Rolling with the snow patrol
Feb 4, 2019 -- Posted by :By Cole Short, Hillsboro Banner
Jon Hams’ right hand dances across the instrument panel of his Caterpillar payloader, flipping knobs and pressing buttons like a concert pianist.
Shortly after 7 a.m. Monday, it’s 5 below and the sun slumbers below the eastern skyline, blanketing downtown Hillsboro in darkness.
Still huddled in their homes, residents in Hillsboro aren’t ready to start their day.
But Hams has been hard at work for three hours, clearing city streets from inside his cab and filling a never-ending parade of passing trucks with snow.
The 55-year-old city maintenance worker doesn’t seem to mind that Mother Nature dumped 4 to 5 inches of fresh snow across town overnight.
In fact, Hams chuckles when he’s asked if any part of his morning routine is fun.
“Actually, I think all of it’s fun,” says Hams, who’s worked for the city since May 1982.
For more, see the Banner's online or print edition.