Commission Candidate Questions Water At District 2 Shed

Randy Chandler, candidate for District 2 commissioner in Crawford County, has raised questions over the water quality at the District 2 shed in Leasburg.

Though the samples did not return any signs of contamination, Chandler has spent the last few months raging at the county for not taking action.

The issue came to the forefront in January when Judi Aldrich, one of Chandler’s campaign surrogates, appeared before the commission.

Aldrich questioned the water at the shed and why employees were allowed to drink it.

District 2 Commissioner Jared Boast said he “had no idea” there was any question over the water being contaminated. 

Aldrich, Boast said, insisted that he knew and that he chose never to have it tested.

Boast insisted he would look into it, but a bad week of weather followed and he said it was a bad time to sample water.

A couple weeks later, Boast said he received a call from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, which was informing him they were coming to sample the water.

Boast was confused.

“I said, ‘how are you involved?’ I didn’t understand how they could investigate. I asked where the complaint came from and was told it had originated from the southwest district,” Boast said, of which Crawford County is part of.

Boast sought counsel from Crawford County Prosecuting Attorney David Smith, who advised letting DNR come on site and take a sample. 

In the meantime, Boast used a Sunshine Law request to obtain the information that had been sent to DNR.

In an email shared to the Independent News, Chandler wrote to DNR on Jan. 20 that workers at the District 2 shed drank the water for three months. 

“(Then) after that we drank the water at the district 2 shed they told us the water was contaminated we asked what was wrong with it they will not tell us it was brought up in the commissioner meeting and the commissioner said he did not know anything about it being contaminated we that work there at the district 2 shed is worrying why the District 2 commissioner lied for because we all know he (knew) that it was contaminated he told us it was we would like for you to come and test the water for our health and we don’t trust the county to do the water test.”

Chandler continued, saying that if the water is bad “why didn’t they tap the well they have used this water all over crawford County they have put the water on the rodeo grounds and fair grounds in crawford County the well is still being used at the shed but they are not allowed to drink the water because they say it’s contaminated.”

Chandler, who has used his campaign Facebook page as his platform to go on offense against Boast, insisted repeatedly that District 2 foreman Kenny McGraw told employees not to drink the water.

Chandler has since privatized his Facebook page.

The results came back and Boast said they showed no contaminants in the water. 

During a meeting in early March, Aldrich appeared before the commission, where Boast confronted her with the sample request. He also asked if Chandler sent her to the commission, and she said no. 

Aldrich has not attended a commission meeting since that time, according to minutes.

Chandler appeared before the commission in March where he continued to insist that the water was contaminated. He also criticized Boast for mistreating Aldrich.

He said four former District 2 employees were told the water was contaminated. Only one — James Heuser — stood by that. 

According to Chandler’s notes, Heuser drank the water for two months, then McGraw told him it was contaminated. 

In a letter dated March 18, Heuser wrote that he was hired at District 2 on Nov. 1, 2017 and that in the year he was there, McGraw and another employee told him not to drink the water. 

“I did so without any questioning or any explanation,” Heuser wrote. 

Boast told the Independent News there are no records in existence of water contamination at the shed, which is located at Highway H and Old Highway 66. 

There was a sample taken in 2012 for “an unknown reason” but it returned back without any issues. 

Boast said he contacted DNR for more information, but that they are tossed after seven years.