Chippewa Valley Times

CITY UPDATES:

A Newsworthy Marriage Proposal

You may have seen the Eau Claire in the national news this past week. Chief Matt Rokus shared more information about how the story unfolded.

“This past summer, Troy Goldschmidt and Moriah Prichard visited Eau Claire for a weekend away. While here, Moriah unknowingly lost her cell phone. Officer Maggie Andersen located the phone and took the necessary steps to search for the owner. Officer Andersen successfully reunited Moriah with her phone. Fast forward a few months, Troy contacted the Police Department to express how pleased he and Moriah were with their experience in Eau Claire and the positive impression they had of Officer Andersen and the Eau Claire Police Department. Troy spoke with Public Information Officer Josh Miller and pitched an idea about his desire to have a marriage proposal in the city that he and his girlfriend were so fond of visiting. Troy said it was important to him that Officer Andersen be involved in some way. 

Public Information Officer Miller worked out the details with Troy to orchestrate a marriage proposal which will never be forgotten by those involved. The proposal was posted on social media and has since reached hundreds of thousands of viewers after being broadcast by media outlets nationwide to include CNN, Fox News, and even internationally with the BBC.

Community relationships are the foundation to successful police agencies. These relationships foster legitimacy and increase transparency with the public. The Eau Claire Police Department routinely seeks opportunities to interact with our community members in creative, enjoyable, and memorable ways. Some other examples include:

• We had a young boy, whose family sought shelter at the Bolton House, come to the department for a meet for greet with K9’s Manso and Murphy after he mentioned he wanted to be a police officer.
• During COVID, members of the ECPD delivered stuffed animals to children who were celebrating birthdays but were unable to have gatherings with family and friends.
• We provide tours of the department to groups as large as Leadership Eau Claire, or as small as a two-member Scout Troop.
• We read to children at youth events.
• We attend Trunk or Treat events across the city and go to schools to decorate cookies with children.
• We enjoy coffee with seniors at the LE Phillips Senior Center and visit memory care facilities and nursing homes.

Activities like these, and the many others unmentioned, are some of the best investments of time and money our agency can make. Whether it’s the delivery of a teddy bear to a child or help with a marriage proposal watched by hundreds of thousands that puts the City of Eau Claire on the world stage, it is our outreach that highlights one of our Department’s most cherished values; In Partnership with Our Community.”

Historical Pipes: Utilities Manager, Ben Spanel, shared these interesting pictures of old pipes. He also shared the stories that go with them and explained how these pipes relate to an important initiative that our Utilities Department works on and has almost completed. 

“In 2017, the City of Eau Claire started its Lead Service Replacement program. No amount of lead in drinking water is safe, therefore, the goal of the program is to remove all lead water services (the Utility Division’s term for types of pipes) from the distribution system. At the start of the program, there were over 1,200 private property lead services still in use. Today, there are approximately 450 lead services remaining and all leaded services are expected to be removed by 2027.

As part of the replacement program, residents are reimbursed for up to $3,000 towards the service replacement, which typically covers the entire cost. Contractors working with the City to replace lead services are able to work efficiently. Technology allows for a new service to be pulled into a home’s basement through the existing lead service. Minimal disturbance is made to the street, the property’s yard, and even the basement. 

Below are pictures of lead pipes that were taken out of the ground. Prior to the service replacement, the lead pipe was straight, but as the new service is pulled through the old service it causes the soft lead pipe to deform. The small piece of pipe on top is the original service, and the pipe below is what’s left over after the new service has been installed.

In addition to lead pipe, there is also lead-lined pipe. This is galvanized pipe that has a very thin lead liner inside of the pipe. Galvanized pipe easily corrodes overtime, but with the lead liner, corrosion is prevented. However, as discussed above, any amount of lead in drinking water is not safe, and therefore even the lead-lined services need to be removed. Below is a cross-section picture of galvanized pipe (left) vs. lead-lined galvanized pipe (right). The difference in the amount of corrosion and mineral build-up is incredible.

If you have questions or would like additional information, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Water Customer Service Supervisor, Seth Smiskey, who continues to successfully promote and guide our Lead Service Replacement program.”

Original source can be found here.