Sanitation afforded pair of new rigs
Milltown – The Graham County Sanitation Department received a pair of new Kenworth trucks, in a much-needed upgrade to the current method of hauling refuse to Ball Ground, Ga.
Sanitation director Gavin Colvard said Tuesday that the first of the two identical rigs was delivered to the department’s location off Snowbird Road two weeks ago. The second arrived Monday.
Colvard said the trucks had some custom modifications – including an automatic transmission – that should help the lifespan of the trucks.
The grant to obtain the trucks was provided as a collaboration between the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and the state’s Volkswagen Mitigation program. As part of the county receiving the $186,000-per-truck grant, Colvard revealed that two of the department’s aging trucks would have to be destroyed.
“It’s going to help the county tremendously because we’ll have reliable equipment that’s not going to need repairs,” said Graham County Finance Officer Stacy Carpenter.
The grant covered most of the $219,000-per-truck cost, with the remaining $33,000 for each being provided by the county.
Graham County Transit Director Juanita Colvard discovered the grant in August 2022 and passed along the information to then-finance officer Becky Garland, who completed the application process itself.
Carpenter told The Graham Star that the county applied for the trucks in April.