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Show Page A6 Thursday, July 2, 1987 Park Record Kim Leier City Hall's specialist in direction connection by TERI GOMES Record editor S he is, most likely, the first voice you hear when you call City Hall. Or the first smiling face you see when you enter the building. As information in-formation coordinator for Park City Ci-ty Municipal Corporation, Kim Leier says she often feels like an "Irish Setter pointing people in different dif-ferent directions." Kim, who recently had one of those birthdays divisible by 10, is a young woman who has seen, in just a few short years, a lot of the West that most people never see ... the oil fields. Before settling last year in her job for Park City, Kim followed the oil flow with a number of different major oil companies (Amoco, Exxon, Exx-on, Champlin) always in the capacity of safety supervisor. More often than not, she was the only woman on the job, miles away from any sort of town. She says she read a lot and did needlepoint. "When the oil company would assign me someplace they would call ahead and tell the guys to take down all the girlie posters. I never had any trouble with the crews; it was sort of like having fifteen brothers around after a while." There was time, she recalled with a smile, when there were other women on the job, in fact, five of them. "The drilling supervisor, the geologist, the engineer, the mud logger, and I were sitting out in a trailer one day when a salesman came along and asked if this was ladies visiting day at the site. Needless to say the guy didn't make a sale." Mostly, though, her days were filled with making sure the area was safe for the workers. "I was in charge of making certain cer-tain all the safety equipment and first-aid equipment was in order, and that safety standards were met on the job. It wasn't often but we had to be prepared to hit hydrogen sulfide, which is one of the most dangerous toxic gases to man." And what if an accident happened? happen-ed? "Mostly you're dealing with a lot of heavy equipment, so an accident was usually pretty serious, especially if you're 70 miles away from any kind of medical facility," she said. Kim won't talk about any of the accidents that happened except to say "at least nobody died." But Lifeflight or the equivilant thereof was no stranger to her. "And sometimes, when the ambulance am-bulance or chopper couldn't get to our rig road we put the injured person per-son in the back of a pick-up truck or inside a vehicle and took them to the emergency vehicle," she added. There was never any sense of permanancy attached to locations, Kim says, and often she had to look at the area code on the telephone to remember which state she was in. "A lot of North Dakota looks like a lot of Montana which looks like a lot of Wyoming," Kim said with a laugh. But Park City apparently looked different. "I was on a job outside Evanston and I heard about Park City from friends so I came down to check it out. I had two choices : I could live in Evanston, or Park City. Who wouldn't pick Park City? " Besides offering the mountains and old historic buildings, it offered something Kim found she was sorely sore-ly missing. "Park City has a wonderful small-town atmosphere. I grew up in a small town and after all those years on the road I wanted to feel at home some place again." The small town Kim grew up in was Esmond, N.D., which she says had a population of 350 "if you count dogs, cats and unborn children." She remembers, too, that winters were "very, very cold." She was the baby in a family with two brothers and three sisters, and by the time she was growing up her father had retired from his days as the owner of the local saloon. School was in one building for all 12 grades, and after graduation she headed out to college in the metropolis of Fargo, N.D. She also worked part-time in a hospital as an Emergency Medical Technican. She met a man who worked in the oil fields then, who suggested she use her medical skills in a more challenging way, and that was the start of wanderlust for her. But when the oil industry started to plummet Kim had just moved to Park City and knew, after five Si w ;(.; ' H' v ' v 11 'W-'-r- i hi i imi Kim Leier traded in the oil fields for Park City's mountain air and small-town warmth. Neal Palumbo years, a career change was in order. "The money had been good and traveling had been fun but it was time..." she says. At first Kim worked for a taxi company and was learning the town while she served as a dispatcher. dispat-cher. When she saw the ad for the information specialist she decided it would be fun. She says she hasn't been disappointed. "Sure, you get asked dumb questions ques-tions like 'where are the dog sled races and where do I rent a dog?' Or my favorite, which came in the fall from a lady who was concerned because the leaves were falling off the trees and it looked awful and she thought the city should do something about it." But mostly Kim directs people to where they pay their water bill and where the building department is, IPark City IPpoffSle and which floor the Mayor's office is on. When the police are short-handed short-handed she also doubles as a dispatcher. Ideally, Kim says she could stay in Park City "forever." The main reason is simple. "There is no pretense here. A real estate agent by day can be a bartender at night and nobody cares. It's a great place to live, with great people." But if someone just happened to drop an open ticket in her lap, would that old wanderlust return? Kim muses for a moment. t "Well, 1 have always wanted lb see the Far East..." TTT ixa j Ly . . "t j m m m V " S s . . " . ' ... A v& 1 V syyKAr i j yy "57s" "-s yy. The Club With A View It's summertime and what better way to enjoy our beautiful mountains than dining at the premiere Columbine Dinner Club, nestled at the base of the Park City Ski Area. Open daily from 6-10 p.m., featuring fresh seafood and steaks. 649-7062. For the benefit of members and their guests. THE COLUMBINE D I N N U B n t i i i i i i i i i V.V .... ... VV at t t f t t Sundance Summer Theatre PRESENTS Enjoy a scenic drive from Park City. Sundance offers musical entertainment in its 18th season under the stars. ANNIE plays nightly at 8:30, Monday through Saturday. Beginning Begin-ning July 11 and continuing through Labor Day weekend, Annie alternates nightly with the all-time favorite Seven Brides FOR SEVEN BROTHERS. (Annie plays even calendar days. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers plays odd calendar days.) RESTAURANTS Come early and enjoy dinner in the rustic but elegant Tree Room. Native American art is displayed with memorabilia from various Robert Redford films. Or for a lighter fare, try our other fine restaurant the Grill Room offering hamburgers to steaks. Dine outside with weather permitting. MOUNTAIN INNS If you would like to stay the night, spend the evening in one of our unique Mountain Inns scattered among the pine and aspen. For more information and reservations, call 2254107. |