January’s one-two punch of bitterly cold temperatures and a blast of snow affected nearly all Gastonia residents and most City services. 
As a result, many City employees had to work longer shifts, endure frigid weather and deal with unhappy customers whose City services were interrupted or delayed.
It's not possible to list all of the departments that stepped up and stood out. But here are a few examples:
- City/TRU water line crews who fixed nearly two dozen ruptured water mains, with repairs often taking 12 hours and into the wee hours of the morning when temps were in the single digits.
- City/TRU water treatment plant employees and lab workers who prevailed over frozen valves and frozen intake lines. Emergency repairs and innovative bypasses allowed water to keep flowing from municipal storage tanks and enabled the City to keep treating water and wastewater.
- Public Works crews who worked around-the-clock before, during and after the snow fell on Jan. 17 loading up trucks, applying brine and slag to streets, plowing main thoroughfares and treating trouble spots.
- Maintenance and Landscaping employees from Utilities and from Parks and Recreation who teamed up, working during cold nights and early mornings at more than 20 City-owned buildings and some County-owned facilities, the airport and on four downtown streets to remove snow and apply salt to parking lots, sidewalks and building entrances for the safety of employees and residents.
- Firefighters and Fire Department support personnel who handled an increased call volume for all the fire stations due to the extreme cold and adverse weather.
- Gastonia Police who responded to 48 traffic accidents on Jan. 17, a much higher number than the average day, and patrolled slippery streets for several days and nights.
- Electric employees who jumped into action to restore power to customers when snow-covered tree limbs took down electric lines.
- TRU employees at water and wastewater treatment plants, which are staffed 24/7.
- Solid Waste employees who worked in the cold during January collecting trash and vacuuming leaves.
- Customer service employees from many departments who answered phone calls and emails from residents about delayed garbage and recycling pickup, explained why community centers and parks were closed and recreation events were canceled due to snow, provided information about suspended City transit service, and who handled general account inquiries and requests for new utility service.
- City mechanics who kept vehicles and equipment operating for all departments in the frigid temperatures and during the snowy days and nights.
- Meter readers who made sure electric meters were read as scheduled and completed orders for new utility service, regardless of the weather.
- City Customer service representatives who are handling an increase in customers who are concerned about paying higher heat bills.
- Maintenance employees who swept, vacuumed and mopped the muddy, salty and slushy remnants of the wintry weather from the floors of City buildings.
Because many of these employees don’t work at computers, we encourage all supervisors to personally pass along this message of praise and thanks.
In an unusual step, the City closed offices early on Jan. 17 and reopened mid-morning on Jan. 18. Essential and emergency personnel still had to report to work, while some City employees booted up computers and worked from home.
Working for government means serving the public, even when the weather makes it complicated or uncomfortable. City employees know it’s all part of our jobs. But we thank every tireless (and we hope thawed-out) City employee who showed that Gastonia lives up to our slogan: Great Place. Great People. Great Promise!
