Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The annual October fall cleanup week at Whitman County landfill may yet still happen this year after the three-year-old garbage intake building was damaged in a fire on Aug. 3.
The cleanup week, normally done in the second week of October, reduces the intake fee from $106 per ton to $35 for Whitman County residents only. It was put on hold this year because repairs were being made to the intake building.
“I’m still hoping to do it,” said David Nails, Solid Waste operations manager.
A tentative date of Nov. 2-10 has been scheduled for fall cleanup.
Nails gave 90 percent odds that a 2018 fall cleanup will happen.
The intake building was cleared for occupancy last Monday, Oct. 8, by county building inspector Dan Gladwill.
Work remaining includes some of the roofing, ridge-cap and trim, along with replacing metal sheeting inside. The new lighting is in and the push-wall metal lining was slated to be done Monday.
Much of the electrical work is complete, with installation of fire alarms and emergency lighting to come.
All structural beams were replaced. Heat damage required a new grapple and cylinders for the interior crane.
Holcomb Construction of Grangeville, Idaho, is the contractor on the repair, working four days per week at 50 hours.
“It’s been really smooth,” said Nails.
After the fire, garbage handling reverted back to the old building, which had just been handling recycling since 2015.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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