It’s a big week for the City of Susanville’s Public Works Department, as they celebrate National Public Works Week with five days of fun activities including a scavenger hunt, a backhoe rodeo and a party in the park where kids can check out, and even decorate, some of the department’s big machines.
National Public Works Week has been around since 1960, and across North America, more than 30,000 members of the American Public Works Association use this week to, “energize and educate the public on the importance of public works to their daily lives: planning, building, managing and operating at the heart of their local communities to improve everyday quality of life.”
What does our Public Works Department, headed by Public Works Director Rob Godman, do for the community? A lot of really important stuff! They maintain and improve the condition of our street and alley system, they keep our drainage ways open and free of debris, they maintain traffic signs and pavement markings, provide safe and reliable public water and natural gas, provide a local municipal airport and take on major projects across the town.
Here in Susanville the week-long celebration begins today with, ‘Made You Look Monday’ where everyone is invited to stop by Memorial Park between 2:00 and 4:00p.m. to check out the massive equipment and big trucks used by the department to maintain Susanville’s infrastructure.
Kids will be invited to ‘decorate’ some of the equipment and Sno Mountain Shaved Ice will be there to help everyone cool off. It sounds like a great time in the park.
On Tuesday, the City is looking for your stories about Public Works. You can thank the department for a job well done by posting to social media and tagging @SusanvillePublicWorks #npww #susanvillepw.
Wednesday the entire city turns into a scavenger hunt! There are ten secret locations and the City will be posting clues to the Public Work’s Department’s Facebook page every 15 minutes. All you have to do is go to that location and post a selfie, tagging the Public Works Department. The first person to find all ten locations wins a really nice gift basket.
The big event on Thursday is the Backhoe Rodeo, and that sounds like a lot of fun. The event will be livestreamed on the City’s Facebook page and will start at 10:00a.m. There are currently fifteen competitors who will take part in the timed competition.
Each participant will have tasks to be completed and fastest time wins – rodeo events include grabbing three small soccer balls off three cones and dropping them into a bin using the backhoe, picking up an egg with a spoon attached to a backhoe, and for the finale they will use the backhoe to pour a 2-liter of soda into cups.
Throughout the day Friday the City Public Works Department will be posting fun facts about Susanville.
