Volume 16, Issue 8

August 2013

Randy Nault July 2013

Randy Nault, W&S Worker, has been selected as EOM for July 2013! He was nominated by Dispatch for the following reasons: When coming to the Stockroom to get material for his work assignments, Randy has demonstrated an excellent attitude, patience and politeness while waiting for us to be free to assist him. He is conscientious in his paperwork, notifies us on any changes or need for more product, etc. I approached Randy’s immediate Supervisor to tell him I was nominating him because of Randy’s helpfulness, great attitude, and that It is a pleasure working with him here in the Stockroom. His supervisor totally agreed with me. He also mentioned to me the continuous progress in Randy’s work and that he has a great attitude with his coworkers and that he has been readily available for both assigned work and for emergency calls. He is definitely an asset to the Water & Sewer Division and to the Public Works Department.

Congratulations !

Employee of the Month

Employee of the Month

1

LPW August Anniversaries

2

LPW August Birthdays 2

Raffle Winners 2

Humor for Health 2

BBQ Information 3

Great Job! 3

Safety Matters 3

The Many Facets 4-7

Director’s Report 6-7

Legislative Presentation

8

From the Past 9

Quotable Quotes 1

Inside this issue:

EOM Nominees: Dan Cash. Garage Scott Bates, Hwy.

Quotable Quotes “When summer gathers up her robes of glory, And, like a dream, glides away.” ~ Sarah Helen Whitman “The summer night is like a perfection of thought.” ~Wallace Stevens “Summer should get a speeding ticket.” - unknown “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” ~ John Steinbeck

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50/50 Raffle Winners

07/12/13 Dick Morin, Hwy. $27.00

07/19&26 Dave Richardson, Hwy. $43.00

Sponsored by R&R.com

AUGUST ANNOUNCEMENTS

Humor for Health

This is the true story of George Phillips of Meridian, Mississippi, who was going to bed when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in the shed. George opened the door to go turn off the light but saw there were people in the shed in the process of stealing things. He immediately phoned the police, who asked "Is

someone in your house?" and George said no and explained the situation. Then they explained that all patrols were busy, and that he should simply lock his door and an officer would be there when available. George said, "Okay," hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police again. "Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people in my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now because I've just shot them all." Then he hung up. Within five minutes three squad cars, an Armed Response unit, and an ambulance showed up. Of course, the police caught the burglars red-handed. One of the policemen said to George: "I thought you said that you'd shot them!" George said, "I thought you said there was nobody available!" * * * * * * * * * * A police recruit was asked during the exam, "What would you do if you had to arrest your own mother?" He answered, "Call for backup." * * * * * * * * * * A warthog hits this lady and the husband calls 911. The operator asks, "Where are you at"? The husband replies, "I'm on Eucolipstic Road." The operator asks, "Can you spell that for me?" "Well... I'll just drag her over to Oak so you can you pick her up there?" - from www.cleanjoke.com/humor * * * * * * * * * * A 2 ½- year-old walked into the bathroom while her mother was putting on make-up. "I'm going to look just like you mommy!" she announced. "Maybe, when you grow up," her mother told her. "No mommy, tomorrow. I just put on that Oil of Old Lady you always use."

LPW AUGUST ANNIVERSARIES 32 years Don St. Pierre, Highway

18 years Jeff Ricker, Highway

1 year Andrew Perkins, W&S

LPW AUGUST BIRTHDAYS 1 Don Paradis, W&S 5 Mark Eustis, W&S 12 Eric Soucy, Temp. 14 Nick Poland, Hwy. 18 Mike Robitaille, Mun. Garage 20 Don Morin, Mun. Garage 22 Ron Bastien, W&S 26 Tom Freitas, W&S 28 Marie Murphy, Solid Waste 28 Dan Thibault, Bldgs. 30 Nathan Landry, W&S

