Pahmnp'Valley'Gazette, Thu,clay, J u l y '24, '1997 /
Nye taxpayers burned for $87,382 in incinerator purchase
The story behind an action by the Nye County Commission
Nov. 7, 1995, has been a long time breaking but appears now
to have been well worth the wait.
On that date, under "old business" on the agenda, the Nye
County Commission approved, by a 4-0 vote, an expenditure
out of PETI" funds (Payment Equal to Taxes) of $87,382, to
purchase an incinerator for Nye Regional Medical Center in
Tonopah. The reason for the purchase was to enable the
hospital to dispose of its own hazardous medical waste, thus
avoiding substantial cost in-
volved in the shipping and
disposal of such material to
a remote site.
In addition, it was esti-
mated that the new incinera-
tor would generate an in-
come of between $4,000 to
7,000 a month from other medical facilities in the county
.,ecause these facilities would be able to ship hazardous medi-
cal waste to Nye Regional instead of an out-of-state location as
was being done at that time.
Several curious items have now come up:
It now appears, among other things, that the incinerator that
was purchased does not meet minimum standards for the
disposal of hazardous medical waste; -that the subject matter
being addressed under "old business" had never been agendized
at a previous meeting of the commission; that a proper bid
process as required by Nevada law had not been followed; and
that all of the major players present at this meeting -'the
commissioners, the coun- manager at the time, Bill Offutt, and
the administrative counsel, Rachel Nicholson - could have or
should have been aware that violations of Nevada Statutes were
apparently taking place. It appears that at least some of the
major players knowingly and willingly participated in criminal
violation of Nevada law. What else could one conclude? If
anyone else out there has another theory, please write.
In addition, according to a memo fromNicholson dated
April 18, 1996, then working as chief civil deputy district
attorney, a down payment of 25 percent of the total purchase
price of $87,382 was paid to White Horse Technologies Inc. of
Santa Aria, Calif., approximately one week before the commis-
sion acted under the "old business" agenda item on Nov. 7,
1995, to authorize the purchase.
A lot of allegations have been made so far in this article and
some words of clarification are due the reader so thatan
intelligent analysis can be made and proper weight given to the
allegations.
Understandably, I am frequently working on and gathering
background materialTor three or four stories at a time. It should
come as no surprise to anyone that occasionally I receive leads
from the reading public for additional articles. Some leads
include strong documentation and, if the subject matter seems
appropriate for the column, receive immediate attention. Other
leads are rather vague but potentially interesting. In such a case
they are placed on a back burner and let simmer. About 18
months ago I received a lead in the latter category.
In February 1996 information was received that if I would
lool( into a purchase that had been made, for an incinerator for
Nye RegiOnal Medical Center, it would bear fruit. It was a back
burner type of a lead. By mid-1996 two other leads from
independent sources had come in to the same effect. It was then
still back burner but had a pink flag floating in the center of the
soup.
A few more months went by and I acquired information that
indicated that the newly installed incinerator at Nye Regional
Medical Center did not meet minimal standard for disposal of
hazardous medical waste. The source had proven to be reliable
in the past. Because of other circumstances the item remained
on the back burner, but the floating pink flag became anchored,
turned a darker shade of red, and began flapping in the breeze.
More months went by and this led into the earlier part of
1997. Serious inquiries were made and a more formal back-
,'ound investigation initiated. The results of that investigation
• ,ave led to the following information which I believed to be
accurate, although it has yet to be proven in a court of law:
A. That a thorough and time:consuming check of the
records and files available to high level administration officials
at Nye Regional Medical Center (NRMC) reveals no informa-
tion as to the physical existence of the incinerator presently
located and in use at NRMC.
B. That no incinerator of any kind shows up on the official
inventory on record at NRMC.
C. That no incinerator of any kind shows up under "assets"
as listed as belonging to NRMC.
D. Confu'mation was gained from White Horse Technolo-
gies, Inc. that the incinerator purchased by Nye County was a
standard commercial unit that was not designed and cannot be
used for the disposal of hazardous medical waste.
E. Permit number AP-8062-0409 held by NRMC and
issued by the Nevada Environmental Protection Agency is for
a commercial incinerator for paper products. A lot of, at least
95 percent paper-type product is required. The remaining 5
percent is restricted to opaque plastics.
