Hello! I hope you are getting into the Holiday Spirit!  It was great to see all of the participation in the Christmas Parade last Friday. Even Santa took time from his busy schedule to make an appearance at the Parade and at the Library on Saturday! 

I also like seeing the decorations going up around town. It really is beginning to look a bit like Christmas!

Around our house, the grandsons asked if they could come over to spend the night, so we put them to work helping us get the Christmas tree and decorations down from the attic. The plan was to then have the two of them help decorate, but they had other plans to  play. Of course, Cathy and I, being such harsh taskmasters, stuck to our guns, gave in, and let them play. They had worked pretty hard already. This was after each of them had played two basketball games earlier in the day. (Truth be told, Cathy and I also needed a break.) 

Cathy and I are still in the process of getting decorations up, but decorating is fun because it helps us to get into the spirit of the season. 

Now on to what there is of City Business.

If you are interested in taking a look at the only physical “project” the City has going, that is besides picking up leaves, the contractor hired to place a conduit for a water main to connect County Road 70 to W. 9^th Street has finally gotten started. You can see the progress happening from the corner of W. Idaho Street and W. 9th Street. 

You may not think this would be much of a big deal, but it really is. Since the water main will be going under a working railroad you cannot disturb the ground any more than absolutely necessary. So, open holes must be dug on each side of the railroad starting at a specified distance from the tracks. The hole must then be dug to the depth needed for the conduit to allow for the water flow and to ensure that the line will not break from the constant railroad vibration. In addition, the holes on each side must be dug a distance back from the tracks far enough to place the conduit in the hole as well as the equipment to pound the conduit through the ground under the tracks as to not disturb any more ground than necessary. 

After the conduit is placed, the water main will be placed in the conduit and the connections made with the County Road 70 line and the W. 9^th Street line. The water main is placed in the conduit so that in the event of a breakage or any other problem, the line can be removed and replaced without having to disturb to ground under the railroad. The water main is simply removed from the conduit, fixed, and slid back into place.

As you might be able to tell, placing this conduit is outside the skill level of the City’s employees. This job requires an engineer on site at all times during the process.   

When this project is completed, the connection will form a water loop so that the City residents living on County Road 70 and those living on the southern end of W. 9^th Steet will have water service in case of a water line break or consistent fire hydrant pressure in the event of a fire. The “loop” will allow water to flow from either direction.

Well, that’s it for this week! May the Spirit of Christmas grow as you go through this Holiday Season, and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!