‘Don’t count chickens before they hatch’
At a council meeting this summer, I committed to installing three fire hydrants by fall. It sounded easy enough at the time, but, only one new hydrant at the corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street has been installed.
The Marlinton Fire Department agreed that this alternate location would fulfill a dual purpose.
Just to confirm that whatever can go wrong will go wrong, before I could write this, I found out the hydrant was placed too close a STOP-sign and is five inches too short.
Failure should only motivate each of us to try harder. The best response to missing the mark is to decide to do better next time. Remember, what does happen is what we have to accept until we are able to make a change. This concludes Reason #1, why we should not “count chickens before they hatch.”
Before I came into office, Mayor Joe Smith told me about a drainage project on Third Avenue at Fifth Street. Pipe had already been purchased for the job. He had been waiting on confirmation from the Department of Highways District Office in Elkins. They must provide engineering for this type of project. On July 6, 2015, I met with two engineers to confirm and go over a remaining cost-share to complete the work. While they were in town, we went to Fourth Avenue to discuss paving from SR39 to the town garage. The meeting went well. The paving would have to wait until spring, but, we would be able to complete the drain work.
So, I shared plans with Pastor Richard Wanless, whose church would benefit from no standing water at its front door. By fall 2015, the Third Avenue drop-in drains would require two pre-cast inlets. The two percent drop from corner to corner required that the DOH do the labor. The town would have to pay for additional extra materials, plus concrete and grate. Also, the work would have to wait until summer 2016, resulting in Reason #2, why we should not “count chickens before they hatch.”
I have stayed in touch with engineers since that time. At the beginning of this summer, the Fourth Avenue paving was still a priority. I was excited about improving the looks of Fourth Avenue near the Depot, 4th Avenue Gallery and Mason Jar. Also, the potential opening of The McLaughlin House was shared with the DOH to further encourage completion of the paving. But, the June 23rd flood changed priorities. So this will be Reason #3, why we should not “count chickens before they hatch.”
To end on a positive note, both projects remain on a DOH District Office to-do list, and now we are 18 months closer to completion than before. I will continue to stay in contact with the assigned engineers and remind them of their previous commitments.
Also, I want to commend Jill Wong with Family Resource Network for her work along with Go-Marlinton in promoting and following through with The Shop Small-Business Saturday Program. Thanks to participating businesses. From my prospective it looked like the program was off to a good start and will only do better next year.
To celebrate our community and to promote the spirit of Christmas, the Town of Marlinton invites you to an Open House at the Municipal Building Friday, December 2, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
