ROAD WARRIOR
Delbert Tennant has made the two-hour 
round trip to work every day for 26.5 years

Delbert Tennant is retiring at the end of February after 26 years and four months of service at SD1's Dry Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant.

While it's more common for staff to hold out until they reach 27 years, there are two key factors that made Delbert decide now is the time: he's already a retired serviceman with 30 years in the Navy, and he lives in Owen County - a full hour's drive each way to Dry Creek.

Delbert started in operations at SD1 and moved to maintenance a few years later. He's been a maintenance technician at Dry Creek for 22 years, a job that involves primarily repairing equipment such as pumps, tank components and virtually anything else at Dry Creek that might break.

He says his favorite thing about the job is the tangible results of his hard work.

"I get to do things and see the results," he says. "You know, when we repair something, you see the finished product. That's something I enjoy."

Some of the countless projects Delbert has been involved in were more complicated than others, of course. For instance, when new centrifuges were introduced at Dry Creek, he was part of a team that had to figure out new processes and procedures for de-watering wastewater sludge.

"That was something we had never dealt with before," he says. "It was complicated at first, but now it's just second nature after you do it so many times."

Delbert's advice for someone just starting out at SD1 is simple - find what you enjoy and focus on that. "You just have to find what your preference is - your niche in life - and stick with that," he says. "We have good medical benefits and the pay isn't bad. So just find something you like to do and stick with it. Don't give up. There is a lot of opportunity here."

And for anyone interested in becoming a maintenance tech, he suggests starting out as a plant operator. "That way you know how to operate the equipment," he says. "You know what it does and have an understanding of the whole process - from when it comes into the plant to when it goes out of the plant and all the steps in between."

Now that he's winding down his time at SD1, Delbert plans to spend more time on his 10-acre farm in Owen County, where he and his wife Eileen train, show and sell Shetland ponies.

"It keeps me busy," he says, "because after work I go home and never get away from crap. I'm always in it."

He adds, "That and I have a five-year-old granddaughter and she's been bugging me for some time now to stay home and take care of her so she doesn't have to go to daycare."

Delbert is one of three SD1 staff members retiring at the end of February. Joining him will be Scott Breeze and Bill Mullins. Their last day will be Thursday, February 29. Be sure to wish them well on their next chapters.