“You’re never fully dressed without a smile.” - submitted by Jeanne Raymond

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On Wednesday, August 21, 2013, R&R.com will host the Show, Shine & Brag BBQ at the W&S Yard/Garage. Thanks to staff generosity and the hard work of the R&R.com staff, we are back in the black! Also, this year, we have added a new twist. With much concern raised about protecting Don Mailhot’s skin at the grill, the food will be provided by Famous Dave’s BBQ! The same friendly R&R.com faces will be serving, but a new menu will be offered: pulled pork sandwiches, chicken (sauces will be on the side), beans, potato salad, cookies, and drinks. R&R.com may add a few side items as well. After the BBQ, we will be looking for feedback on how people liked Dave’s vs. the traditional fare. That week’s 50/50 drawing will be held at the Show, Shine & Brag at 12:30. If you have an item to bring along to show and brag about, please do—the more the merrier!! Let Lauren know how big a spot or table you will need to display your item. (no weapons, please).

So, we hope to see all PW staff and “retirees” on August 21, 2013, 11:00-12:30 at the Public Works W&S Garage, for good food, good friends, and neat hobby displays! (Rain date Thursday, August 22, 2013)

R&R.com Show, Shine & Brag BBQ Returns

Safety Begins with You!!

Members of the Safety Committee are beginning work on a list of safety priorities and better messaging techniques, requested by City Administrators. If you have any ideas for these lists, please contact any of the following members:

Norm Saindon, Chair Steve Damien, Vice Chair Don Mailhot, Sfty. Coord. Jim Ward, GIS Norm Roy, W&S Dave Saucier, Bldgs. Phil Brienza, Garage Jon Elie, Hwy. Hubie Affo, Hwy. Al Patenaude, Hwy. Rob Stalford, SWF Lauren Shaw, Eng. Nick Poland, Hwy.

Work Safety Tips 11‐20 11. Safety should be your first thought, not an afterthought. 12. Safety is everyone's assignment. 13. You should wear a hard hat if there exists the hazard of falling objects. 14. Do not approach operating machinery from the blind side; let the operator see you. 15. Be alert to hazards that could affect you and your fellow employees. 16. Learn safe work practices. 17. When in doubt about performing a task safely, contact your supervisor for instruction and training. 18. Pay attention to your work surroundings. 19. Follow the safety instructions that you are given. 20. Always be alert and awake on the job.

Dispatch received the following message following an E-GOV request for brush

trimming on Old Greene Rd. at Rachel Blvd. “Mrs. Fossett called to thank the crew for the trimming that took place at the above

location. They did a great job.”

The 21st Annual Great Falls Balloon Festival is

August 16-18, 2013 For more information, go to www.greatfallsballoonfestival.org

THE MANY FACETS OF PUBLIC WORKS

Page 4 The “Many Facets” continues next page.

LPW Highway Crews in Action

Steven Patrie mowing at Mill 6.

Summer is a busy time for all Public Works crews. The winter’s debris and damage is cleaned and repaired; new plantings are spread throughout the City, numerous events need to be set up, worked and broken down, roads repaired, streets lined, and more. We welcome back our summer workers who are a very much needed boon to the work force at this time of year. The pictures above show just a sampling of the work undertaken in July and continuing today.

Ricker Park gazebo, bench repair.

Mike Danforth making his daily rounds.

Cam Bernard watering flower beds.

Adam Ouellette on litter vac.

14 new benches, 8 trash receptacles, and 20 decorative

lampposts were installed at

Kennedy Park.

Dan Ouellette on litter vac.

Check out the GIS Map Applications link: http://www.lewistonmaine.gov/index.aspx?nid=194

ENGINEERING UPDATE

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THE MANY FACETS cont. . . . Gendron & Gendron is installing a new 8” water main on Bartlett St. This project includes the replacement of 1,000 feet of sewer and 1,900

feet of water main at both ends of the street. The water mains being replaced are 65-115 years old and the sewers are a similar age. This project is scheduled to wrap up by the end of August. - Jeff Beaule

Longchamps & Sons is installing new

water main, sewer and storm drain on Little Street. Jepson Brook Sewer Separation Phase 4 includes the installation of 4,500 feet of storm drain, 410 feet of sewer and 1,500 feet of new water main in the Little and Googin neighborhood. This project is scheduled to finish by early October.

