 The end of this month, the couple will once again pack up and will
move back to Evansville, as Tackett enters retirement.
He said that in retirement, he plans to spend time with family in
Evansville, including kids and grandkids. He and his wife also plan
to do some traveling, including a trip to Virginia to see children
and grandchildren who live out there, with, hopefully, a side trip
to Gettysburg.
It won't be the first time Tackett retires from American Water,
the company that manages the waste treatment facility for the city,
but he does believe it will be the last.
Tackett explained that early in his first retirement, his boss at
American called him and simply asked: "Are you bored yet? Because if
you are, I have someplace for you to go."
Tackett asked where and was told Lincoln. "I said yes, because I
knew the people who worked here and the pride they take in what they
do, and I wanted to come and work with them," he explained.
Even though he was born and raised in Kentucky and spent a great
deal of his career in Evansville, Tackett was no stranger to Lincoln
and Logan County.
His first career, of 22 years, had been working with underground
mining in Kentucky and southern Illinois. In his job he dealt a
great deal with safety and had traveled on a couple of occasions to
Logan County to visit the coal mines in this area.
In his second career, with American Water -- then known as
Environmental Management Corp., or EMC -- he had worked as manager
of the Evansville plant and in a corporate position where he focused
on plant safety.
In that role, he had visited the Lincoln plant on more than one
occasion and knew he would be coming to a place where everyone was
dedicated to offering the best service possible to the community.
As Tackett led a tour around the plant, it was easy to see what
he meant when he talked about the crew taking pride in what they do.
The plant on the whole is really a very lovely spot on the city's
south side. The fenced-in facility has a lot of green space and is
appealing to the eye, with a well-manicured lawn and no weeds or
trash to be seen anywhere.
Inside the fabrication shop, tools hang in perfect order, floors
are clean and there are no messes anywhere. In fact, the place is
probably in better shape than most people's homes.
The lab area is the same, with everything spotless and a
designated place for every item.
Move on to the garage where trucks and parts are kept, and there
are shelves with large boxes that are sealed, numbered and labeled.
Tackett explained that for every lift station in the city, there
are at least two boxes of parts. The boxes are numbered and
identified by the name of the lift station. When a station fails,
the crew can come into the garage, grab the appropriate boxes, load
them on the trucks, and be out the door and on their way to the
trouble spot in a matter of minutes.
For Tackett, it was this kind of commitment to a clean, safe and
well-organized plant that drew him to Lincoln.
"They understand that they are accountable to the rate payers in
the city of Lincoln, and they take that seriously," Tackett said.
At the sewage treatment plant there are eight full-time employees
and two part time. While all of the crew at the plant is on the
American Water payroll, everyone there realizes that the citizens of
the city of Lincoln are the ones who ultimately pay their wages.
According to law, sewage treatment plants have to be
self-sufficient financially. The record keeping for the sewage plant
is kept separate from the rest of the city books, and all the
repairs and maintenance of the plant, sewer lines and city assets
used by the plant must be done within the sewage budget.
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Tackett said one of the main things the team at the plant does to
be frugal is rely on their own abilities for repairs, fabrication
and maintenance. Vehicles are serviced and maintained by the crew.
Equipment fabrication and repair takes place at the plant also.
Tackett also pointed out the recent addition of a new storage
building. The building is being used to house attachments for
various pieces of equipment as well as all the plastic and PVC pipes
and fittings that are used by the department.
All of these items are now out of the elements, which Tackett
explained will prolong the lives of the products, including the
plastic and PVC, which can weaken under the hot sun or freezing
conditions.
The precise organization at the plant may also contribute to the
fact that the Lincoln plant has a very impressive record of being a
safe environment in which to work.
Tackett said that as he prepares to leave Lincoln, he can testify
that the plant is now well over 400 days without a time-lost
accident.
To testify to the team's safety record, several plaques hang on
the wall of Tackett's office, including the George W. Burke Jr.
Facility Safety Award, given to the plant in 2003. Tackett explained
that the award is given out annually but to only one plant per
state, so winning that in 2003 was quite an honor.
Tackett also once again emphasized that the accomplishments of
the waste treatment plant don't really belong to him, but to the
crew. He named off his four key leaders at the plant -- Dave
Presswood, foreman; Bobby Merreighn, certified lab manager; Bob
Harris, filter and belt press operator; and Mike Sutton, collection
system manager -- saying that these men and the others who work with
them are primarily responsible for how the plant operates and what
it has achieved over the years in safety and service.
Tackett also took a moment to remember Donna Schriber, who died
on June 12. Schriber was the administrative secretary at the
treatment plant. Tackett said she was an outstanding part of the
team at the water plant, did an excellent job for American Water and
got along well with everyone she worked with.
"Whoever takes her place in the future is going to have some
pretty tough shoes to fill," Tackett said.
At the time of this interview, Tackett said he didn't know yet
who would be replacing him, but whoever it may be, they are going to
be given a great opportunity to work with a great team at the
Lincoln plant, and Tackett wishes them all well in the future.
Tackett also noted that a lot of the historical aspects of this
region hold great interest for him, and more than likely he'll be
back, just for a visit, one of these days.
___
This concludes Part 1 of a two-part series. In the next edition,
Tackett will lead a tour through the plant and explain how murky
gray wastewater comes into the plant and goes out crystal clear and
perfectly safe for the environment.
[By NILA SMITH]
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