Who will stop the snow?
Nobody can do that, but the maintenance department makes sure to get rid of it after storms hit campus.
When snow falls in the NEK some people stay inside, some run to Burke, but some are still going to the college to work. On March 7 the maintenance department was called in at four in the morning, to address the massive amount of snow.
When a storm hits every member of maintenance has a job. When this massive storm hit there were 3 members of the staff that called in because they were snowed in, two were late and one person is off on Mondays.
Art Peake, a 39-year veteran of the college, is the man that knows all about snow. He is one of the three plow drivers that the college has. During the storm the drivers worked for 23.5 hours trying to keep up with the storm and keep the roads clear for the college drivers.
“At 6 a.m. you could traverse around here but the roads were worse once you got off campus,” said Thomas R. Archer, Director of Physical Plant.
Shoveling around the academic buildings and around the residence halls is just another thing that the custodial staff does. Last year there was a work-study position to help with snow removal with shoveling, but this year that money is being spent for summer work-study so that they can assist with mowing, painting and other work.
SUMMER PROJECTS
With the way that the college runs, there are many different projects that get done every year during the summer months when there are no students on campus.
One of the big projects that is getting done this summer is the Stonehenge parking lot. Now where are we getting the money? Its borrowed money.
“In this case the Vermont State Colleges sold bonds,” said Wayne Hamilton, Dean of Administration.
Another part of that money will go to a new elevator that is being put in the activity’s building next to the News7 wing.
A variety of projects are going on this summer. Keep with The Critic throughout the rest of the semester to find out exactly what projects are going on.