St. Laurent & Son is installing 42-inch storm drain and 30-inch sewer for the Oak St. Sewer Separation Project. This project includes 5,550 feet of new sewer and storm drain pipe. Much of the pipe is of a large diameter and requires very deep excavation for installation. This project is scheduled to finish by the end of the construction season.

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THE MANY FACETS cont. . . . The rain continued in July, but we did have some nice days to get projects moving. With the budget being finalized at the July 16th City Council meeting, plans for our limited road projects will be kicking in soon. In the mean-time a lot of the water, sewer, stormwater and CSO projects are well underway Street/Road & Sidewalk Improvement Projects Contracted projects Lewiston contract 2013-002 Walnut St. Rehab & Sidewalk Improvements- construction continues; MDOT PIN 19007.00 Rte. 126 Sabattus St. Traffic Signal Improvements-work is well underway on this

$682,114 project (100% state & federal funds); MDOT PIN 014049.24 New Freedom Grant - Park St. (Oak to Ash) sidewalk & ADA access. MDOT is

managing this project. Work is underway; MDOT PIN 017316.00 & 017874.00 Main St./Rte. 202/11/100 highway improvements Memorial Ave. to

Stetson Rd. with replacement of Stetson Bridge. Project is scheduled for 2014. Maine Turnpike Authority contract to upgrade the Old Lisbon Road bridge – construction is underway

and the bridge will be closed until November; The only paving occurred on Gendron Drive as part of that project. The crews completed the following workload: Paving prep and installed 2 Catch Basins on Goddard Rd. under Turnpike overpass; General pavement patching 28 locations and ongoing pot-hole patrol; Maintenance street sweeping and catch-basin cleaning continues throughout the summer/fall; Completed the installation of 14 benches and 8 trash receptacles in Kennedy Park; Park maintenance including swing repair & repair of benches (Potvin Park), Soccer Goal installations

(Paradis Park); painted pool filter building & replenished playground chips (Kennedy Park), and Gazebo repair (Ricker Park);

Crosswalk & stop bar painting around school zones is almost complete. The night crew went back on days at the end of the month.

Roadside mowing; Graded gravel roads; Repaired 11 damaged storm manholes and investigated a major blockage for the cross-country pipe off

North Temple St; Various planting and maintenance of flower beds and green spaces around the City; Completed confined space refresher training for several more employees. Water, Sewer and Stormwater – Upcoming construction projects. The following projects are nearing design completion and expected to be advertised in the next few months; We continue with our increased sampling efforts at Lake Auburn and so far we have not seen a

recurrence of the algae issue we had last summer (knock on wood!!) This is likely because of the cloudy, rainy, cooler summer we have had this year compared to 2012. We are prepared to act if this changes and an algae bloom threatens the lake again;

Lewiston contract for Oak St. Sewer & Stormwater Improvements—work began. Jepson Brook Phase 3 of the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Sewer/Stormwater project (5 streets on

the north side of Sabattus St. near the intersection with Russell St.)-work continues; Bartlett St. Water line replacement project (Adams Ave. to Sabattus St.)-

work is well underway; Jepson Brook Phase 4 of the CSO Sewer & Stormwater project (south

side of Sabattus, Genest St. to Wildwood Dr.)-work is well underway; Work performed by the Water & Sewer crews included: Completing a terrific job landscaping the facilities at Lake Auburn; Our in-house crew took on the job to connect the new Chloramine facility

on Turner St. in Auburn to our 24” water transmission main. This major project included (see photos):

Continued next page….

