Campus community pitches in to clean up

(11-05-2007)

Although it has been four months since a wind storm blew through the community in June, the Adams State College administration continues to appreciate the campus-wide effort to clean-up the campus.

Dr. Frank Novotny, associate provost, initiated a campus wide effort to spend the day after the wind storm to picking up branches and trash that littered the entire campus.

"I am proud of our campus," Novotny said. "I asked faculty and staff to dress appropriately and help clean up. The response was overwhelming."

Gary Jones, director of Facilities Services and procurement, said the campus had less the $5000 worth of damage. "We lost five trees and there were branches all over the place," he said. "The only structural damage was to the School of Business Building."

The first week of June the wind gusted up to 70 miles per hour. "Dr. Svaldi (Adams State president) suggested everyone go home and stay off the campus," Jones said. "Along the main sidewalk the large trees were blowing so hard you could see the roots under the ground trying to come up."

After the storm, it was time to put the campus grounds back in order. "Everyone pulled together when we needed to," Jones said. "It is one of the reasons I love to work at Adams State."

Sam Ryker, Labor, Trades and Crafts Operations I, said many people piled up the branches and the facilities staff picked up the piles. "We had two full loads in the big dump truck and three pick-up loads," Ryker said.

He said the cooperation between all the employees saved the facilities staff weeks of work. "With four grounds crew staff, it would have taken weeks to clean up the campus," Ryker said. "Some staff and faculty worked all day. It was a huge help. It would have set us back for the rest of the summer. I don't know how to quantify the effect."

By Linda Relyea