Duran has served two decades

Andy Duran has seen plenty of change in the nearly 22 years he has been working in the City of Sisters Public Works Department.

The biggest change came in 2008 when the city turned its garbage collection over to High Country Disposal in a franchise agreement. At the time, public-works employees spent at least a part of each day on garbage collection.

"I think the biggest effect it had for me was taking the other guys and cross-training them," Duran said.

The maintenance supervisor - the senior man on the public-works crew - is quick to note that the cross-training goes both ways. Workers go to classes to learn best practices and come back to share their knowledge with the crew.

"As they've gotten more proficient in their jobs, they've turned around and cross-trained me," Duran said. "Being the senior guy, I'm used to doing things a certain way ... and there's always a better, more efficient way to do things. So they're training me."

Duran worked for a time during the 1980s for the City of Adelanto in the high desert of Southern California, before moving on to work for a pipeline construction company. When the high desert construction boom started winding down, he drove truck. Then came a fateful vacation.

"I happened to be up here on vacation," Duran recalled. "I loved it up here in Oregon."

He sought and secured a seasonal position with the City of Bend, then was hired on to the Sisters crew in a full-time position in November 1991.

He loves the work.

"I don't think I would have ever wanted to do anything else," he said. "I enjoy serving the public. I guess I'd like to thank the public for letting me serve them the last 21 years, because it's been a great career for me. Especially doing it in a beautiful place like Central Oregon. I don't know if it gets any better than that."

Like others on the public works crew, Duran's favorite aspect of the job is its variety.

"One day I could be fixing the door at the Chamber facility or... the next day I could be fixing a leak. Later today I'll be mending a fence."

The variety can also be a challenge.

"Personally, my biggest challenge is having enough time in the day to accomplish the things that need to be done," Duran said. That's especially true when something unexpected crops up and it's all-hands-on-deck time.

"That can be frustrating," he acknowledged. "You have your day planned out and then it blows up."

Outside of work, Duran enjoys the Central Oregon lifestyle with his wife Denise.

"I love to ride my motorcycle," Duran said. "Everybody probably knows that - they see me all over Central Oregon on it. Of course, I try to fish. I mostly catch rocks."

Duran likes and respects the crew he serves with.

"It's a great bunch of guys and gals," he said. "They're dynamite. I think the city is lucky to have them aboard."

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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