Ariel Tilson/Kansan
Mike LeBonte is working on one of the many fix-it and repair tasks that make up his day as the Physical Plant Supervisor for Facilities and Operations Plumbing Shop. LeBonte is using a clamp located in his shop space behind the Facilities and Operations building on campus, where he has worked since 1997.
be 10 minutes to drop off a paper, I try to get them in the loading zones that are closer than the regular student parking spots," Brown says.
With about 500 commercial vehicles stopping by her booth a day, Brown enjoys the variety of the job. "I love that I get to meet people and I'm out in the open instead of cooped up in an office without windows all day," she says.
Amanda Wolfe
A DIRTY JOB
Opening the door for class, you step into something wet and slimy. It's all over
the floor. You look to see sewage seeping from the bathroom door. A student trying to grab a drink from the water fountain gets brown backwash. Campus is a sewage wasteland.
It's a good thing plumbing superheroes Mike LaBonte
and his staff at the plumbing shop in Facilities Operations are around.
"Occasionally we do work with people who do thank us, and that makes you feel good."
LaBonte is a physical plant supervisor, or as he puts it, a plumber. He takes care of all campus plumbing needs, except for housing, including some of the University of Kansas' rural properties.
Besides fixing backed-up toilets, LaBonte and his staff prepare facilities
Mike LaBonte, plumber
That's no small task.
his office to a stack of work requests. Each day is different, and he likes it that way. The day could be filled with leaky faucets, or flooding sub-basements. Tougher jobs get higher priority. "We just put out the hardest fires," LaBonte says.
Every morning, LaBonte walks into
LaBonte is subject to call 24 hours a day and takes his turn on holiday standby. Still, he never seems tired of his job. LaBonte says the opportunity to learn something new, the challenges and the freedom to make choices are what keep him going.
for football and basketball games, keep the fountains running, service fire-safety systems and protect the University's drinking water supply. A big part of his job is to check and re-check equipment such as back-flow preventers, which
prevent anything bad, such as sewage from getting back into the water distribution.
Doing the dirty work isn't easy, but LaBonte says he feels appreciated. "Occasionally we do work with people who do thank us, and that makes you feel good," he says.
—Tabatha Beerbower
ALL WEEK
ALL WEEK Homecoming Information Table @ Wescoe Beach Homecoming T-Shirt Sales
saturday, OCTOBER 11 Spirit Sprint 5K Run/Walk @ Burge Union, 9 a.m.
sunday, OCTOBER 12
KU Make A Difference Day
Daisy Days @ Daisy Hill, 1-4 p.m.
monday,OCTOBER 13 Good Luck Banner Signing
tuesday, OCTOBER 14 Chalk n' Rock Sidewalk Chalk @ Wescoe Beach
wednesday, OCTOBER 15 United Way Challenge for Change Begins Jayhawk 'Can'struction @ Wescoe Beach
thursday, OCTOBER 16
Field Day Events @ Strong Hall Lawn
Dec the Halls
Homecoming Pep Rally @ Memorial Stadium, 7-9 p.m.
friday, OCTOBER 17 Spirit Sing @ Late Night K.I.S.S. @ Late Night
saturday, OCTOBER 18 Homecoming Parade on Jayhawk Blvd., 10 a.m. KU vs. Baylor Football Game, 1 p.m.
www.homecoming.ku.edu
thursday, october 9, 2003
jayplay.19