Two Employees Fired After 166 Containers Taken From Indiana Utility
By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje
In a strange case at an Indiana utility this month, 166 treatment containers disappeared, and two people lost their jobs in the aftermath.
"It is an unusual situation," Director of Utilities Vic Kelson said, per Fox 59.
The water treatment plant in Monroe County is still unsure where the valuable equipment wound up.
“The 268-gallon plastic containers with metal-caged frames have been delivered to the Monroe Water Treatment Plant for a decade. The containers were included in the purchase of a chemical polymer used in the water treatment process from supplier Brenntag AG,” Herald Times Online reported.
The containers are each worth up to $12,500 in the salvage market, according to Indiana Public Media.
“Obviously we hate to lose long time employees but we will make it work, and we are working on it today,” Kelson said, per the report.
As the story unraveled this month, an employee at the plant admitted he was responsible for the problem.
“Two long time employees at the Monroe County water treatment plant have been terminated or resigned over the missing containers. Kelson insists his team will get through the transition and that it won’t have an impact on Bloomington’s water quality,” the report said.
“Plant superintendent Tim Gholson resigned his position in the aftermath of the discovery, and plant service mechanic Barry Milbourn was fired after admitting to taking the empty containers to either use personally or sell, according to Carmichael,” Herald Times Online reported.
“A spokesperson said 18-year veteran mechanic at the water treatment plant, Barry Milbourn, admitted to taking the containers home and even selling them. As a result, the city fired Milbourn,” Fox 59 reported.
A city spokesperson said the city was able to track down some of the equipment.
"Out of 166, we can account for about 16 of them," Mary Catherine Carmichael said, per Herald Times Online. "They've gone various places.”
For similar stories visit Water Online’s Labor Solutions Center.