A Pulaski County commissioner wants the county’s highway department to do most of its work during daylight hours. Highway Superintendent Terry Ruff asked the commissioners Monday to approve his department’s seasonal switch to a work week of four 10-hour days.
But Commissioner Mike McClure took issue with the planned 6:00 a.m. start time. “I’d like to see you start to work at 7:00 or even 7:30, so you’re not having two hours of darkness in the morning,” he said. “That darkness – we get a lot of comments about either the grader going down the road when it’s dark and the flashing lights. I think you need to start a little later in the morning.”
Ruff had a few concerns with that idea, though. “The thing we’ll run into with that, then, Mike, is that just lengthens the day out that long,” he said. “I’m willing to work with you one way or the other on this. Well, you think by the middle of April, there’s going to be a lot more daylight by then, I guess, and then you’re talking the May and the June and then it’s light in the morning.”
“Not at six,” McClure responded.
If approved, the Pulaski County Highway Department’s four-day work week would be in effect from April 22 through early October. McClure stressed that he liked the idea of a four-day work week, in general. “Not to be negatory, but every morning before everybody gets started, there’s probably a half hour wasted,” he said. “So if you just work four days, you kill that one half hour on them Friday, not visiting, talking about the basketball games and everything.”
The commissioners agreed to hold off on making a decision, to give Ruff a chance to discuss the later start time with his employees.