Titis MAN'S OPINION
by Brent Mathewson
F. The incinerator at NRMC is used on a regular basis for
disposal of hazardous medical waste among other trash and
garbage products. Because of the manner in which this incin-
erator operates, a "full load" is required before putting it in
operation. The size of the incinerator is such that it takes about
a week to acquire a "full load" in its bin. Because of this fact,
hazardous medical waste sits in this bin on a regular basis for
up to seven days before being disposed of in an incinerator that
was not designed for this purpose. A senior official at NRMC
has stated, "I'd want a lot more
than rubber gloves on before I'd
get close to that stuff."
G. NRMC receives no in-
come from other facilities for
disposal of hazardous medical
waste. An inquiry from a clinic
in Nye County to NRMC asking
for a copy of its state license to
dispose of medical waste, so
that this clinic could begin pay-
ing NRMC to dispose of its
waste, was met with silence and
no response.
H. A search through the agendas and the minutes of both the
Nye County Commission meetings and the Nye County Hos-
pital Board of Trusteesmeeting going back to Dec. 1994 has
revealed that the incinerator at NRMC was discussed on four
occasions. The first time it was brought up appears to be at a
Nye County Commission meeting under "old business" on
Nov. 7, 1995.
According to the minutes, of that date, the following was
discussed: Mr. Offutt stated that the initial price of the incinera-
tor was $46,000. After further evaluation, "they" found the
price would be $55,000 to $56,000.
Mr Offutt stated Mr. Weckenden evaluated the work and
believed the unit should have a feeding mechanism that is
automated and a holding facility that is mode as part of the uniL
Mr. Offutt thought they may have additional revenue of
$4,000 to $7,000 a month from a variety of sources using the
new incinerator.
A decision was then made, on Wickenden't recommenda-
tion, to spend $87,382 out of PETT funds to purchase an
incinerator from White Horse Technologies Inc.
The incinerator next shows up on the public record as item
11 on the May 7, 1996, agenda of the Nye County Hospital
District Board of Trustees. It was agendized as a discussion and
decision regarding a 10 percent down payment to White Horse
Technologies for an incinerator ($8,738.20).
Ms. Nicholson stated that the item had been taken care of
during the Board of Nye County Commissioner's meeting. (No
discussion took plac that day concerning an incinerator during
the commission meeting referred to.) Interestingly enough, in
the backup material for item 11 is a copy of a memo sent from
Nicholson to White Horse Technologies Inc. on April 18, 1996.
Nicholson's memo states, in pertinent part, that "24 weeks have
now passed since we paid our,fwst down payment on the
incinerator."
If you count backward 24 weeks from Api'il 18, 1996, you
get to Oct. 31, 1995 which is one week before the commission
questionably approved the incinerator purchase.
On July 2, 1996, during the Nye County Hospital District
Board of Trustees meeting under"old business", aMr. Cudworth
stated that the hospital had received the new incinerator and
should begin operation within the next week. He said he will
discuss fees for the use of the incinerator at the next meeting.
For the July 16, 1996, meeting of the hospital board of
trustees, the matter was agendized as a discussion and decision
on charges for use of the incinerator for non-Nye Regional
Medical Center waste. A Mr. Allen requested that the item be
continued because the infommtion was not ready to be pre-
sented.
Since July 16, 1996, to this day there has been no further
public comment at the county level regarding the incinerator at
NRMC.
For those readers who believe they can plainly see a bright
red flag standing straight out from its pole with a strobe light
blinking frantically at the top, and are wondering what to do
about it, you might consider and digest the following informa-
tion.
Any three qualified members of the electorate in Nye
County, can on their own, petition the diswict court judge to
empanel a grand jury.
The proper procedure is not complicated. In fact, it is quite
simple. It is spelled out in the Nevada Statutes. Most libraries
in Nye County have a full copy of Nevada NRS on their shelves.
Go to the index and look up "grand jury" and you're on your
way.
Once a district court judge has been petitioned, in such a
manner, he must, by Nevada law, empanel a grand jury and the
county government involved is required to pay for it.
There are worse things we could spend our money on.
That is this man's opinion.
Copyright 1997 by Brent Mathewson
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