Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
John Heideman, Lisa Sauter-Rockhold and Jim Shoup are three of the City of Kimball street department crew. Shoup was recently officially named Kimball's street superintendent, a position he filled on an interim basis for about a year. Not pictured: Randy Jefferson.
Recently named Kimball street superintendent Jim Shoup has worked as the interim superintendent for the last year and has been a part of the city street crew since 2006.
To be a street superintendent, one must pass a six-hour exam in Lincoln. After three days of study and preparation in Kearney, he took the test. The testing process includes an interview with the examination panel.
"They kind of say, don't expect to pass it the first go, but for some reason they must have felt sorry for me and let me go ahead and have it," Shoup joked. "Those eight guys ask you questions and so you have to keep your cool. I don't know, I must have baffled them."
The state provides an incentive for communities that have a licensed street superintendent. This allows them to continue their education to become a Class A superintendent, Shoup said, which provides further incentive.
The city's street crew is one of the few that is fully staffed, with four people, and they are happy to help other departments as needed.
"When we need to we help the line crew trim trees out of the alley, because that is kind of the street department too," Shoup said. "We help with the water department any time they need help with taken debris out of a hole and hauling it off we are right there to do that. If they need help with cement, we help them, and they help us. We all kind of get along."
The paperwork Shoup is required to complete for the Nebraska Department of Roads is his least favorite aspect of the job.
"The list of paperwork they need is big," he said. "And all that has to be kept forever. They don't give you a time frame to keep records, so I have volumes of records from the past."
Funding for the department comes from the NDOR as well as the Highway Trust Fund, so justification for each piece of equipment is necessary.
The department is getting a new street sweeper this year after 12 or possibly 13 years. The new sweeper is expected to last quite a while, Shoup said.
"Randy (Jefferson) takes such pride in keeping the streets clean and doing it right," Shoup said of his team member. "I am glad to get him a new machine, it will be more comfortable and a lot more visible."
Shoup added that operating the sweeper can be difficult because of decreased visibility, a concern that will be eased somewhat with the new equipment. He encourages patrons to ensure they keep as safe distance.
"People don't realize what it takes to get a piece of equipment stopped," Shoup said.
Though Shoup said he feels he is not a very good manager of people, he is grateful to have a group of people that know what they are doing and what their jobs are and make it easy to manage them.
The well rounded group each have varied strengths, Shoup said.
Currently the crew will be working on cleaning up the downtown area and repainting parking stripes and curbs in preparation of Farmer's Day.
"We like everything looking fresh and bright on Farmer's Day," he said. "Now, we got a little behind because we had to take 14 trees out in the park, which set us back, but I think we are going to get it all done."
Additionally, he said the crew will be working on finishing concrete work on valley pans, the valley in between two streets and the chip sealing process will begin soon as well.
While the winter is a bit slower, Shoup said that plowing takes up a lot of time. They have more time in a dry winter, during which they patch streets as needed.
"You get what you can done, and you usually have to come in early to plow," he said. "My first year here we spent 21 days plowing and piling snow that had to be bucketed out of here in a truck."
Shoup is proud of his crew's work in the city.
"They work on everything, we don't take anything to a shop," Shoup bragged. "They can manufacture anything out of the scrap behind the yard. I have got the most frugal crew there is, they just only spend what they need to spend."
"If there is something I can do to help bring a little light to our department, I am happy to do so. They take pride in their jobs. I do have a good bunch," he added. "I think our department does as much for economic development as any other department."