By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
“His knowledge is hard to replace,” Decatur Mayor Dan Rickord said at a recent city council meeting as he announced the pending retirement of a longtime and valuable employee.,
Verlin Butcher (photo) will step down November 30 after 39 years with the the city’s wastewater department.
“He’s just been a wonderful employee for that department,” Rickord noted.
In his retirement letter, Butcher offered the usual thanks and appreciation, and he also remarked, the mayor said, “how he really appreciated the time he spent with Mayor (Fred) Isch and thanked him.”
Hired in November of 1984 as a wastewater plant operator during the Isch Administration, Butcher was appointed Assistant Wastewater Superintendent in January of 1989, a position he still holds.
When the state mandated the separation of sanitary and storm water sewers, Butcher worked with outdated and poor condition maps to locate storm sewer cross connections with the sanitary sewer.
He dye-tested and looked in every storm and sanitary manhole in Decatur and all the data he collected was committed to his amazing memory. Engineering firms relied heavily on Butcher to commit his memory to paper.
Retirement will allow this prolific gardener more time to can and preserve his produce.
Verlin and his wife, Anne, city residents, will also have more time to spend with their 2 daughters, 3 grandchildren, 2 stepdaughters and 1 stepson, and 10 step-grandchildren and 3 step-greatgrandchildren.
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