Treasures found among junk at Houston County auction

Some of the items sold in Houston County’s annual surplus auction Thursday may have looked like junk to many people, but Daniel Swem had a different view.

“It’s a hidden gold mine,” he said.

Swem lives in Perry and operates an eBay business. He bought several items for just a few bucks, including some old electronics that he plans to sell online. His favorite purchase was two breathalyzer machines he snapped up for $10.

Ricky Epps of Forsyth also saw a treasure in an unlikely item. He paid $10 for two sets of old metal bunk beds from the county jail. The beds have surely been used by many troubled souls, but Epps has a new and more joyful purpose in mind.

“I’m going to make a barbecue grill out of them,” he said.

He also bought several pallets of various items for $5 in all, that ended up being lumped together after no one else bid. Those included two pallets of old VCR patrol car recorders and metal console frames from patrol cars. He didn’t have a genius idea for those.

“I’m going to sell those for scrap metal,” he said.

First up for sale in the auction were 21 vehicles, including nine Ford Crown Victorias. Those weren’t going for a steal. The first one was wrecked in the front, and its law enforcement emblems were painted over with black spray paint.

It wasn’t exactly a hot ride, but it cranked, and ended up selling for $1,000.

The highest-selling item in the entire auction was a Ford F-450 truck that brought $4,100.

Pete Lamendola, who owns Victory Lane Auto Sales in Warner Robins, bought a van and a couple of Crown Vics. He planned to fix the vehicles, paint them and put them up for sale.

It was his second year at the auction, and he said he ended up making a decent profit on the Crown Vics he bought last year, despite the high mileage.

“They run forever,” he said. “They just hold up real good.”

County Purchasing Agent Mark Baker said he didn’t have the total take on the auction calculated yet, but he was pleased with the prices.

All the money goes back into the county’s general operating fund.

This story was originally published June 2, 2016 at 2:29 PM with the headline "Treasures found among junk at Houston County auction."