By JOHN E. WEARE
KAB
He stood in the shade on the north side of the building then outside the south door, a sentry keeping watch for many months. A brief taste of electricity allowed movement. Only once did he venture inside then returned to his post finding no quarter there. Finally a pair of steel arms lifted the aging baler onto a trailer bound for a new home.
The blue vertical baler Keep Alliance Beautiful obtained from the Parker plant initially seemed like an easier fit for the recycling center. I did not find someone to place it in the building and the project went on the back burner. However, we had an electrician hook up the machine to make sure it was functional. Several months ago the executive director and his recycling coordinator at Keep Chadron Beautiful expressed an interest in the baler.
After measuring and planning, the two gentlemen from Chadron, Danny and Brandon, came down Friday morning, Sept. 18, to transport our sentry nearly 60 miles north. Keep Chadron Beautiful has been working toward the capacity to process their own recyclables – a service KAB has provided the past few years. Now, KCB has space where they hope to bale local recyclables. Though the baler we sent never served our operation, it processed cardboard at the Parker factory for years. While the machine will no doubt take elbow grease and know how to get up to snuff again I am confident our friends from Dawes County can make it work.
Loading the baler this morning went fairly smooth. Despite renting a telehandler that turned out a little smaller than expected, the extendable forklift proved up to the task. When the KCB pickup hooked to their flatbed wouldn’t turn over I drove our Ford F250 over to jump start it. Then, most of the KAB crew watched as Brandon set the baler down on the front of the trailer. He pulled it directly over the two axles then pushed the 14-foot rectangle ahead for perfect placement. Chained down, the blue baler started its slow ride north via the scenic route on Highway 87.
If for some reason this baler does not work, KCB will find another. I have enjoyed KAB’s role in bringing recycling back to the northern Panhandle while getting to know our fellow affiliate’s staff, board and some of their volunteers and patrons. Chadron’s recycling capacity has continued to grow and evolve with special collection days and a plan to process their own materials. They have been a spoke to our hub, though with continued investment and commitment Chadron will become a recycling hub for the communities on either side of it along Highway 20