Something doesn't smell right

A couple of cracked pipes in the Law Enforcement Center sent maintenance director Anthony Fruciano on a mission to discover what the cause was.

The first indication something was amiss happened when water appeared in the ceiling tiles above the judge’s chambers. Fruciano found a two-foot section of pipe with a crack in it, cut that section out and replaced it.

Then on Sunday, about 1 a.m., a call came from dispatch that there was not only water, but the smell was unbearable.

Fruciano found a six-foot section of pipe with an 18” crack in it, leaking water from the jail kitchen, accounting for the smell.

The pipe taken out is known as Orangeburg Pipe, a combination of wood pulp and pitch compressed together. Used from the 1860s until the 1970s when it was discontinued, Fruciano said you can tell just from the look of it what is Orangeburg.

The real question is how, in the 1980s, the Orangeburg got into the Law Enforcement Center. Several areas have now been identified as having the discontinued pipe and the maintenance crew will be looking through every nook and cranny to find it all so it can be replaced with PVC.

FBO Nate Messenger talked with the commissioners about the possibility of the county putting in a large hangar out at the new airport.

Messenger said he had recently had some cancellations due to the lack of hangar space for overnight stays.

If such a hangar were to be built, one that would hold larger aircraft as well, the pilots or plane owners would be charged a per-night fee for parking at the airport, a common practice.

It would not only bring in some money from the fee, but would bring in people who would be spending money on hotel stays, meals and entertainment, benefitting Thermopolis.

The commissioners also heard a report on Tuesday from Dean Peranteaux, the gentleman who takes care of all the IT and communications network for the county, regarding the replacement of the current 9-1-1 system.

Because of the age of the current system, they will no longer be getting technical support or maintenance from the company it was purchased from, and Peranteaux says it has reached the end of its useful life.

He brought several quotes from different companies for the commissioners to look over. Some were final quotes, others were more flexible, adding in lease options as well as purchase options.

The commissioners believe half the cost should come from the Town of Thermopolis as the 9-1-1 system is jointly used. Some of the costs could be covered from the tax everyone with a phone pays each month, seventy-five cents per line.

A subcommittee, consisting of dispatchers, law enforcement, sheriff and fire department will explore the different solutions, possibly even going to towns that use the different systems to get a feel for them before making a final recommendation to the commissioners.