Bruce Spires

About Bruce:

He and his wife, Carol, live in Merrillville and have two children: Ben and Caitlyn.

Employed by Town of Merrillville for 21 years.

Member of Dyer United Methodist Church.

Enjoys spending time with his family and watching college basketball.

Accomplishments: Bruce Spires is director of public works for the Town of Merrillville. He is in charge of all maintenance for town streets, which includes pothole and curb repair, paving and small asphalt work. He maintains street lights and storm drainage. He directs the fall leaf pick-up program and snow removal by the town's 18 trucks. Spires supervises a staff of 26, including part-time employees, and reports to the town manager on a regular basis. This year's unpredictable weather has kept the department busy. "Generally speaking, the weather has affected everything," he said, recalling an early snowfall before all the leaves were picked up, floods in January and now the above average snowfalls that are keeping crews busy snow plowing and repairing potholes. Spires has served the town as director of public works for eight years. "It's nice to work for a community that you're vested in because you live there," he said. "What I do impacts the community, myself and my family."

Spires is a member of the Indiana Street Commissioners Association.

Personal hero: "My dad, Jack Spires (deceased). I think a lot of things I do now I learned from him, how to handle people and situations. He was always good at that."

What I read: "The newspaper. That's what I read."

Advice: "Slow down when it's snowing."

Best thing about my job: "Knowing that what I do, what my department does on a daily basis, impacts people."

People might be surprised to know: "I like to cook."

- SUE BERO, Times Correspondent

To nominate a civil servant for this feature, e-mail slbero@hotmail.com