12/4/2006

The two deep freezers were moved onto the cement that had cured from last weeks pour. The place they came from was hammered out and pieces of cement were taken across the road to where the water trucks come in to water the cattle. The furnace fuel tank was lowered onto a new section of cement floor and the contents of the other tank was pumped into it. Outside work today involved getting down into the cistern and cleaning out some muck on the bottom to see where the longwall had damaged its ability to retain water. Jon soon found it near the bottom. It was a gaping hole near the bottom of the east sidewall. The old plaster on the sides of the cistern was removed and tomorrow they will start repairs. A heater was put inside the big cavern to dry it out and the stone top was replaced temporarily. The radon monitor said 2.1 in the morning but it went down during the day to 1.6. The exhaust fan is running 24/7 in the basement now.

Floyd Simpson