fOCUS on FORT MORGAN
April 2022
THE CITY OF FORT MORGAN EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER
Wellness......pg. 4 Department Profile......pg. 6
Message from the Manager......pg. 3
Welcome New Employees...... pg. 9 Birthdays and Work Anniversaries...... pg. 11 Monthly Dates of Celebration......pg. 12 Upcoming Events......pg. 13
IN THIS
EDITION: 2
FOCUS on Fort Morgan Employee Newsletter - April 2022
Library Movie Night......pg. 14
Welcome! MESSAGE FROM THE MANAGER Our talented Network Administration team, also known simply as, “IT” are the unsung heroes of our technology infrastructure. It is easy to take our computer and phone systems for granted as we work each day to communicate inside and outside our organization; but without the dedicated support of our incredible Network Administration employees, many of us would be unable to accomplish our work effectively. The scope of their responsibilities extend far beyond setting up a computer or troubleshooting a phone system. They continually implement up-to-date network infrastructure; provide for procurement, development, upgrade, and support of business software; work hard to ensure security and integrity of our network and data; and also maintain programming for the City’s YouTube channel, including live coverage of our City Council meetings. Additionally, this is the department that also manages our very robust City mapping program through the Geographic Information System (GIS). While only a few might get the bulk of the benefit from this work, they rely heavily on this program daily to manage our many City service systems. As you can see, we all ‘win’ with access to current and functioning technology, which is the backbone of our ability to provide timely and effective services. Please join me in thanking our dedicated IT team for all they do day-in and day-out to keep us up and running. I encourage you to look at the ‘Department Profile’ section of this newsletter to read more indepth about their work, and to learn a bit more about our employees as individuals. Did you know that April is Stress Awareness Month and National Garden Month? Every month is a great time to focus on our health and wellbeing. Our jobs can be stressful, and like many of you, I appreciate the opportunity to decompress at the end of a long day (or week)! However you like to relax, I encourage you to take time for yourself. I personally will be excited to celebrate on April 7, which is both National Beer Day and National Burrito Day. Also, as we start into the spring and summer, we are excited to bring back our Thursday Night Live summer concert and festivals. Look for more information on that as we finalize these details. If you’ve been enjoying these newsletters, could you please drop me a line to let me know? It’s important to me that we are connected with our fellow City employees and that we are informed of initiatives, activities and events. I welcome your thoughts and would appreciate any ideas for improvement.
Steve Glammeyer Welcome to a new edition of the “Message from the Manager” and City Employee Newsletter. I hope you enjoyed last month’s edition and learned a lot about our Water Treatment Plant and Wastewater Treatment Plant. This month, we are profiling our Network Administration department. These guys work behind-the-scenes to ensure we are able to communicate with each other, the citizens and businesses of Fort Morgan. Please continue reading to learn more about the important work that goes into providing these services.
As always, thank you for all you do, and please enjoy this month’s edition of the newsletter.
Steve FOCUS on Fort Morgan Employee Newsletter - April 2022
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A calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that's very important for good health. --Dalai Lama
APRIL WELLNESS
NATIONAL CHILD ABUSE AWARENESS MONTH & NATIONAL MONTH OF HOPE! National Child Abuse Awareness Month allows for an opportunity to learn about the signs of child abuse and how to prevent it. National Child Abuse Prevention Month was first observed in 1983 by proclamation by President Ronald Reagan.
REMINDER: Wellness forms can be pulled from the employee portal! Go to "Resources" then "Wellness"
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HOW TO OBSERVE #ChildAbusePreventionMonth • Support child abuse prevention programs...Our local Family Center (Morgan County Family Center) typically runs programs, events, and activities specific to this cause • For more information on National Child Abuse Prevention Month visit www.childwelfare.gov. • Promote the prevention of child abuse by using #NationalChildAbusePreventionMonth on social media. National Month of Hope encourages everyone to spread hope to those around them. Bringing hope to someone can take many forms and even the smallest of gestures can make a difference. HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalMonthOfHope • Everyone needs a little hope now and then. Spread a little sunshine their way and bring some hope into their lives. • Volunteer by reading to children in schools. • Experience meaningful and healthy communication with loved ones, family, friends, co-workers, and colleagues. • Giving of time, food, and money to help families in need. • Minister to those incarcerated by writing letters and visiting. • Post on social media words of hope. • Sharing your story of overcoming with those who are going through hard times. • Lending a helping hand to those in need. • Cleaning up areas where there is trash such as parks and beaches. • Spend a day with the homeless whether on the streets in shelters, etc. “Unless you walk a mile in their shoes you won’t know how to help!” • Use #NationalHopeMonth to share your hope on social media.
