By Lori EhdeVerlyn Van Batavia was named the city of Luverne’s first Employee of the Year during the city’s annual holiday party Friday in the Blue Mound Banquet and Meeting Center.As senior operator of the city’s water/wastewater system, Van Batavia helps take care of plant operations and maintenance."The city has numerous people who could have received this award," Van Batavia said Tuesday."It’s just a good place to work. It’s interesting work — there’s something new every day, and I like the people I work with."Without getting too deep into chemistry, Van Batavia described his job as monitoring the wastewater coming into the plant and leaving the plant to make sure it’s properly treated."It’s all about seeing if you can figure out what’s going wrong before it goes wrong," he said, pointing to water tests as the key to monitoring the process."You can see what’s happening to your effluent as it’s leaving the plant."Luverne’s wastewater treatment lab is certified by the Minnesota Department of Health for six different water analyses.Although his primary job is in the wastewater treatment plant, Van Batavia earned his Employee of the Year status by pitching in on the Oakley Street project last summer."He did that over and above his normal job," said Public Utilities Supervisor Al Lais."It was an all-summer project, and all the way through I think it went pretty good … He did all the PR, serving as a go-between for the residents and the workers. … He basically kept everybody happy."Van Batavia received a plaque Friday night for his Employee of the Year honor, and he also received a plaque for being with the city for more than 20 years."It’s nice to be in a job where after 21 years you still look forward to going to work in the morning," Van Batavia said."I thank the people of Luverne for giving me a chance to work for them."At Friday’s party, three other city supervisors were honored for their dedication to the job. They are City Finance Director Barb Berghorst, Public Works Supervisor Kenny Vos and Lais.