Flash Flood Slows County Box Culvert Projects
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By MARK EVANS
STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD
Murphy’s Law (“Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”) seemed to be in effect when Ste. Genevieve County’s long-anticipated culvert projects on Ditch and Misplay roads took place last week.
Things started off slowly that Wednesday, when the wrong size crane showed up at Ditch Road. The problem was soon rectified, and work went well the remainder of the day. The box culvert pieces went together perfectly. (This has generally been the case with the McCann culverts. However, there were problems putting the pieces together on a couple of projects in 2019.)
On Thursday morning at Misplay Road, however, a massive flash flood threw a proverbial monkey wrench into the project.
According to Scott Schmieder, road and bridge foreman, a massive wall of water hit the worksite during the torrential rains that morning. Aaron Braun’s excavator got caught in the creek bed and was inundated by water. A crane was later used to get it out of the creek. The extent of the damage to the machine was not known when the Herald went to press.
As Presiding Commissioner Randy Ruzicka noted, the good thing was that “Nobody got hurt,” as workers were able to get out of the path of the huge wave of water in time.
The commissioners had expected to have the job completed that day, before word of the flash flood arrived. It was already noted that some overtime would have to be paid to road crew employees for the week.
Low-water slabs were removed at both locations and are being replaced by concrete box culverts from McCann Concrete in Dorsey, Ill.
After getting through the light agenda by about 9:30, the commissioners adjourned the meeting and went to visit the Misplay Road site.
ROOF DOING WELL
The community center roof had not shown any signs of leaking during the heavy rain Thursday morning.
“The roof itself appears to be sealed Ruzicka said.
Unfortunately, work on replacing the roof drains was impacted by the heavy rains.
THE EMPLOYMENT CONUNDRUM
Ruzicka reported that he had attended a Mississippi Lime Company Advisory Panel meeting, which included representatives from the hospital, the school district, etc. One of the biggest “take-aways” was that MLC and other employers continue to have trouble finding and keeping workers. A $3 per hour “bump-up” for certain jobs is being implemented to deal with the situation.
This led to a short discussion on the wider issue of finding workers among younger generations. Ruzicka remarked that the work ethic is not there like it has been for previous generations.
Associate Clerk Michele Gatzemeyer countered that, “The world has changed,” and with single parents and households with both parents working, flexibility has become a big issue for younger workers. Employers need to be flexible, she said. Second District Commissioner Mark Marberry pointed out that some professions cannot realistically allow flexible schedules.
Marberry then reported on a community center board meeting he had attended.
He said the board is looking at doing something different with customer lockers at the waterpark. They are considering a firm that will let the waterpark keep 70% of the locker fees.
Despite recent bad weather, the waterpark had been running above tits past daily average. More than 700 people per day had been going.