Four times a year, the Bishop City Council chooses to honor a local citizen who works to improve the area. Monday night the Council honored Lefty Irwin for his community oriented projects.

Mayor Jeff Griffiths read from a long list of projects that Irwin has taken on over the years. Some people are described as being movers and shakers, Irwin is more of a mover and a builder.

Griffiths noted that Irwin helped move a building to the City Park for the ski program, moved four buildings at the Laws railroad museum, relocated a Quonset hut for the Civil Air Patrol, and helped raise and paint the Boy Scout building in Bishop. In the 1970s, Irwin had helped fix up the old Bishop Elementary School building that is now the Bishop City Hall.

Lefty Irwin is a former Inyo County Supervisor. He might be called a former plumber too, and his list of volunteer projects shows that hes still at work with this trade. Irwin has installed sewer lines at the high school concessions building and at the Inyo County Search and Rescue Posse Hut, helped plumb a bathroom at Millpond County Park, and helped build a bathroom at the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery. He also worked 23 days on the Darwin water system.

The list goes on. Irwin was instrumental in the construction of the handicapped accessible fishing decks at Buckley Ponds and Diaz Lake. In case that wasn’t enough help for people with disabilities, Lefty Irwin has helped construct 84 handicapped ramps between Mojave and Round Valley. At 88 years of age, Irwin joked that the next wheel chair ramp would be for himself.

Councilmember Bruce Dishion explained that the long list was not complete because Irwin also continues to do volunteer work for the Lions Club. Dishion presented Irwin with the award. Irwin says that he couldn’t have done all the work without the help of the Lions club and many others.