Letter: Three cheers for Chandler at water department

I am 73 years old and have been through a few things in my life. The last two months stand alone, however. And although there are many, many heroes deserving of recognition and acclaim during these weeks, none stand out quite like Clay Chandler and his people at the Water Resources Department. So, to wit:

Chandler’s handling of this crisis has been magnificent throughout. Those sound like words more suited to an ad for the Ice Capades than a civil servant, but I mean every word.

Clay has been so good at his job that it’s difficult to convey such competence to friends. He has delivered on everything he promised. He never pulled his punches as he described our situation. There were hard truths, and he shared them with us. I expect that he has rewritten the book on how civil authorities should handle disaster information release. He told us that it was going to be a long, hard road to recovery. They were working as hard as they could, but there were no guarantees. He made none.

As nothing has ever happened quite like this anywhere, he was in uncharted territory from the get-go. Promises were a fool’s game, and he knew it. He told us each step of the way how and where the restoration of water services was taking place. He told us what the problems they faced were as they arose. He told us what the new innovations were that they were having to try while telling us not only when they worked, but when they didn’t. With a voice that sounded like a dead-on imitation of Al Gore (sorry, Clay, I hope that’s a compliment), Clay brought us through the worst of it to safety. It was a world-class performance by any standard.

Question: How can this city show its appreciation for such a man? I’m not given to hero worship, but Chandler and his people have earned the gratitude and respect of this city a thousand times over. It seems that there ought to be some way to thank him and them appropriately. It would be a crime to not let them enjoy a moment of joy and praise for their incredible work.

— Jim Lynch
Asheville