Appearing on the nightly news was a stroke of good luck for the PROs, who owned the company in the 1990s and recently bought it back, said Lisa.

“It’s definitely good publicity. It gets our name back out there. People used to know (Scott) in the industry, and it was good to have his face out there again,’’ she said.

The Welds enjoyed working in the portable sanitation industry before they sold the restroom, trash collection and septic service company. In April, they bought back the restroom portion of the business and are looking forward to their first summer back on the job.

“It was always one of those things we really loved,’’ Lisa said of the restroom work. “It’s fast-paced and every day is different.’’

Congratulations to the Welds for making the news, and good luck getting back on the job!

You can take a look at my From the Editor column in the April issue (click on it right here or open your issue at home) to see several mystery photos of restrooms and clues as to their locations. I asked readers to identify the city where the photos were taken and the three specific locations.

Todd Fitch came up with the answers, but the owner of Hanson & Fitch Temporary Site Services and Environmental Services had an advantage over most PROs. His company is located in Danville, Calif., only about 30 miles from the featured landmarks.

If you’re keeping track at home, all of the photos were taken in San Francisco. The photo of the bicyclists was taken on the Golden Gate Bridge. The construction unit on a trailer was shot at Union Square. The bikers are parked in front of a row of restrooms on Pier 45 in Fisherman’s Wharf.

It was fun cruising San Francisco for restrooms to shoot during a visit last fall. I saw them everywhere, from Golden Gate Park to Chinatown. I walked the length of the Golden Gate Bridge on this trip, and wondered how the unit serving maintenance crews was delivered way out on the narrow pedestrian path. I assume it wasn’t serviced on location, because it couldn’t be accessed by any service truck I’ve seen. It would be great if anyone could share how these bridge units are placed and serviced.

Our congratulations go out to Todd! He wins a PRO t-shirt.

Now let’s keep the contest going. Send me a few photos you’ve taken of restroom equipment on location, whether you shot the photos on vacation or in your own hometown. We’ll run the photos with clues and see if PRO readers can identify their locations. Send your photos and a note to me at editor@promonthly.com.

Click on over to my From the Editor column in the April issue online or open your copy of the magazine to Page 6-7 and take a good look at the photos and clues in the caption information. Can you guess the city where all of these vacation photos were taken, and then figure out the three specific locations mentioned? Take a shot at it and send your answers to me at editor@promonthly.com.

The first reader to guess the city and the three locations correctly will receive a PRO t-shirt and a mention right here in an upcoming blog post. Good luck!

If you have any comments, questions or opinions about this blog or the new feature, you can respond right here or drop me a line at the email mentioned above.

The end of the video series also marked the end of the portable sanitation company Gretchen has operated for 14 years. Gretchen has tweaked her business plan and started a new specialty business, Swanky Trailers by Gretchen, in which she will handle only the upscale restroom and trailer placements.

Our thanks and congratulations go out to Gretchen for helping us produce the video series and for embarking on a new chapter in her portable sanitation career. As you’ll see if you review the videos, Gretchen always approached her job with an emphasis on customer care and a good dose of humor. Take a look back at the Riding Shotgun series and let us know if you have any questions or comments.

Share your thoughts right here, or drop me a line at editor@promonthly.com.

One news account recently mentioned a New Jersey portable restroom company was placing 60 units along a parade route to provide aid to thousands of revelers fueled with green beer and corned beef and cabbage. Have you been called on to provide a similar public service with your inventory of restrooms, hand-wash stations and trailers?

Of all the major holidays on the calendar, this one seems ripe for portable sanitation business opportunities. Maybe only rivaled by the Fourth of July – and to a regional extent, Mardi Gras in New Orleans – St. Patrick’s Day is known for over-indulgence in food and drink and dancing in the streets. It’s a perfect recipe for PROs looking to provide necessary services in their hometowns.

So what’s your status for St. Patrick’s Day? Is wearing-o-the-green an important tradition in your town, and is your company part of the solution to a sanitation challenge?

Share your stories right here, or drop me a line at editor@promonthly.com.

