By Michael Glenn
Sometimes, you have to find the news that fills the paper every day.
This week, the news practically wrote itself.
I spent most of this week either at home or on the road. The seven inches of snow we received Monday and Tuesday caused my school to call off Tuesday and Wednesday, which meant a lot of time at home, not doing much.
I remember watching the cancellation list Monday night and calling Gina. “Gina, all my news is canceling this week,” I said, referring to some culture coverage that was called off due to the weather.
“Well, just write about what we have: the snow,” Gina said to me.
So we did. We did our best to get information out to the community for the beneift of you all, the readers. With the free trial of Alaskan weather we received this week, the City did things differently with dealing with the snow. Salt and other brines don’t work as effectively when the temperatures drop well, well below freezing like they did Tuesday and Wednesday.
Fortunately, we were able to do most of this work in warm, heated homes. However, not all workers got that luxury.
Our City’s Public Works Department worked around the clock for days before, during and after the winter weather to make sure we could get back to normal as soon as possible. It’s easy to be a keyboard warrior (for those of the Gen-X and Boomer generations, that is someone who complains on a computer, usually behind a blank profile) and complain about the roads or weather.
Working in the cold is not easy or fun. But our public works department did their best in made sure Hutch could be navigable as soon as possible, and they deserve all the credit for it. They’ve had my respect since I began reporting and actually found how much planning and resources are needed to take care of a city’s infrastructure.
Fast forward to Friday. Unfortunately, I had a funeral to attend in Kansas City this weekend, and am actually writing this column in the back of my family’s car somewhere between Johnson County and Emporia (remember, I am a teenager still in high school).
Funerals can be bittersweet in the sense of saying goodbye to a loved one but also seeing many family members you wouldn’t otherwise see.
I was dressing for the church service, a black suit and tie (my uniform for a funeral,) when I was told there was an explosion in Hutch.
“Of course,” I figured. “When I’m not available to write anything about it.”
I called Gina who said she could get something out on her lunch break, but our contractors and other staff members were busy doing something else.
Thankfully, no one was killed in the explosion. It took place on the Northeast corner of Ave. E and Main, near where Steffens’ Auto Parts is located.
I’ve learned that Hutchinson has had a history with gas explosions, as the 2001 explosions are a recurring discussion point in our American Government class.
The reason why this explosion didn’t turn into anything worse was because of public workers. The Hutchinson Fire Department, and other organizations, contained the fire and ordered evacuations for people in the general area.
Our public servants routinely put their lives on the line for our safety and benefit. The least we can do when we see one in public or even on social media is to say thank you. I challenge you, the readers, to do that when the opportunity presents itself.
Needless to say, Hutch has had a bit of a rough week with things we can’t control. However, when push comes to shove, public workers are there, keeping the infrastructure and safety of the city in check.
Thank you, public workers.
