Concord Public Works celebrated "Public Works Week", on June 6th with its second annual “open house”, celebration with the entire 8th grade from Concord's Middle School.
The Director of Public Works, Rich Reine, spearheaded this event with the assistance of Concord Public Works personnel. This day-long event was held at a variety of locations throughout town. The students were split into groups of 50, on four separate buses which rotated to each location, starting at 8:30 A.M. and ending at 12:30 where a pizza lunch was served at 133 Keyes Road.
Doug Shattuck who teaches the Applied Technology course to all these students, worked closely with Anna Lipofsky 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 - Elena Proakis Ellis, Paul Denaro, Joanne Bissetta and Matt Mostoller along with Mike Thompson of Woodard and Curran, provided the students with a tour of this treatment plant, which recently completed the installation of a new treatment system called CoMag, the first installation of its kind in the world. Water quality and conservation were also highlighted.
Warner’s Pond Dam – Public Works Engineers, Bill Renault and Mike McLaughlin welcomed the students to the newly renovated Warner’s Pond Dam, where they were asked to do an exercise utilizing the “Francis Formula”, to calculate the volume of water flowing over the auxiliary spillway, and were taught other drainage related facts.
High School Playing Fields – The new artificial turf fields at the High School were visited, with an explanation of its use and composition by Jon Amato of JJA Sports. Tim Jones and Bob Wockenfuss of CPW’s Park and Tree Division were also on hand to provide assistance. Peter Flynn, the Town’s Tree Warden and Grounds Supervisor, gave a demonstration utilizing a “resistograph” which helps determine the health of a tree.
Concord Public Works, 133 Keyes Road – CPW employees John Wilson, Jeff Koranda, Rick Winchester, Tim Porter, Joel Stevens and Marc Reardon assisted in a “Catch Basin Cleaning” demonstration. Rod Robison, Paul Reinhardt, Nancey Carroll and Kathi Tew involved the students in a recycling relay race.
The unfavorable weather meant lunch had to be held inside – but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the group who gathered to hear the Public Works Proclamation read by Selectman, Gregory Howes and to see the two “National Public Works Week Posters” presented to the Middle School by Director Reine.
Special thanks to Manley Boyce, the School Transportation Manager and Bonnie Hardy, Manager of Food Service for the Schools for their hard work and extra efforts.
This event involved the entire Concord Public Works team, including Lisa Scruton, Susan Clark, Bill Drayton, Andy Giles, Mick Hone, Bob Mee, Dick Fowler, Jim Shuris, Richard Schriefer and Colin Corr.
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