Getting ready

This weekend will be a busy one at SJC with a huge crowd expected for Little 500. But before we see the preparations there, here are a few updates on other things.

On Thursday the curved sections of the curbs on Grace Street were being poured.

On Friday the concrete trucks were back pouring sidewalks.

Concrete trucks were also busy at the O'Reilly site where more curbs were being poured. They outline the parking lot. In the back of the building the Rensselaer gas department was hooking up the gas line.

 The new convenience store for the Marathon by the railroad tracks will be a lot bigger than the tiny old building.

 On Thursday a couple of tents and a stage had been set up for the Little 500. The tents were staked down securely because they had not blown away by Friday.

 Alums with RVs and tents were starting to fill Alumni Village early on Friday afternoon. It will be interesting to see how full it gets.

 The track is ready to go. There seem to be more fencing this year. The Rensselaer street cleaner was going over the track to clean it.

On Thursday I asked one of the janitors how staffing was holding up. She said that a few people had found other positions and left, but a more serious problem was that people were taking their sick days and vacation days that they would lose if they were not taken. Some of the people who had worked there for many years had accrued many vacation and sick days, far more than those that can be cashed in at the end. Maintenance will have one big job after the Little 500--graduation. There are only two weeks of school left, and the last week is for final exams.

Some gallows humor on a faculty door tells why this will be a huge weekend for the campus.