Dump man wants to keep job

MATTAWA - Reacting to Desert Aire Homeowners Association President Larry Couch's call for citizen action regarding the Mattawa-Desert Aire garbage collection site, part-time caretaker Lee Loria says he'd like to keep his job.

The other part-time caretaker, Phil Larson, wouldn't mind keeping his job, but he's more concerned about the potential closing of a site that provides a needed service to the South County community.

In last week's Register, Couch encouraged South County residents to attend the next meeting of the Grant County Solid Waste Advisory Committee to make a case for keeping the Mattawa-Desert Aire garbage collection site open.

The Grant County Solid Waste Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. on Monday, March 9. That meeting will be held in the public meeting room at the Grant County Public Works Office at 124 Enterprise St. SE in Ephrata.

The Mattawa Drop Box is located halfway between Mattawa and Desert Aire on the east side of Highway 243. It is "very well used," Couch said.

If you wish to attend and need a ride, Couch and the Desert Aire Homeowners Association will try to help. You may call the DAHA office at 509-932-4839 or Couch at 206-755-9766.

Loria is retired. He supplements his retirement income with the job that pays him for 19 hours a week at minimum wage. Three of those hours are spent taking paperwork and receipts to his employer in Ephrata.

Larson, too, is paid minimum wage. He's paid for 14 hours of care-taking and three hours of travel to Ephrata and back.

Loria said he takes in about $800 a weekend in summer and $400-500 in winter. He is on duty on Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Larson is on duty Mondays and Wednesdays. He said he takes in $300-500 a week. The take is higher in summertime, he said.

Loria doesn't know how the money is spent, but he said it's not all spent on him and Larson. There is no electricity in the shack provided for them, and they warm it with a wood stove.

Loria believes county officials will be making a grave mistake if they close the site. He said South County could become ugly with trash along the roadways and hidden gullies.

"A lot of the people who use this site are poor and come in beat-up old pickups," he said. "I don't see them driving all the way to Ephrata to deliver garbage."