Mystery of missing garbage truck solved
By Brenda L. Shelkey
Ghosts are not haunting the new residential Waste Management garbage truck that serves both Underwood and Washburn. It wasn’t stolen by thieves or spirited away by goblins. The large garbage truck just went missing -- back in October 2008. How does something like that happen? At that time, Waste Management ordered two new trucks, one which was to serve Underwood and Washburn. The first truck arrived as scheduled, the other truck was supposed to be en route. An expected delay of the second truck wasn’t necessarily unusual, so Waste Management waited patiently to hear from the manufacturer. After an extended period of time, they did some checking and realized that both trucks had been ordered and the contract obligation fulfilled, but the truck that was meant to serve the residential clients for Underwood and Washburn disappeared somewhere in the delivery process. Coincidentally, the trail of clues led them to, of all places, Underwood, Minnesota. The truck was delivered to the right town in the wrong state, and the Minnesotans weren’t questioning the gift horse. They just used the new vehicle until somebody began asking questions. Diane Schell, Underwood’s City Auditor, has experienced other similar tales. She said, "We’ve had water bills and parts, even traffic tickets, come from Underwood, Minnesota, but this was really different." Schell explained that once the error was figured out, it still took some time before they could find someone from Waste Management in Minnesota to deliver the truck to North Dakota.
