Sudbury DPW Director Receives Honor

(The following release was forwarded to Sudbury Patch.)

Bill Place, director of the Sudbury Public Works Department, was presented with the Sudbury 2013 River Steward Award on Monday, July 15th by Bonnie Glass of the League of Women Voters and Frank Lyons of the Hop Brook Protection Association.  

Bill was nominated for the award by the Hop Brook Protection Association because he goes above and beyond his job duties to support the river protection efforts of local organizations.  

In particular, he provides his professional expertise as well as the resources of the Public Works Department to support water chestnut control efforts along Hop Brook.  Bill has always been there behind the scenes over the last decade, helping to adjust water levels in the ponds, safely move the 5 ton harvester into and out of ponds, and transport the biomass removed from the ponds for composting, suggesting creative ways to make the harvesting more cost effective, and planning for the eventual dredging of the ponds should the Marlborough waste water plant ever be upgraded.

The River Steward Award Program is co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the SUASCO River Stewardship Council and has been recognizing river heroes in the SUASCO watershed since 2003.  The 2013 River Steward awardees for other watershed towns include the Lowell Leaders in Stewardship Class of 2013, Steve Tobin, Greg Peterson, Sally Swift and Christa Collins for their work to protect Pagey’s Preserve in Carlisle, and the Wayland Wellhead Protection Committee. Amber Carr was recognized for her outstanding leadership on invasive species management issues within the entire watershed, and Gordon Shaw of Concord received a Lifetime Achievement Award.