Recap of 2017
January – Penrose received 3-4 inches of snow, upper ditch lining repair was in its final phase.
February – Weather was warm and dry. Brush Hollow telemetry
was installed for accurate measurement of water going into Brush Hollow. Annual
Shareholders meeting was successful with 65% of the shares represented either
in person or via proxy. Gary Ratkovich and Sonny Daniels were re-elected to the
Board of Directors. A list of shareholders to serve as interns to the Board of
Directors was compiled and those interested will be attending the monthly Board
Meetings for informational purposes should they choose at some point and time
to run for an open Board position in the future.
March – Ditch riders completed cleaning the open canals of
the system to ready for irrigations. Winter provided very little moisture.
Brush Hollow is currently at 84.60. Printed copies of the “Study of the Beaver
Park Project” are available in the office.
April – Assessments are due on the 1st. April
received almost 2 inches of rain/snow showers. Irrigation began on the 17th.
City line project completed installing 862 ft. of pipe on 6th
street.
May – Weather was a variety of weather patterns, snow, rain,
wind and heat. Penrose received over 2 inches of moisture during the month.
First irrigations are almost complete; some fields are newly planted as the
rain kept them out for most of the month. The office window is now posting
which ditch riders are covering the weekends and their contact numbers. We are
looking for a new ditch rider as Jeremy will be leaving us soon.
June – Very dry month. The highs were in the lower 90’s.
Brush Hollow remains high at 86 ft. Jeremy’s last day is the 23rd
and we are still looking to fill the position.
July – Tom Lilze went out due to a serious medical issue.
Connie and Larry have been holding the entire system together. Larry Degenhart
was hired temporarily to cover the West side deliveries due to Tom’s absence.
This provided Connie the ability to train our newly hired ditch rider Charlie
Avila. Penrose received 2-3 inches of rain on
the 13th of July, causing flooding throughout Penrose. Brush Hollow is currently at 91.70 ft.
providing no issues with distribution of irrigation water.
August – Tom was able to return to work on a part time
basis. By the end of the month he had worked up to taking calls on his phone.
Larry Degenhart ended his temporary status and returned to his retirement.
September – Irrigation water remains plentiful and most
shareholders have received three irrigations. Tom returns to a normal schedule.
Beaver Park Water was awarded $117,000 in Grant monies to replace the lining in
the upper canal. Steve Kastner our engineer wrote the grant application and was
successful in achieving the grant for us. Satellite monitoring system was not
working appropriately most of the month.
October – Weather was warm and mostly dry. Great weather for
many to cut and dry their hay. However by the end of the month it was very
windy causing leaves and debris to clog up screens and lines. Staff completed
line 9A project and repaired 6A on the West side.
November – Very little precipitation with .50 inch of rain
received for the month. Line 9A had to be redesigned due to leakage. Final
irrigations will end 11/29.
December – Primary focus has been mowing the upper ditch
area, cleaning fish trap and repairs to equipment. Penrose received little
moisture this month, .03 of an inch. Temperatures have ranged from day time
high of 67 to night time low of 1.9. Brush Hollow is currently reading 89 feet
which is high for this time of year. It has been a very taxing year for the
ditch riders with Tom’s absence, training a new ditch rider on lines they didn’t
know themselves, Covering Tom’s lines, keeping up with their own lines. Many,
Many thanks for their perseverance and long hours. With all the craziness we
endured in 2017, we are truly looking forward to 2018. Happy New Year!
