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/bs-md-loch-raven-day-20110515,0,743856.story

City of Concord

Concord Public Works celebrated National Public Works Week on May 20. This was the fifth annual event including the entire 8th grade from Concord's Middle School. This year's theme was "Public Works: Serving you and your community"

Director of Public Works, Richard Reine, expressed his appreciation to the entire public works team for their efforts in once again running this event which showcased the work performed by Concord Public Works.

Thanks to Wayne Busa's coordination, four buses containing 230 students were welcomed at the public works complex at Keyes Road to begin their day.

Andy Giles and Kathi Tew worked behind the scenes to help with the event.

Doug Shattuck who teaches the Applied Technology course at the Middle School, worked closely with Anna Trout and Concord Public Works staff to coordinate this educational experience which included visits to the following locations with presentations by Concord Public Works staff with expertise in these specific areas:

Wastewater Treatment Plant - Melissa Simoncini, Hardik Ravel, Elizabeth Piantedosi, Joel Stevens and Alan Cathcart of Concord's Water and Sewer Division along with Mike Thompson of Woodard and Curran, provided the students with a tour of the treatment plant, and a lively water conservation exercise.

Ripley Playing Field - Peter Flynn, the Town's Tree Warden, provided a presentation on how Concord's trees are kept healthy, in addition to information about maintaining the turf playing fields. Dick Fowler helped the students see how fast they could throw a baseball.

Keyes Road Complex:
Rich Hathaway, Rich Weaver and Marc Reardon did a great job dividing the students into groups and escorting them to the various stations; while keeping track of the time.

Storm water demonstration - John Wilson, Mike Maglio, Jeff Koranda, John Hesdorff, Ken Sherman and Bob Martin provided information about the town's storm water program. The students also enjoyed the equipment display, with Tim Porter's assistance, which allowed them to experience what it's like to operate this equipment.

GIS Exercise - Matt Barrett led an exercise showcasing the town's Geographic Information System.

Surveying - Bill Renault and Chris Olbrott showed the students how surveying is done to maintain the town's roads.

Recycling - Rod Robison, Nancey Carroll and Paul Reinhardt conducted a lively recycling game show, which taught the students about the benefits of recycling.

Students earned a "sticker" for completing tasks at each event. Specially created stainless steel reusable water bottles were awarded to students with six stickers or more.

Concord Public Works was able to showcase the work it does, while educating the students, who also had a great time.

County of Georgetown

NATIONAL PUBLIC WORKS WEEK CELEBRATION Partnership with local school

Georgetown County is committed to keeping its citizens informed through various educational opportunities. We strive to connect and educate citizens about the work of county government. At the Department of Public Services, it is our hope to inspire a new generation of public servants by concentrating on our youngest citizens.

For National Publics Work Week, the department decided to develop its first school partnership. The Division of Public Works chose to partner with Browns Ferry Elementary school to introduce the children to the wonderful world of Public Works and the many opportunities that can be afforded them through Public Works.

On May 18, 2011, Danita Gause, Assistant to the Director for Public Services, presented a fifteen minute educational PowerPoint to the students at Browns Ferry Elementary on Public Works in Georgetown County and how Public Works affects the children and their families in everyday life. Director of Public Services, Ray Funnye, was in attendance at the presentation and available to answer any questions. After the indoor presentation, the children went outside for a heavy equipment demonstration by Public Works employees; Bennie Mitchell, Leroy Davis, and Early Walker. The children got to learn about and explore the following pieces of machinery: John Deere G670 Motor Grader, John Deere Backhoe, and a Tandem Dump Truck.

On May 19, 2011, 14 students and three faculty members from Browns Ferry Elementary attended the Annual Backhoe Rodeo as Georgetown County's Special Guest. The kids had the opportunity to ask public works related questions and watch the contestants perform tricks with the backhoe.

We anticipate partnering with Browns Ferry Elementary again next year to educate the kids about Public Works.

City of Havelock

City of Havelock Commissioners proclaimed May 15-21 "Public Works Week" at the April 25, 2011 meeting. The Public Services Department staff and invited guests were treated to a lunch on the grounds after the department's monthly safety meeting.

City of La Quinta

The City of La Quinta Public Works Department celebrated National Public Works Week in 2011 by offering free cake and punch at our public counter on Wednesday May 18th. We used this opportunity to speak with and hand out information to the public regarding storm drain maintenance, street sweeping operations, traffic operations and other services provided by public works.

On Thursday May 19th we hosted our kick off meeting for our annual volunteer student outreach program. This year we had 17 high school students attend the kick off meeting where our Mayor, Don Adolph and our Public Works Director/City Engineer, Tim Jonasson addressed the students and talked about the services provided to our community by public works. The La Quinta High School counselors, Katherine Overley and Ken Blake, selected students to attend the meeting who are considering a career in engineering or a related field of study.

During the kick off meeting, students were extended an invitation to participate in the annual summer volunteer program. Students who participate in our outreach program go through an orientation and then start a series of 8 training modules to shadow our public works staff and learn more about career opportunities in public works. The students volunteer their time from June 15th through July 20th, and will then attend a graduation/thank you luncheon on July 21st with their parents to receive a certificate of completion from the City of La Quinta Public Works Department. The student outreach program is available to all local high school students, a press release was issued by the City to let students and their parents know about the opportunity.

City of Lawton

The City of Lawton held a Public Works employee appreciation lunch on Friday May 13, with the Public Works Director Jerry Ihler and the Asst Director Carl Dentler cooking hot dogs for over 200 public works professional from a grill fashioned from a 1947 Crosley station wagon. On Saturday May 14th, an equipment show/demonstration was held in the parking lot of our local mall, and included 35 pieces of equipment and plenty of prizes and giveaways. This was the City’s first such event. It is estimated that between 300 and 400 people attended.

City of San Luis Obispo

In keeping with the tradition of the American Public Works Association (APWA), those who work in professions providing and maintaining public facilities and services in the City of San Luis Obispo were honored during National Public Works Week May 15-21, 2011.

Public Works professionals include those who manage water and wastewater systems, streets, parks, trees, public transportation and parking operations--those responsible for maintaining public buildings and vehicles, and engineers and inspectors who manage capital improvements. They are, in short, the people who maintain and improve the systems and services vital to our community's health and comfort.

Locally, several events took place in San Luis Obispo. The Mayor of our city presented the NPWW Proclamation at Tuesday's City Council Meeting. Wednesday, Public Works employees competed in teams for the coveted "Best BBQ Ribs" title at the annual Rib Cook-off Contest held at the Corporation Yard. BBQ talents and techniques were showcased, judged and consumed for lunch along with many side dishes by a hungry staff.

The highlight of the week was the array of equipment parked downtown during our world famous Thursday Night Farmers' Market. Public Works and Utilities Departments assembled tractors, landscaping plants and materials, a high reach tree trimming boom truck with 40' extension, a storm drain truck, closed circuit TV remote control sewerline inspection vehicle, paving machine complete with road cones; and a spotless bus from the SLO Transit fleet.

Children with adult supervision were delighted to get behind the wheels of these machines on display and let their imaginations run wild. Other local Public Works Departments from Atascadero, Pismo Beach and Grover Beach participated as well, with displays, information tables and staff to educate and answer questions from the public.

Town of Ayer

The Town of Ayer Department of Public Works Presents: First Annual Open House