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APRIL WELLNESS SLOW-COOKER CHICKEN POT PIE FUNNY EGG FISH INGREDIENTS: 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled 1 small red pepper 2 radishes, very thinly sliced 1 mini cucumber, very thinly sliced ¼ cup ( 60 mL ) low fat mayonnaise 2 black olives, pitted 1 cup ( 250 mL ) shredded lettuce
Directions: 1. To make fish, cut small slice off one long side of each egg so that it will sit flat. 2. Cut four 1-inch (2.5 cm) V shapes from red pepper to make tails. Cut radishes and cucumber slices into halves or quarters to resemble scales. 3. Using mayonnaise as glue, place cucumber and radish scales on each egg, covering back two-thirds and leaving space on narrow end for face. Cut tiny cubes from black olives to make eyes and place on the face. Cut slit into opposite end of each egg and insert red pepper tail. 4. Surround eggs with shredded lettuce to resemble seaweed.
INGREDIENTS: 2 c. carrots, peeled and chopped 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 1 bag frozen peas 1 bag frozen corn (or 1 can corn, drained) 2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts 3 (10-oz.) cans condensed cream of chicken soup 3 c. water kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp. garlic powder 1 tube refrigerated biscuit dough (such as Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk biscuits)
Directions: 1. Pour carrots, onion, peas and corn into the slow cooker. Chop chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and add to the slow cooker, along with soup and water. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and stir. 2. Cover with lid and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours (or on low for 6 to 8). 3. Once time is almost up, preheat oven to 350°. Turn off slow cooker and place all of the biscuit dough pieces side by side on top of the chicken mixture. Remove the ceramic, inner part of the slow cooker (the bowl) and place it in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the tops of the biscuits are golden. Ladle chicken pot pie into bowls and serve.
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DEPARTMENT PROFILE
Great things isarethedone seriesefforts of small thingsday brought Gogh Success sumbyof asmall repeated in andtogether. day out.--Vincent --Robert Van Collier
NETWORK ADMINISTRATION
our WORK The IT department oversees the installation and maintenance of computers, servers, network infrastructure, geographic information, security and software as a service (cloud) services within the City of Fort Morgan. Our department manages: • 176 Windows Workstations, Laptops and Tablets • 12 Windows Servers • 23 Linux Servers • 18 Chromebooks • 12 Linux Workstations We currently manage 341 Virtual, Digital, IP and analog phone extensions across a phone system with 120 physical phones. Our security camera system has grown from 2 cameras in 2011 to 103 cameras today.
Thank you to our talented Network Administration team for all they do to keep us connected!
our INSPIRATION It is our mission to give our co-workers the tools and information they need to better serve the residents of the City of Fort Morgan while seeking to maintain the highest levels of security and up-time for our co-workers. This difficult balance is a challenge that we look forward to meeting every day and is at the core of our department. We look forward to creating new projects that benefit our co-workers by streamlining their workflow and introducing new ideas that may simplify their day-to-day operations. We do our best to meet an ever-changing technology landscape with enthusiasm and an eye toward what may come next.
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DEPARTMENT PROFILE NETWORK ADMINISTRATION
NELSON MCCOY, DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Nelson started with the City in 2011. He is responsible for day to day network operations, database, security and server administration, and is the terrible camera operator at council meetings. Hobbies include restoring classic cars and building model kits.
CARLOS GARCIA, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL Carlos started with the City in 2000 as an Inventory Control Assistant, and moved to Information Technology Professional in 2010. He is responsible for proper functioning of computers, phones and related hardware. Hobbies include golfing and Broncos, Broncos, Broncos!
