Unsung Heroes Magazine 2022 | Page 32

Every storm has different dynamics and it is treated with different tactics , said Hargis . Most of the snows begin as rain , so pre-treating roads is often not a viable option .
“ However , when we see precipitation forecast that will start as snow , we will pre-treat the road as this makes removal much easier ,” said Hargis . “ We work to keep two people in the truck at all times to help with this process and to give drivers rest periods during the longs hours .”
Hargis said that his department monitors the amount of miles we run during weather events and “ it is truly staggering ,” he noted .
“ During one event last winter , my crew ran over 3,500 miles salting , and plowing our streets ,” said Hargis . “ To put this in perspective , that is driving from here to Los Angeles and almost halfway back to Somerset . All of these miles were run within a five-mile radius of our office . Many of our streets are narrow and have many vehicles parked on them and this creates numerous hazards for my team . We understand many folks must park on the street , so that is a hazard we deal with . We create specific files for each weather event and debrief afterward so we can get better as a team and with this , do a better job getting our streets cleaned .
“ Our goal is to get every street to the blacktop , so our citizens can safely travel any and all of our streets ,” he added . “ We want our citizens to know that we have dedicated , professional employees working toward the goal of keeping them safe . We have many priority areas we focus on during this time to ensure the safety of our citizens . We focus first on nursing homes , ( Somerset ) Police Department , ( Somerset ) Fire Department , EMS , the hospital and the surrounding streets so we can ensure if an emergency arises , we can safely get to the emergency .”
Hargis has been the City of Somerset Street Department Superintendent since August of 2013 , having worked previously in the transportation industry for 23 years . During this time , the department has taken on many more responsibilities and this has been a huge cost savings to the city , he said .
“ How blessed we are to have the group of employees that work at the street department ,” said Hargis . “ We often do jobs that go unnoticed , but our residents know they are getting done . We appreciate the support we receive from our Mayor and his staff as they are making our jobs easier with the vision they have for our city .”

Thank You First Responders

32 Commonwealth Journal - Unsung Heroes - 2022