City in 'full cleanup mode'
JANESVILLE — It hasn’t been a good summer for Janesville’s parks and public works employees.
First, they had to fill and stack sandbags for weeks on end. Now, they have to don full body safety suits for cleanup—it’s sort of like doing yard work in a sauna.
This morning, the Rock River at Afton was at 11.93 feet, down from a high of 13.51 feet June 21. Flood stage is 9 feet.
“We’ve kicked into full cleanup mode,” John Whitcomb, city directors of operations, said Tuesday.
City engineers and consulting engineers will be brought in to inspect bridges, parking areas and streets before opening them to traffic.
Whitcomb said his staff hopes to have those areas cleaned up so they can be open as soon as possible after inspections.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is opening a flood recovery center at the New Life Assembly of God Church, 2416 North Wright Road, Janesville. The center will open Monday.
And in downtown Janesville, the carp are starting to head back into the river.
As the floodwaters recede, the carp leave a layer of dull grayish-brown crud over the pavement.
“When that sediment dries, it’s nasty,” Whitcomb said.
Which brings us back to the city workers.
City workers are using fire hoses on North Main Street to loosen that sediment while the street is still slightly submerged.
The full body safety suits protect workers from floodwaters, which are filled with a variety of toxins from untreated sewage. Treatment plants in Jefferson, Fort Atkinson and Lake Koshkonong had to discharge untreated sewage into the river because facilities were overwhelmed.
THE CENTER
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is opening its flood recovery center on Monday at New Life Assembly of God, 2416 North Wright Road, Janesville. The church is at the corner of Highway 14 and Wright Road.
Hours are:
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday.
1 to 7 p.m. Sunday.
For more information about hours or location, call New Life at (608) 756-4175.
Jul 3, 2008 at 8:19 a.m.
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I thought it was funny that when I logged on this AM, in the 'popular discussions" textbox, this article- "Clean up in Full Swing" was right above 'Screamin MeeMees manager arrested".
Jul 3, 2008 at 7:33 a.m.
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Ok I retract my statement. Now that I think about it, I did read that
Jul 2, 2008 at 11:13 p.m.
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http://www.gazettextra.com/news/2008/jun... (...for streetfiremk)
I SURE HOPE THEY'VE GOT TOWELS, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, DISINFECTING BOTTLES (w/ 50% bleach/50% water) ON THEIR PERSONS!!....ONLY IN ORDER TO "DECONTAMINATE" EVERYTHING, right???!! ;) ;) ;)
And, yes, GOOD LUCK to them! :)
Jul 2, 2008 at 10:12 p.m.
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Does anyone know where all of the contaminated sandbags are going? I was just wondering...
Jul 2, 2008 at 9:42 p.m.
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Lets not forget those on work release that came out and worked hard to help out the city.
My son worked with some and said they were among the hardest workers on site.
Jul 2, 2008 at 9:22 p.m.
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to all janesville parks and public works employees dont listen to the crap you all are doing a great job work safe and becareful
Jul 2, 2008 at 5:52 p.m.
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I'm sure the city workers did'nt think that they would have to clean up carp and people stuff, after a flood when they signed on. I think the city should give them hazard pay. It's kind of like cleaning a big septic tank. GOOD JOB CITY CREWS, JOB WELL DONE!!!!
Jul 2, 2008 at 2:43 p.m.
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they did a freind of mine works for the city and he had alot of OT. I'm not complaining they did a good job but the gazette should write about something that realy matters in town like the drugs,crack house's and stuff that people need to know about.
Jul 2, 2008 at 1:31 p.m.
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I didn't read anywhere where it said that they were getting paid overtime
Jul 2, 2008 at 1 p.m.
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I feel sorry for the people who have lost their home, or got flooded out, and i hope they can recover from it, but why make a big deal out of the city workers doing their job's It's about time they earned there pay check,
Jul 2, 2008 at 12:56 p.m.
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So the city workers have to do their job and get paid over time, that is their job people to work for the city.
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