PAT FITTS, GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN Pat started with the City in 2017. He is responsible for Geographic Information Services (GIS) and related databases. Hobbies include rock climbing!
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DEPARTMENT PROFILE NETWORK ADMINISTRATION If you were to walk the entire perimeter of Fort Morgan, you would
Light tomorrow with today. --Elizabeth Barrett Browning
walk more than 30 miles Building footprints in Fort Morgan make up about half a square mile (0.4) of space - nearly
FUN FACTS! From April 2021 to March 2022 the City of Fort Morgan received 723,833 e-mails. Of those e-mails, 360,321 were flagged as spam and 5,246 were flagged as having a virus or malware attachment From April 2021 to March 2022 515 Work Orders were submitted by employees. Our average time during that period from work order submission to resolution was 6.8 minutes From March 2021 to March 2022, 20.62TB data was downloaded from the internet and 38.41TB of data was sent out to the internet. This data includes e-mail, web pages and web page requests, video, audio and other types of miscellaneous data. This amount of data would equal roughly 2,174,128,601 1.44MB floppy disks
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FOCUS on Fort Morgan Employee Newsletter - April 2022
200 football fields
CODY ROTH Cody began employment on February 7 as a General Maintenance Worker at the golf course. Prior to his job with the City, he took care of lawns for two summers, worked industrial construction in an HR role for 2 ½ years and worked at Leprino Foods for 24 ½ years. Cody was born and raised in Fort Morgan, and has been married for almost 27 years. He and his spouse have four daughters, and one granddaughter who will turn 1 year old in May. He enjoys spending time with family, watching them compete in sports/activities such as gymnastics, volleyball, softball and dance. He also enjoys gardening, spending time outdoors and sports. He has officiated high school baseball for 15 years.
MEET OUR NEW EMPLOYEES
WELCOME TO THE CITY! General Maintenance, Cemetery
General Maintenance, Golf Maintenance
STEVEN KAGE Steven started working for the City as a General Maintenance Worker at the Cemetery on February 7. He has been a resident of Fort Morgan for 40 years. Steven and his amazing wife have four wonderful boys. He really enjoys working with the guys at the Cemetery and he looks forward to coming to work every day. Steven was previously employed with the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department for four years. He enjoys hanging out with family and friends and going to movies. He enjoys outings with his family, but they also like spending time at home watching NFL and college football games together.
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MEGAN ANDREWS Megan started working for the City on February 11 as a Police Recruit with the Fort Morgan Police Department. She graduated from Prairie High School in May 2021, and is currently attending Morgan Community College to earn her Associate of General Studies Degree. Megan has been a cadet with the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office for 5 years, and has been the Cadet Sergeant for the past 2 years. She enjoys riding her horses and spending time with friends and family. In the future, she hopes to graduate from the POST academy and work for the Fort Morgan Police Department.
MEET OUR NEW EMPLOYEES
WELCOME TO THE CITY! Apprentice Lineman, Light & Power Department
Part-Time Police Recruit, Police Department
BRADY GROVES Brady has worked with electricity for about two years, prior to starting at the City on February 22 as an Apprentice Lineman in the Light and Power Department. He has two children: Nora is 2 ½ and Gordon is almost 2 months. He is a hard worker and happy to be a part of such a good team.
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FOCUS on Fort Morgan Employee Newsletter - April 2022
IN RECOGNITION BIRTHDAYS & WORK ANNIVERSARIES!
