Longevity holds at county road department

Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter | Jan 09, 20200

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County Commissioners show appreciation Monday to Dan Rogers who retired after 30 years at the county road department.

Whitman County Commissioners gave a standing ovation Monday to Dan Rogers on his last day at work for the county road department, retiring after 30 years and four days.

"Dan has been an exemplary employee; he has given his heart and soul to the road department," said Mark Storey, Public Works director.

Andrew Kuhle has been named acting supervisor for district two until someone is appointed. The job will be posted for applicants.

"It's been a good 30 years," said Rogers. "I've enjoyed every bit of it."

He is one of a list of long-term workers in the county road department.

Jim Keller of Colton just retired after 45 years. Dave Stine is a 35-year veteran in the district three shop. John Gardner has 40 years in at district one. Fred Baker will be at 37 years this fall.

Mike "Vordy" Vorderbrueggen is a 33-year veteran. Three others are right at the 30-year mark.

"All these guys have been great employees," Storey said.

Jim Keller

Jim Keller worked his last day Dec. 20 after 45 years in district two at Colton.

He began in 1974, at age 21, in the fall, after summer construction season ended. He started going to the county shop in Pullman where his brother worked, asking about openings. In a few weeks, they had one.

"Even as a kid, I liked playing with equipment," Keller said.

He ran a road-grader for more than 30 years before he retired. Originally from Colton, Keller graduated with the class of 1972.

"Just getting old enough, it was just getting time," he said. "Crew's turning over. A new bunch of guys again."

In the summer, the three-man crew from Colton joined a much bigger crew from across the county for asphalt chip-sealing. The three of them would take a pickup to the location for the day.

"You get to meet a lot of really good people, I wouldn't have got to meet," said Keller. "There's a lot of good people in this county."

Dan Rogers

Dan Rogers spent 18 years in district two, then as a foreman in Oakesdale for district one, then back to district two as foreman for two years, and for the past two and a half years, district two supervisor at the Pullman shop on Country Club Road.

He must have enjoyed it?

"Immensely," he said.

Rogers started as a road-grader operator in Palouse.

"I take the county very seriously," he said.

On call 24 hours per day, he once ran a crew out of Chicago, getting a call from Whitcom one June night when he was visiting his daughter.

"I made it clear I'd be available 24 hours a day," Rogers said.

Before he started with the county, he drove a log truck for 10 years. He grew up in Deary, Idaho, now 63 years old, and initially got a license in aviation mechanics from Felts Field in Spokane.

Rogers got his job with Whitman County at the start of 1990, wanting to be home more, and stayed.

"The people I work with, the work ethic, my superiors. It was a tearjerker to walk away," he said.

He decided to go three to four years ago, aiming at the retirement package option for 30-year-employees.

Road seasons

Plowing roads during whiteouts in winter, up against drifting snow, Rogers would stop the road grader or sander truck, with the floodlights on, step out and walk ahead of the vehicle with a shovel, to find the shoulder of the road.

Other seasons of the year include sweeping roads of sand and debris in spring, asphalt chip-sealing across the county in summer (new wear-surface and waterproofing) and hauling rock and gravel in the fall.

"Everything is seasonal," Rogers said. "The more I ran equipment, the more I enjoyed it."

District two runs from Farmington down through Garfield, Palouse and Pullman, south to Wawawai at the Snake River. The area has three county shops; a crew of five in Pullman, three in Palouse and two in Colton, plus the foreman.

Graders

A road-grader is the common, long six-wheeled vehicle with the scraper underneath in the middle. It is used for smoothing dirt and gravel roads, taking about an hour to grade one mile of road with new gravel. For dirt, it's faster.

"The roads washboard up, then we know we need to get back to grading," said Rogers.

When he started, the graders all had steering wheels, for the new ones it is two joysticks, to steer the vehicle and move the blade.

"Not for me, I'm old school," said Rogers.

Last February, during the month of snows and drifting, district one around Oakesdale was hit worse and Rogers and crew moved equipment in to help.

"All the districts try to help the other," said Rogers. "If it's someone in need, we come running."

Positions

The foremen act as somewhat of a scout – finding problems on roads – and sometimes drive equipment. Supervisors only drive the red county Public Works pickups, with 110-gallon slip fuel tanks behind the cab. During snows, they are in the pickups, on the radio, taking gas to graders and trucks to refuel. Then after awhile, it's back to the shop, refilling the tank and going back out.

Pay increase

The county increased the road department's pay last year, after county commissioners agreed it would help retain some employees leaving for higher-paying jobs.

"It really took the morale up," Rogers said.

The department now receives three to five applicants per job opening – up from one to two – and some employees who left have returned.

With Rogers now retiring, late night Whitcom calls about a tree in the road in district two will go elsewhere.

"It's been my life. Whitman County has been my life. My wife understands, we can't take the trip across the state at Thanksgiving, that time of year," Rogers said. "I have a responsibility to the county."

What will he miss most?

"The relationships with the employees. They'll work hard for you if they respect you," said Rogers.

He is now a retired man.

"When I went to bed last night, I was looking for my phone," he said Tuesday. "My wife said the weather forecast was coming on, we'd always watch that like a hawk, then she realized, oh, I guess you don't need to now. There's no red pickup in my driveway this morning."