We had more snow overnight, just as the locals predicted. It was enough to coat everything. The dogs both love new snow, love to role in it. This is about the third snow we've had in the last week, none of them major.
I don't think either one of us really mind the cold or the snow. The snow is a beautiful bonus, and the cold is not as bad as we expected. The rain is a different story.
I was in an EPA Grants Workshop on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning, with 10 other tribal staff members from around the island. This was very interesting, and helpful. Three of them used to work in the office I work in now, and one of them is now a Councilmember for the tribe.
What do I really do? I work in the Tribal Transportation Department, which is all of two of us right now. Since there is no road construction going on yet, it's pretty quiet. Once the City gets the sewer line replaced, we will start back up, having our contractors pave the last major section of road in the City. We have already paved most of the City. Next, we will be looking for more roads, even outside the City, to get details on and add to the list of future projects. My director is in the process of ordering one of the new GPS tablets, to replace the simply GPS unit we now have for field work.
These tablets are amazing. I heard about their use from archaeologists when I worked at the San Diego Archaeological Center. They present real-time satellite maps as you walk along, and allow you to fix points, add notes on the terrain, obstructions, etc.
So that is part of what I do, field data collection. The data has to be loaded into a computer, then added to the detail of the roads. We submit new projects, or 'road inventory,' data to the State once a year, then it's accepted by the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA), who then will provide us with grants to improve the roads.
As the roads are being improved, I take before and after pictures for our records, and the FHWA. I also maintain records on the status of all the projects, so we know at any moment in time if we are on track, time and money-wise.
Our new director also has me looking into other projects, such as a Cultural Heritage Tour program. This whole island is rich in cultural heritage, but severely lacking in any attractions or educational offering to visitors, and we both feel like there is great potential for such a program. It would not only celebrate the heritage, it would hopefully provide new jobs, for tour guides, Native artisans, etc.
Kathy is going to Sitka for two weeks, flying on Monday. The clinic there has suffered a loss of staff, and is getting behind in its services, so asked for volunteers from the other clinics to come and help them pare down their backlog. Kathy has been to Sitka once before, on a cruise with her Mom several years ago, but not since. This will be a nice change of pace for her. I'm trying to get her to fly to San Diego sometime in April, too: she needs a break, from the island, and her heavy client load, and, of course, to see Henry! Oh, and Kelli and Jared, too. :-)
Brady is scheduled to fly home from Halifax tomorrow. He's been there for 11 days, visiting three different offices of his company, updating computers. His weather has been very similar to ours, in temp and snowfall. Communicating has been tougher than usual: he's in the Atlantic Standard Timezone, which is an hour earlier than Eastern, while we are in the Alaska timezone, so we are five hours apart, crazy.
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