MENTONE - Being the only full-time employees for the town of Mentone's water, wastewater and street departments, Utilities Superintendent Darrel Miller and Eric Carlin have a varied list of jobs every day.
But they wouldn't have it any other way.
The "diversity" of his job is the best part about it, said Carlin, certified operator in water and wastewater.
"I would agree with that. The responsibilities, too," said Miller.
"The relationships with people in the community," added Carlin.Of course, with the laundry list of jobs they have to do, the two men rely on time management to get it all done.
"There's not enough hours in the day actually," said Miller. "Done is never being done."
Carlin said a typical work day for them begins with checking the pumps and lift stations. They then check with Mentone Clerk-Treasurer Barb Ross to see if she has any jobs she needs them to do.
"There's not too many days we don't have something from Barb for requests from people," said Miller.
For about an hour every Thursday, Miller and Carlin do lab work. To get ahead, they may prepare some of the work for Thursday on Wednesday.
Around the 15th of every month, Carlin said they read water meters.
In the spring, there's street sweeping; picking up leaves in the fall; and snowplowing in the winter. During the summer, they have lots of mowing to do, but do have some part-time help for that.
They are responsible for maintaining and repairing water lines and they also get called out for problems with septic tanks. Once a week, Carlin said, they pick yard waste up. The duo also do extra work to help prepare the town for its annual Mentone Egg Festival.
For many weeks out of the year, Carlin said they put in more than 40 hours. However, some days they do get to get off work an hour or so early.
"It's just so diversified, it's difficult to sit down and think of all that we (have to do)," said Miller.
Both also are required to keep up their certifications for water and wastewater. They attend two seminars a year to keep current.
Outside of work, the two also keep up with very busy lives.
Miller, 52, was born in Rochester and briefly lived in Plymouth, but otherwise has been a Mentone resident all his life. He and his wife, Pam, have two sons. Kevin is 28, and Brad is 26.
In his 17th year with the town, Miller started working for the town on Nov. 1, 1990. He became the utilities superintendent in November 2006 after Brian Reed left for the private sector.
Before working for Mentone, Miller owned Miller's Hardware and then Mentone Lumber Company. He said he moved from the private to public sector because there's "less stress, but not a whole lot."
Miller does like computers and to play golf in what free time he does have.
"I lived here my whole life," said Carlin, 25.
Carlin and his wife, Billie Jo, have a daughter, Bellami.
A 2000 Tippecanoe Valley High School graduate, Carlin graduated from Ivy Tech in 2005 with a degree in computer information systems.
Having played football while at TVHS, Carlin was hired Monday by the Valley School Board to help coach Valley freshmen football. He also officiates basketball.
"I'm on the fire department," said Carlin. "I enjoy that a lot."
His schedule for this week, he said, allows him only about two hours of free time. Next week won't be as busy.
"They're both good guys," said Ross. "I really do think they are dedicated to trying to keep the order here and meeting people's needs. ... They're both good to work with, and Eric is good with computers and always very helpful to me with the computer."
