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1775
Old 6 Road |
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 Larry Ford November 19th, the sun is shining, and the temperatures are growing warmer for the day ahead. Finally! The last couple of weeks have been scary to anyone in the construction business. We’ve been wondering if the rain would stop and the grade would dry out in time for the project to be completed or in some cases even started. Today it looks like “Old Man Winter” may hold off and let us get done what we want to finish. Mike V. just finished mainline paving on Dayton Road on the 18th and has a little handwork left before he leaves town for the year. The overpass outside the plant on Dayton Road is yet to be finished and looks to be a ways off from completion. Most bridges can be poured in the winter but this one will be difficult due to heat considerations. We can’t heat the underside, as required to maintain concrete temperature, due to the amount of train traffic below it in a 24 hour period. I was told by a reliable source that it will take 40 separate heaters to do the job and they still don’t know if that will work. The City Inspector tells me that, hopefully, it can be a Christmas present to the Ames people and businesses. I hope so! Having to detour all the way around R70 (the road Mike V. finished paving the year before) or I35 down to Hallett’s sand pit for material is costly and time consuming. Looking back, the 2002 construction season has been a very busy one in the Ames/Huxley area. Since our bad accident back in March we have been almost free of incidents. As I look at Ames RM incident report, I notice the incidents occur when we are on the jobsite, not on the public highways. With the amount of exposure we have, this is good, but we need to be more aware of our surroundings once we are “on site”. Take the time to get out of the truck and look around while asking questions. I realize some contractors get “growly” when you don’t immediately pull in and back up. If it’s a contractor we don’t regularly work with allowing us to know their habits, then questions need to be asked. I believe good information combined with common sense can reduce many of our incidents. Let’s all strive for this in the 2003 construction season. I’ve been told a leader is only as good as the people he/she surrounds themselves with. I want to take a moment and individually thank each and every one of my daily employees at the ready mix plant. My thanks goes to (guys, there is no seniority to the following order. It’s in truck number order!) Jim Kieffer, Adam Littman, Clint Thompson, Wade Mullins, Mike (Big Mac) Gaebel, Lowell Hunter, Dan Rogers, Jacob Smeltzer, Joe (Big Sexy) Bottorf and Luis Avalos. Special thanks to Jason Bohning for the responsibilities of running the Huxley plant during the summer and taking care of our customers to the south. Also, thanks to Brady Thomas for the extra duties of maintaining the Ames facility year round and not having a “shutdown” during the season; Cindy Dela Rosa back in the lab as we are constantly trying to reinvent the mousetrap; Stan Anderson and Cheryl Hunter for keeping our facility and grounds in tip top order; Steve Sansgaard and Tim Peterson who keep us full on materials and help with drivers when days are busy; Brian, Digger, Ryan & Ron at the shop keeping everything working safely and on the road where we need it to be; the support staff of Tom, John, Brad, Dewey, Steve, Randy, Shellie, Don and Joel, (I put Joel last cause he’s always last in my books for the day, too) who stand in the shadows until something is needed. Last, but not least, Brian Frame, who gets to listen to me “rant and rave” or “make suggestions’, when he already has a handle on what he is doing. As you can see, it takes many people working together to complete all of the tasks. These people make for a successful combination that will get the job done right and efficiently. Much of this may not get done as efficiently or safely if it were not for the “someone” at home. When we leave home everyday, we are leaving the main reason we do what we do behind. The spouse who will listen to you when you have had a difficult day or share your excitement on a good day. Because of that, I want to thank all the spouses for letting me borrow your better half for 9 months out of the year. They’re a great bunch of people I’m proud to be associated with. It’s nice having you as part of our team, also. Thank you and have a safe and happy holiday!
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