Photo: Sandisfield Times.

Our new road superintendent, Derek Boomsma, who began the job only about a month ago, reported at a Select Board working session before Thanksgiving that he's been driving our dirt roads picking out which are in the worse condition, which are the most travelled, which ones we need to start fixing now and which ones can wait till spring.

He said the Town's DPW would soon be paving a section of Silverbrook Road and that he wants to repave the Town Hall parking lot. He mentioned culverts on Beech Plain Road that need some help, and that he believes the DPW can fix them "by ourselves."

And of course he's well aware of Dodd Road. "The engineers are engaged," he said.

Town Manager Janey Snyder reported that the Town was awarded a Community One-Stop for Growth Grant for $164,000 for engineering for the reconstruction of Dodd. "We have already contracted with Tighe & Bond to engineer the road, but we don't anticipate that project being completed for at least a year. Once the engineering is complete, we will apply for another grant for the actual road construction."

Boomsma received two accolades from Select Board members. John Field said that his experience on the season's first black ice was that Sandisfield was well ahead of all our neighboring towns. "Your crew was out early, and got ahead of it. I appreciated that driving to work."

Chairman Steve Sedden added that in his opinion more had been done in the DPW in the last month than in the six previous months.

Derek seemed to be off to a good start.