July 13, 2010 — When the city of Susanville Well #3, Cady Springs, stopped working, the Public Works Department wasted no time in getting the word out and asking all city residents to refrain from outside watering, which easily uses the most water.   

The proactive approach and quick thinking enabled the Susanville Fire Department to be ready with enough water in case a fire began over the Fourth of July weekend when temperatures began to soar, food was barbecued outside, campers sat around campfires and fireworks were lit. The main reason for banning outside water usage for four days a week was to maintain a base level of water for fire protection. Fortunately, no major fire broke out over the holiday weekend.

New parts were being manufactured especially for the aging well, and public works director Craig Platt estimated two full weeks to have the well fixed and ready to go.    

However, thanks to the dedication of the city staff and the manufacturing plant that tooled the parts, the two weeks turned out to be one week. The well went down June 27 and by July 3 the ban was lifted.    

The paper said it would tell you as soon as it knew something and we posted something on July 8 — much later than we would have liked to have told the reader but also much sooner than waiting for the weekly paper.   

The staff has a goal to keep providing you with detailed stories and accompanying photos in its weekly issue of the paper. The luxury of having a weekly paper is that we get the time to elaborate on the local news as much as we are able and tell you things spot radio news or a daily newspaper may not be able to know in the first moments of a breaking news story.   

However, we also agree that expediency is also important and the reader wants to know what is happening now and not wait a week to find out why a fire truck went whizzing by or the tap water doesn’t look right, for example. That is why the paper has been developing lassennews.com. It is the Web site that will give you the latest news as it happens.   

We promise to bring you the news as quickly as we learn it. We ask you the reader to send us news as quickly as you see it or wonder what is happening in your neighborhood or town. Send a message to breakingnews@lassennews.com so we can check the information out. You also can call us at 257-5321.