Rabbit Ears Pass Patrol Members Lead Craig Section 6 Maintenance Roadeo Results

May 29, 2013 - Northwestern Colorado/CDOT Region 3 - CRAIG, COLORADO – Members of Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) maintenance patrol 13 at Rabbit Ears Pass along U.S. 40 claimed five of 15 top-five place finishes in an annual training and education snow & ice equipment roadeo for CDOT maintenance professionals from Craig Maintenance Section 6, comprised of six northwestern Colorado counties, held May 22 at the Grand County Fairgrounds in Kremmling.

Patrol 13’s accomplishments included sweeping first through third places in the Tandem Drive Axle Snowplow Truck Category.  Patrol member Doug Brown of Steamboat Springs took home two top five finishes. Kenny Hamil, who works for Patrol 36 at Rifle, also took home two top-five finishes, including first in the Mid-Range/Single Drive Axle Snowplow Truck Category. Lynn Powell and Doug Doolin, both members of Patrol 08 at Hayden, claimed first and second place finishes in the Front-End Loader competition.

The roadeo, designed to help CDOT maintenance professionals hone all aspects of their winter maintenance knowledge and equipment operation skills, consists of a written examination covering state and federal rules and regulations; a pre-trip vehicle inspection test; and equipment operation skills tests in demanding obstacle courses. The top five place finishers in each category were:

Front-End Loader Category

Place Finish/Contestant

Town of Residence

Patrol/Workgroup Affiliation

1.  Lynn Powell

Hayden

Patrol 08 at Hayden

2.  Doug Doolin

Hayden

Patrol 08 at Hayden

3.  George O’Neil

Winter Park

Patrol 39 at Berthoud Pass

4.  Shannon Merriam

Meeker

Patrol 33 at Meeker

5.  Jason Johnson

Steamboat Springs

Patrol 13 at Rabbit Ears Pass

 

Mid-Range/Single Drive Axle Snowplow Truck Category

Place Finish/Contestant

Town of Residence

Patrol/Workgroup Affiliation

1.  Kenny Hamil

Rifle

Patrol 36 at Rifle

2.  Peter Miles

Maybell

Patrol 03 at Maybell

3.  Elefar Garcia

Craig

Section 6 Special Crews

4.  tie, Shannon Merriam

Meeker

Patrol 33 at Meeker

4.  tie, Doug Brown

Steamboat Springs

Patrol 13 at Rabbit Ears Pass

5.  Russ Patterson

Hot Sulphur Springs

Patrol 21 at Hot Sulphur Springs

 

Tandem Drive Axle Snowplow Truck Category

Place Finish/Contestant

Town of Residence

Patrol/Workgroup Affiliation

1.  Ruben Ramos

Steamboat Springs

Patrol 13 at Rabbit Ears Pass

2.  Doug Brown

Steamboat Springs

Patrol 13 at Rabbit Ears Pass

3.  Steve Auter

Steamboat Springs

Patrol 13 at Rabbit Ears Pass

4.  Cody Miller

Dinosaur

Patrol 4 at Dinosaur/Skull Creek

5.  Kenny Hamil

Rifle

Patrol 36 at Rifle.

 

“CDOT began using the equipment roadeo concept in the 1980s to help our employees improve their knowledge base and equipment operation skills,” explained Les Anderson, CDOT Maintenance Superintendent for northwestern Colorado.  “Although it’s a difficult event for our employees because of the advance study required and the demanding nature of the pre-trip and equipment operations tests, we’re firm believers that we’re safer and more efficient in our winter maintenance operations as a result.”

The knowledge and skills required for the equipment roadeo help CDOT maintenance workers better and more safely serve the traveling public along the 9,100 miles of Colorado state and federal highways they maintain.