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D1's Carrico, D2's Moore and Traffic Services
earn Maintenance, Safety accolades

On Thursday (Nov. 16), the Idaho Transportation Board handed awards to District 1 and District 2 during its monthly meeting, identifying outstanding employees for their work in operations and safety.

ITD recognized transportation technician Tyler Carrico from District 1's Osburn Maintenance shed (pictured below right, between Blake Rinlisbacher and Jerry Wilson with traveling plaque) and Traffic Services from District 2 (pictured above) as the Co-Maintenance Person/Crew of the Year. Traffic signal electrician Dale Moore earned accolades for District 2 as the Safety Person of the Year. Moore is pictured below, left, between Rindlisbacher and Doral Hoff holding traveling plaque.

Members of the Traffic Services crew from District 2, pictured above: Blake Rindlisbacher, the Division of Engineering Services Administrator and emcee for the awards, Allen Amundson, Kevin Allen, Kyle Way, Dan Potter, Terrence Holthaus, Jon Rice, Ron Moss, James Lockart, and Doral Hoff, D2 Engineer Manager
D2 Traffic Services/Maintenance Foreman Rod Parsells is not pictured.

Every year, ITD managers around the state reflect on the performance of their employees from the previous year and send in their nominations of deserving crews or individuals to be recognized.

“We nominated Tyler because of his leadership and willingness to take on a challenge,” said Damon Allen, the district engineer for District 1. “He stepped up as an acting maintenance foreman in the worst possible time and saved the day.”

Last winter, the maintenance foreman for Mullan retired, leaving the operations team without leadership. Carrico assumed the extra responsibility and still met his mobility goals for the season, relieving the burden on other maintenance foremen, Allen said.

“The department as a whole felt that they both should be recognized,” said Dave Kuisti, the district engineer for District 2 who encouraged the nominations of D2 Traffic Services and of Moore.

“Our Traffic Services team had a long, hard summer, but they stayed focused and put down more striping than any time in the past.”

Powell Maintenance foreman Rod Parsells said Traffic Services striped more than 5,000 lane miles in three districts, ranging as far south as New Meadows and all the way north to Canada.

“We stepped up to paint more districts. It was a big bite, but we were just trying to help our neighbors,” Parsells said. “But all I had to do was ask for help when we were in other districts, and I got it.”

Parsells oversees a crew of eight, and any one of them can stripe, sign and stencil. Because they cross-utilize their skills, the crew can work as a team and spend more time maintaining the roads. The crew also attends to its own striping truck, saving taxpayers thousands of dollars by handling the maintenance of this specialty equipment in-house, Parsells said.

“This last summer was 100% a team effort. Everybody had something to contribute,” Parsells said. “I couldn’t be prouder.”

Traffic Services relies not only on teamwork for its success, but also on decades of experience, which is something District 2 is not lacking in its traffic signal electrician Dale Moore, who has spent more than 30 years with ITD.

During his time with ITD, Moore has written several safety policies, including the first lockout/tagout policy for District 2.

“Safety is really a mindset,” Moore said. “It’s not always convenient, but it sure is nice to go home after work.”

As part of the Accident Reduction Committee, Moore studies accidents across the district and understands the importance of safety and preventive measures.

“Dale has been a strong proponent of safety all these years, and he shares that message,” Kuisti said. “Not only does he make ITD safer, but he also makes our customers safer.”

With winter approaching, ITD employees will continue to overachieve in their duties for the safety of the public.