Three Utility Operators Provide SERVICE in Snowstorm

In late March, Minnesota was hit by one final round of precipitation in what was an oddly mild winter for the state. Amidst the Public Works Department’s battle against Mother Nature, an out of the ordinary early-morning phone call took three employees in another direction.

Someone’s ring had fallen into the storm sewer, and it was up to three Utility Operators to rescue the highly valued accessory before it was washed away for good. For their ability to respond quickly to a resident’s call during adverse conditions, Utility Operators Nate Behlen, Mark Jungwirth and Josh Wagner received the Values VIP Award for the month of April.

What started as just another leisurely Sunday night stroll quickly turned into a stressful situation for Edina resident Ellen Hirschey. Even though snow was falling with more forecasted to come later in the night, Hirschey ventured out into the elements to get an evening walk in, as she had done many times before.

At the time of her walk, Hirschey was bundled up with winter clothing and had thick gloves over her hands due to the bitter cold and blustery conditions as the snowstorm ramped up its intensity.

Hirschey was right down the street from her house when she paused for a moment to grab car keys out of her coat pocket. However, when she went to remove the glove, a loose-fitting ring was pulled off her finger along with it. Before Hirschey had a chance to process what happened, her ring had fallen onto the pavement, rolled down the street and slipped through a storm sewer grate, into the abyss.

Knowing that all hope was not yet lost, Hirschey acted quickly and called the Public Works & Park Maintenance Facility first thing in the morning (just one minute after the building opened for the day) to ask if there was any chance that her beloved ring could be saved. Unfortunately for Hirschey, the odds of an immediate response from the Utilities Division seemed unlikely at the time.

“I figured with plowing, we wouldn’t be able to get to it right away, so I asked her to give us until noon,” said Administrative Support Specialist Holly Conwell, who fielded the call and passed along the call for help.

Incredibly, after news spread that a ring was lost in the storm sewer, Behlen, Jungwirth and Wagner were mobilized quickly at the Public Works & Park Maintenance Facility and intended to help as soon as possible. Even though the primary focus at Public Works was combatting the snowstorm, helping a resident in need took precedence.

Jungwirth was the first of the three Utility Operators to arrive and quickly “secured the area” to begin their search. Within about 10 minutes of the three workers venturing down into the sewer system, the ring was located.

“These men were extremely professional, and for them to retrieve my ring was simply amazing,” said Hirschey, who received the returned ring at her front door. “Even though finding it wasn’t important to the rest of the city, it was important to me.”

In fact, the three Utility Operators found the ring so quickly they even did some additional cleanup while they were in the sewer lines.

“The amount of leaves they brought up from the sewer along with my ring was pretty amazing. It was truly like finding a needle in a haystack, and they found it more quickly than I expected,” said Hirschey.

With the ring now back in Hirschey’s possession, she called Public Works to let them know about the exciting news and to express her gratitude for the Operators and their willingness to put her needs over the rest of the Department’s work plans that morning.

“Ellen called back an hour later at 8:05 with a million thank you’s, saying the three Operators had saved the ring and was very grateful that they had made it a priority,” Conwell said.

“This is just another example of the Utilities Division’s service to Edina residents on what was a very challenging day,” said Brian Olson, Director of Public Works.

Olson presented the three workers with the award at the Public Works monthly muster on April 25.