HUDSON – Manuel Ponte stood next to the Ford F-550 that he frequently used at work, thinking about his 32 years with the Hudson Department of Public Works.
Ponte started as a laborer with the town in late 1993 and rose to crew leader in 2011. He knows as much as anyone about Hudson’s water and sewer system.
Rajitha Purimetla, interim DPW director, told the Select Board that “there are very few people with the kind of institutional knowledge Manny has.” She said his “skills in hearing and pinpointing a water leak are unmatched,” and recalled a 12-inch water main break at Main Street and Broad Street about 20 years ago that necessitated Ponte’s “amazing skills.”…