Director’s Report—July 2013

Page 7

Director’s Report continued.. Removing 2,000 cubic yards of clay soils; Installing two 8’ x 10’ concrete vaults; Cutting the 24” water transmission line and installing new 24” ductile iron pipe from the transmission main

through the two vaults and back to the transmission main; Installation of several chemical and electrical feed lines and mixing valves; and The construction of the access drive and landscaping. Crews repaired 2 sewer cave-ins; they did a terrific job and completed the project in 1 week with a 24

hour outage of water when the City relied on the reservoirs for water supply; The crew spent many hours cleaning and disinfecting the water reservoirs at Ferry Rd. and Webber Ave.; Crews responded to 20 customer concerns (E-GOV’S), and 290 Dig Safe requests; Crews continued working with contractors on water main shut

downs, temporary water services, and work associated with the CSO projects on Oak and the Jepson Brook projects;

Crews coordinated and worked with contractors on the above CSO projects;

Ongoing sewer flushing, gate valve cleaning and operation program, meter reading and replacement program;

Shortly, the crew will begin a project to replace a water line on Ware St.

Buildings – Repair & restoration of walls in the Pine Street entrance of

City Hall was completed and the work moved to the ceiling of the main hallway on the 1st floor;

Upcoming projects include applying fireproof membrane to the ceiling of Violation Bureau’s parking area, painting overhead doors, shop store area, and Pole Barns at Public Works;

The Parking Garage Crew continues power-washing all stairwells for the five parking garages; Haskall & Hall contractors began work to clean and repoint the stone work on the library. They expect to

be complete in August. Solid Waste – The truck scales & scale management system was struck by lighting the night of July 17th. Electrical components damaged by the incident were identified, repairs were made, and the system was back on line less than five days later. Much of the cost will be covered by insurance. Well done to our crew and support contractors!

THE MANY FACETS cont. . . .

Legislative Sentiments Presented for Fire Response Congratulations to the City of Lewiston Police, Fire, Social Services and Public Works departments. They were recognized at a July 16, 2013 City Council meeting for their professional and effective response to the recent fires in downtown Lewiston. Legislative Sentiments were presented by State Rep/Councilor Nate Libby. Other members of the Lewiston Legislative Delegation who were in attendance were: Senator Margaret Craven, Representative Peggy Rotundo, Representative Michel Lajoie, and Reprisentative Wayne Werts. - City press release

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The Great Falls Balloon Festival was started in 1992 by a group of civic-minded individuals who saw a need for a community event that would enable various local non-profit groups to raise awareness to their cause, while raising money and promoting the Lewiston-Auburn area (L/A East as it is known locally) as a tourist destination. Located on the banks of the beautiful Androscoggin River, the Festival quickly became a huge success, attracting crowds of approximately 100,000 visitors annually.

HOT AIR BALLOON FAQ’S 1. When did the first hot air balloon take flight? September 1783. The

first manned flight was in November of that year. 2. What are hot air balloons made of?

The bag or envelope is made of reinforced fabric called rip-stop nylon (some balloons are made of dacron). The material is very light weight but very strong. The fabric is coated to prevent leaks.

3. What are the baskets made of? The baskets are made from rattan or wicker. The material is lightweight and very durable. Each basket is individually woven by hand.

4. How fast does it go? As fast or as slow as the wind. Since the balloon has no forward propulsion system, its speed is determined entirely by the speed of the wind. That is why balloon competitions are strictly for accuracy, not for speed.

5. When is the best time to fly? Usually just after sunrise and one or two hours before sunset. This is the time of day when the winds are calmest and the air the most stable.

6. How long can the balloon stay up? It depends. Normally, the balloon carries enough fuel to remain aloft for 1 to 2 hours, but factors like outside air temperature, weight being carried in the basket and weather conditions determine the duration of the flight.

7. What kind of fuel is used? Propane is kept in pressurized tanks in the basket. The balloon carries 30-40 gallons of liquid propane. It is carried under pressure through flexible hoses to to the burner. When the valves are opened, the propane atomizes and is ignited by a pilot light in the burner. The flame may shoot out as much as ten to twenty feet, making a loud whoosh.

8. How do you get back? With the help of friends, who drive a chase vehicle. The chase crew will follow the flight of the balloon (as well as existing roads allow) and should be on hand to make the recovery when the balloon touches down.

Balloon making factory.

First hot air balloon. 2013 newest entries at Great Falls.

Diagram of an old balloon.