By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

A broken trailer with no part to repair it sits in the lower bay of the county transfer station while stacks of refuse pile up on the tipping floor.

Parts for the trailer are on order from Arkansas, but until they arrive, only household refuse is being put into the already-overloaded remaining trailer, director Josh Housman said Tuesday.

“They’ve got a trailer on order, and one trailer is broke down, and we’re trying to get it fixed,” Housman said. “It’s been down for two weeks. Hopefully we’ll get it up and going this week.”

Commissioners originally considered ordering two trailers to have a spare, chairman Randy Dallke said.

But Dallke isn’t happy with other operations at the station.

“I’m disappointed that we gave an order to open a second door, and they haven’t opened it,” he said.

If department heads would let commissioners know when they have a problem, commissioners could help them solve problems earlier, he said.

“Our department heads seem to have a problem just sitting down giving us a message,” he said. “They could just send an email.”

Under state law, transfer stations are to be cleaned as necessary to minimize odors and vectors and provide a safe working environment.

The odor at the transfer station Tuesday was extreme. Housman did not return a call to ask how often the station was cleaned.

State law also requires solid waste to be loaded into a transfer vehicle by the next day of operation.