Published: July 23, 2008 01:07 pm            

Courthouse appeal

County building gets the rollers

The years take a toll on us all and the Stephens County Courthouse is no exception.

It’s been awhile since the courthouse has gotten a makeover, but that’s all changing this week.

Last week, the maintenance crew at the courthouse started at least a month-long process in covering the sides of the building with a brand new coat of light tannish-gray paint.

“We feel a fresh coat of paint will make the building look better,” said Gary Ball, who is in charge of maintenance at the courthouse.

As Ball looked at the north side of the building Tuesday morning, he seemed pleased.

“It looks good so far, doesn’t it?” he said.

In order to get as much of the sides of the courthouse painted before the summer heat overpowers the maintenance crew each day, Ball has them start working around 6:30 a.m.

“We try to get six-plus hours of painting done before we go to lunch,” Ball said.

Painting the side of the courthouse may seem easy, especially because the painters use a 45-foot bucket lift to hold them suspended in the air at the right location instead of climbing a ladder. But some of Ball’s employees don’t necessarily consider hanging 40 feet above the ground to be that much of a delight. Don Hamer and Steve Kaeser, however, have no problem whatsoever about being up on the lift.

“It’ll shake and rock a little, but it isn’t bad if you’re not afraid of heights,” Hamer said. “The other guys are, that’s why me and Steve are the only ones up here.”

Ball said that for the first day or so the lift seems to wobble a lot. “But you get used to it,” Ball said. While 40 feet above the ground, Hamer and Kaeser will drive the lift like an automobile down the side of the courthouse to get to the next painting location.

“It’s easier to do it that way,” Hamer said. It’s also much easier to paint the trim now than before the crew had the 40-foot lift.

“We used to hang over the side of the roof to do it,” Hamer said. Both Hamer and Ball started working at the courthouse around the same time in the early 1980s. Hamer was hired to be a part of the maintenance crew and still enjoys the position.

“It’s a good job with good people,” Hamer said. Ball was hired to be in charge of the maintenance crew. But before he said yes to the career opportunity, Ball thought about it for six weeks.

“I still didn’t know whether I was going to stay with the job or not, but I’m still here,” he said. Ball attributes part of his longevity on the job to working directly for many good Stephens County commissioners over the years.

“All the commissioners I’ve worked for have been real good to me,” he said.

Stephens County Commissioner Dee Bowen expressed a similar feeling for Ball and his crew. “They all do a great job,” he said.

Working in the maintenance department is pretty straightforward, Ball said.

“We do the maintenance for the courthouse and the jail,” he said. “We do plumbing as well as any electrical or carpentry work. We also move furniture, change lightbulbs and whatever else is needed.”

        

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