Randy's Road

A lot of fine people have worked on that large piece of waterfront property that sits at the base of Ruston's hill. Many of them worked for Asarco, not only on the remediation and clean up of the former smelter, but thousands of men and women who made an honest, working wage when the plant was operating. I admit I'm prejudiced, having put in almost 17 years for the company. But as with any complex issue, it's unfair to paint all the complexities with one broad brush. I believe we do just that when we, as we are prone to do now, dismiss all the pre-Point Ruston days with a scowl, wagging our finger at those evil people who ravaged the earth and patting ourselves on the back that we've overcome such ugliness. But I'll save that sermon for another time.

Today I want to highlight a piece of our history that only the remediation team from the 1990's would recall. Randy Snyder was one of the engineers who worked on the clean up after the smelter closed. One of his final projects was the design and remediation of the new Ruston Way alignment through the former smelter property.

Randy left for a new job shortly after the new roadbed was installed. One of his parting gifts from the team was the road sign you see above; which reads "Randy's Road". Randy came back for the ribbon-cutting on the new Ruston Way in April and we snapped a few more pictures of Randy and his sign on the paved (but still unopened) road.

This town owes a debt of gratitude to Randy and the rest of the Asarco-led team that spent more than two decades working with EPA, designing and implementing a challenging clean up. And I believe we owe thanks to the hardworking men and women who dedicated their lives to producing the copper that built this town. Those are my thoughts. I welcome yours...
             
Karen