Beginning in January, drivers caught talking on the cell phone while hauling a rig with a gross weight of 10,001 pounds or more are subject to a $2,750 fine for the first offense, while the driver’s employer can be fined $11,000, said Bob Kolvey Safety Director for the Motor Carrier Compliance & Safety Co. Drivers can also lose their CDL for 60 days after two infractions.

Many Pumper & Cleaner attendees at the seminar were surprised by the new DOT rules, and had many questions about other changes in driver rules. Kolvey’s talk was part of the Expo’s Education Day event.

Steve Bisbee, Mr. John general manager, answered Larry’s questions during taping of the show, and showed the comedian how to perform each task.

“While we were thrilled to take part in this project,” said Viola Sarkantyus, Mr. John  marketing manager, “we also hope our participation will give viewers new appreciation of our industry and especially of the tough and challenging work our Field Service Technicians do every day.”

Check out the show on Wednesday and let us know what you thought of it. Send your comments to editor@promonthly.com.

According to the Tri-City Herald, John Liniger, owner of Sunshine Portable Toilets, faces fines and possible federal criminal charges after being caught in October 2011 dumping 4,000 gallons of portable restroom waste into a public sewer drain in an unlighted, undeveloped area.

Liniger has been cited for allegedly discharging solid and liquid waste to the city sewer system without a permit, interfering with the city’s treatment works and posing a public health risk by allowing raw sewage to run into the streets. The city estimated it cost $7,800 to clean up the sewage, clear blocked lines and sanitize gutters and catch basins in response to several incidents.

Officials said the sewer lines were largely unused because of a lack of development. They were tipped off to a portable sanitation link because they noted blue deodorant fluid in the waste stream. State environmental officials set up a motion sensor camera at the location and said the camera captured a dumping run. Local authorities then set up nighttime surveillance and reported they caught Liniger in the act a week later.

You can read more about the case here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/02/16/1828327/kennewick-port-a-potty-businessman.html

Stories like this one make me cringe. The alleged illegal actions of one can damage reputations of many, many responsible PROs. So many contractors are working diligently to raise the professional image of this industry. How hard will they have to work in Washington State to make up for this incident?

If you have a comment, add it below, or send it to me at editor@promonthly.com.

Biggio, a manager at Plummers Disposal, Wyoming, Mich., took reporter Josh Roe along on a route and taught him the finer points of pumping restrooms and holding tanks for the station’s On the Job series … a feature similar to the Dirty Jobs television show.

The segment aired today and you can see it here:

http://www.wwmt.com/video/?videoId=1441006689001&lineupId=1137706675&play=now

A savvy Biggio saw his camera time as an opportunity to promote Plummers – which was featured in January in an On Location story in PRO – as well as the professionalism of the industry as a whole 

“It’s publicity, number one. Two, it shows the community that we have clean equipment, and three, it shows what we actually do,’’ Biggio said. “Some people, when the news media calls, say, ‘no, no.’ I recommend that (PROs) even call the news and ask if they want to do a ‘dirty jobs’ shoot. It’s good publicity and it’s free.’’

Biggio said the shoot was a cool experience and he had a lot of fun showing Roe how to run a vacuum truck. He’d already heard from a few friends late today who’d seen the show and called to congratulate him. 

The episode of the show about the misadventures of middle-class Indiana family Mike (Neil Flynn) and Frankie (Patricia Heaton) Heck and their three children found Frankie preparing for a plum volunteer job at the Super Bowl. But rather than reporting to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and being close to the action, Frankie was assigned to work as a parking lot attendant at an auxiliary lot 100 miles away in French Lick, Ind.

With eight blue Tufways behind her, Frankie made the most of her opportunity helping people waiting in line to use a restroom. If you didn’t see the episode, entitled “Hecking It Up,’’ ABC is showing it (probably for a limited time) on its website, here:

http://abc.go.com/watch/the-middle/SH5539541/VD55163801/hecking-it-up

Have any of you provided restrooms for use in a movie or TV show? Share your story with us.