City workers have late-night blast

If you think Powell's downtown sidewalks have looked a bit spiffier in recent days, there's a reason for that; city of Powell workers have been up late blasting dirt and other gunk out of the cracks.

For the better part of two weeks -- while most sane people slept -- city crews worked from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. to get the downtown walkways looking spic and span. The annual washing finished up June 18, said public-services manager Gary Butts.

The late hours were chosen because there's a lot fewer folks out and about Bent Street at 3 a.m. Butts noted that blasting a bunch of people and cars with sidewalk sediment wasn't really an option. This late-night photographer tried to keep a safe distance, but still got his shoes and jeans coated with blasted sand.
When I took this 1 a.m. snapshot of equipment operator Fred Marshall on June 11, he was busy wielding the 3,000-psi pressure washer, busting his buns to get the job done.

"Sorry," apologized Marshall, "But I can't stop to talk."