4/23 Ismael Mosqueda & Bianca Rico 4/24 Victor Perez-Vargas 4/26 Geoff McCord & Kevin Miller 4/27 Angie Hoke 4/29 Dusty Quick 4/30 Loren Sharp
4/1
Michael Gross
4/2
Basil Molina
4/3
Mike Bellendir
4/4
John Brennan, Brenda Guggenmos & Steve Samson
4/9
Skip Kaiser
4/14 Leo Liebanos 4/20 Mike Bennett
BIRTHDAYS WORK ANNIVERSARIES YEARS OF SERVICE 4/1
Justin Highberger, 3 years
4/17
Terry Heaton, 16 years Basil Molina, 44 years
4/2
Evan Albrandt, 4 years Stephen Vosburg, 21 years
4/19
Sandy Schneider-Engle, 1 year
4/4
Miguel Arroyo, 11 years Cal Bartels, 1 year Ismael Mosqueda, 1 year
4/21
Brad McCormick, 14 years Becky Thiel, 1 year
4/5
Tim Fricke, 1 year Dustin Heid, 1 year
4/22
Duane Bristol, 31 years
4/7
Skip Kaiser, 14 years
4/23
Geoff McCord, 1 year Michelle Miller, 4 years
4/27
Gary Bruntz, 4 years Rudy Graham, 7 years
4/10 Carlos Garcia, 22 years
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APRIL 3 - 9 IS NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK
The theme for National Library Week 2022 is, "Connect with Your Library," promoting the idea that libraries are places to get connected to tehcnology, media, programs, ideas, books, and classes.
APRIL IS STRESS AWARENESS MONTH & NATIONAL GARDEN MONTH
Stress Awareness Month has been recognized every April since 1992. Learning to cope with stress and finding healthy outlets is an important part of living a healthy and positive life. National Garden Month is a time to celebrate the importance of gardens in the history of human culture. Now is a great time to plant or research gardens and learn more about them.
APRIL 17 IS EASTER Easter is a popular holiday with roots in both Christian and pagan traditions. Spring marks the resurrection of plants and trees that have been dormant all winter, and birth of new life. After the 17th century, the development of Easter eggs and the Easter bunny became important aspects of the holiday as it was refocused toward being child-friendly. Easter today is both a religious holiday and commercial event.
Easter egg hunts in Northeast Colorado will be posted here as 2022 dates are finalized.
APRIL 1 IS APRIL FOOLS' DAY 12
APRIL 11 IS NATIONAL PET DAY
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APRIL 22 IS EARTH DAY
UPCOMING EVENTS
Senior Center
Library
Friday, April 1, 2022: Book Speed Dating @ 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.:
Senior Center Book Speed Dating April 1 @ 2:00 pm
In a reading rut? Looking to try a new genre or author? Judge a book by its cover, title, or text with this book speed dating event! Explore a variety of books, enjoy refreshments and snacks. Bring your library card or get a new one! Provide proof of ID and address. Presented by the Fort Morgan Library and Museum. Wednesday, April 13, 2022: Senior Night Out: Sam & Louie’s Italian Restaurant New York Pizzeria in Sterling, CO. Bring the crew or go solo and enjoy a night out of town with dinner and good company! $8 for transportation. Meal on own. Bus departs from Senior Center at 4 p.m. and should return around 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 15, 2022 @ 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.: Easter Egg Hunt and event Celebration. Hop into the fun and join in the Easter egg hunt! Seek as many as you can find! Games, baskets, prizes for everyone to enjoy. Refreshments and snacks will be provided. An eggstra-special event for the whole gang! Tuesday, April 26, 2022@ 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.: Colorado CrossDisabilities Coalition presentation and lunch. Helping people to get the
Family Movie Night April 7 @ 5:30 pm National Library Week: Make & take your own book bag April 9 @ 2:00 pm Brown Bag: Dave Lively April 12 @ 12:00 pm Teen Night Out April 15 @ 4:30 pm
services at the right time and right place. Learn and make sure you or a loved
Fieldhouse Storytime
one has equitable access to information with case management re-designed to
April 18 @ 10:30 am
make it easier to get support and services. RSVP requested. Lunch provided.
Earth Day Recycled Planters April 21 @ 5:00 pm
Fieldhouse Sela Moya has fitness classes for a $5.00 drop-in fee – Monday at 12:15 pm; Tuesday at 5:45 pm; & Friday at 12:15 pm Yoga with Maria Wednesday mornings at 10:30 am & Friday mornings at 9:30 am Swimming lesson registration & baseball registration are open now Youth soccer kicks off the week of March 29 & runs through May 7 FOCUS on Fort Morgan Employee Newsletter - April 2022
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FOCUS on Fort Morgan Employee Newsletter - April 2022
thank you! We hope you enjoyed this month's edition of Focus on Fort Morgan. Have an idea for the newsletter? We'd love to hear from you! Email wellness@cityoffortmorgan.com
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