Fargo Fire Captain Ben Willey has been named Fire Instructor of the Year by the North Dakota Firefighters Association. Captain Willey has been with the Fire Department for 16 years.
This was the first year the Gladys Ray Shelter and Veteran’s Drop-In Center participated in Giving Hearts Day on February 14. Their mission is to provide a safe, comfortable shelter to people who cannot access other shelter options in the community, and to connect people to housing and services in a welcoming and non-judgmental environment.
The Fargo Cass Public Health Environmental Health Division will host a seminar on February 28 for aquatic facility operators. This seminar is voluntary, free of charge and open to all aquatic operators in North Dakota. Attendees will learn about requirements for water quality, facility operations and safety. The seminar will also include a roundtable discussion with local pool consultants. Contact Fargo Cass Public Health for questions or additional information.
Library:
The Library has several interesting programs coming up in the next couple of weeks, including: Crafternoons for Kids; the French film series continues with the films “My Life as a Zucchini” on February 26 and “Jaguar” on February 28; the History Book Club will meet February 26 to discuss Michael McFaul’s book “From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia;” and Seusstastic Day is March 2, which celebrates Dr. Seuss’ birthday as part of Read Across America Day.
March is Youth Art Month and to celebrate, the Library is holding its 10th annual Design-A-Bookmark Contest, which is open to all ages.
Police:
Renovation work on the south half of the new Police Department building has started. Some of projects include moving the gym to the second level and the existing gym area will be used to expand locker rooms. The building also needs recabling with CAT 6A cable but there is a nationwide shortage of that cable and there is a waiting list. Once the cabling is complete, the Investigations Division can move into the second floor as work continues on the first floor.
Law enforcement is not an easy occupation. Two recent trainees felt that the stress and pace of the work were too much and have reconsidered their choice of law enforcement as a profession. That is a loss for the Police Department in the short term, but better for everyone involved in the longer term. Administration is working on a compensation and benefit study in order to make Fargo more competitive in a very competitive market.
Public Works and Streets:
This winter’s snowfall has tested everyone in the City, especially the City’s Public Works and Street departments. Here are some interesting statistics from Public Works Director of Operations Ben Dow: since January 1st the Street Department has used 53,484 gallons of fuel performing snow removal, Street Department staff have worked 5,073 hours of overtime, there have been 10,331 truckloads of snow hauled, the cost of snow equipment repairs to-date is $179,109 and $263,728 has been spent on contractor trucks to haul snow. Ben also said the City as a whole uses up to 4,200 gallons of diesel in a 24-hour period during a snow event.