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Taking Care of Business

Can you name something Jones County is known for? If you said Masonite, you’re right! You know, that thin brown hardboard that has a thousand construction uses.

In the 1920s, William Mason, an associate of inventor, Thomas Edison, moved to Jones County and developed a process for steam pressing sawmill waste into sheets of building material. Today Masonite remains a strong economic force in Jones County.

Jones County is also known for taking care of business. And that includes partnering with Mississippi One-Call to prevent damages, maintain a safe work environment for employees, and help prevent interruptions of services to the citizens of the community.

Jones County Beat One, under the leadership of Supervisor Johnny Burnett, had just one utility damage in four years of roadwork, right-of-way and drainage maintenance, new roads, and culvert installations. If you are familiar with the amount of excavation work county road crews routinely perform, you can begin to understand what a milestone Beat One has achieved.

“Mississippi One-Call is one of the best assets we have for the safety of our community and the safety of our crews,” said Burnett. From the top down, Beat One is committed to safety.

Ed Harper, Road Foreman, is quick to point out Beat One’s safety record. “Most all of our work takes place in the public roadways and right-of-ways. We’ve not had a serious accident or injury in four years.”

So what’s the story on the one utility damage?

“We called for a locate request and all the lines were located, but there happened to be an abandoned phone cable at the work site. The abandoned line was marked, the good one wasn’t. We exposed the abandoned line and then cut the good one.” Harper tells the story without pointing fingers or placing blame, but his eyes tell you, “we did everything by the book.”

It’s not about blame, it’s a matter of pride and there is a great deal of it that radiates from the employees of Beat One. It is obvious by their safety record, their concern for the citizens of the community and their equipment, which is in top shape and impeccably clean.

Utility damages are not a part of their routine and they go to great lengths to prevent them.

Yes, in some ways, being cautious and verifying the location of underground lines does slow you down, related Burnett. “But we have a lot of older citizens in our area and they depend on their services. Boil water orders are especially difficult for them and their phone is their lifeline.”

Burnett pointed out that all the water associations in his beat are members of One-Call. There is a reason for that. “One-Call helps all of us. We can avoid delays from damaging their water lines and they don’t have to waste time and money on repairs. We’re happy, they’re happy and their customers are happy.”

Why do they do it?

There is one thing that makes Burnett’s job easier. “We have professionals working here and they know what they need to do and they take care of business.” Sometimes it is above and beyond. Donna Nail, Purchasing Clerk, also answers the phone and handles calls from people in the community who have a problem beyond Beat One’s duties. “Sometimes they just need someone to talk to,” Nail said. “And I try to take a little time to help them out. I love working with the folks in the community. It’s very fulfilling.”

Dub, Johnny, and Cappy Wade are part of Harper’s road crew. They are brothers with nearly 70 years combined experience at Beat One. They are as meticulous about avoiding utility damages as they are with their equipment. The trucks, tractors, and backhoes they use were purchased nearly four years ago, but they look like they were bought yesterday. “When you have folks like this working with you, you can’t lose.” Burnett said proudly.