Citizens of the Week: Dalton Utilities crew members

Published 5:56 pm Friday, January 5, 2018

For much of the past week, temperatures have rarely gotten above freezing. Indeed, there have been days when temperatures barely inched above the teens.

And most of us have spent as little time outside as we can. But there are those whose jobs keep them outside in the bitter cold when the rest of us just want to stay warm.

Dalton Utilities crew members brave inclement weather to make sure that our water is running, our lights are on and our homes are warm.

Since New Year’s Day, the utility reports its water crews “have responded to over 40 water main leaks.” Some of those calls lasted through the night and had the crews working waist-deep in icy water.

They’ve also turned off the water at the meter numerous times so a customer could repair a leak caused by a frozen pipe.

Those crews include Adam Bell, Jeff Cowles, Brady Foster, Tyler Hale, Ken Helton, Brandon Jones, Gage Letner, Dwayne Muse, Tim Richards and Chase Worley.

Power outages can also leave people cold and uncomfortable. And electricity crew members have been working to keep the power up and running. They include Craig Bagby, Jason Cox, Bobby Defore, Brandon Harrison, Josh McCurdy, Stacy Pritchett and Donnie Silvers.

And there have also been utility service crew and OptiLink crew members out working in the cold, including Jeff Biggerstaff, Cory Cole, Richard Dodson, Scott Edwards, Shannon Hammontree, Darrel Hulett, Chris Jones, Scott Moses. Brian Nelson, Vernon Ray, Tyson Ridley and TJ Swinford.

For their dedication and professionalism during this challenging weather, we name these Dalton Utilities employees Citizens of the Week.