TORRINGTON – What seems to be magical about the city of Torrington? The flower pots on Main Street, exercise equipment along the walking path known as The Beautiful Cover Up, the Beautiful Cover up itself? 

Besides the numerous streets and building in the city that need work. The people of Torrington like Building Official Dennis Estes who keeps the magic coming. 

Born and raised in Torrington, Estes has been involved in many of the community projects. Estes has alsobeen active for the past 30 years in the volunteer Fire Department, eight of those years he wa s Fire Chief. 

Growing up in Torrington Estes said at that time there was nothing built past F Street. He would go there to ride dirt bikes with friends. They also built go carts, but camping near the river was the most fun. 

“We were all in the Boy Scouts and we would spend the weekend at the river,” Estes said. “I still enjoy camping today, but my son enjoys camping even more.”

Estes married his high school sweetheart, Rhonda Darnall , recently celebrating their 34th anniversary. They went on a couple dates and ended up hanging out together. 

Attending Technical College in Sidney, Neb., Estes completed school then found a job in Torrington for the next few years. 

“I worked for some private individuals for a few years, at the Ford garage for a little bit then for Larry Shanenans,” Estes said. 

Then he got the opportunity to work for the city as a mechanic, where he started out doing different things, repairing their buildings, fixing the parks, reaching out from the mechanic side to repair things for the city. 

Estes said, “We had a hard time finding contractors, one thing lead to another.” 

In 2000 he was asked to take his current position on a part time basis. 

The city engineer was too busy, overseeing the engineering and the building department but it was just too much for him. Handing Estes all the code books, he was now the new Building Official for Torrington. 

“It’s been a challenge. We have had people in this position before and when I first started it was pretty tense,” Estes said. “Not coming from the construction industry and walking on to a job site then trying to work with the contractors who had been doing this stuff for a hundred years.” Contractors helped him, but it was Neil Newman whom Estes said really taught him about the business. Now he has little problems with contractors. 

“We’ve just got good contractors here,” Estes said. “It is hard, the codes don’t always reflect living in Wyoming, but I am most concerned with fire and safety.

“It’s a great community that is why I like my job now I can help in the community during the day,” he said. “Like the planters down town. When that was all redone the Main Street businesses got together they were going to take care of them. For the most part they did, but over the years the businesses changed over. They did not know they were supposed to take care of them.” 

He started taking care of the planters and the city stepped in to take care of them. Today most are taken care of by the Main Street businesses again with just a few that are taken care of by other people.

One of the biggest accomplishments was the ditch that ran through town. In 1974, the Grassroots Gals Garden club started the project to cover the ditch with concrete tiles. The ditch was an eye sore to the community and the plan was to make a walkway the full length connecting parks. 

In 2016, with the urging of Estes the final phase was going to be completed with the demolition of an old house at the West end which was becoming dangerous. Estes feared that somebody was going to get hurt or killed in the house. 

Today, a parking lot is where the house once was standing with a sign telling the history of how the walkway was built. The name of the walk way is The Beautiful Cover Up. It has won national awards and recently won awards from the Wyoming Association of Municipalities.

Estes has been employed by the city for 27 years, searching for projects that he can help do so the city can save money. After putting a ping pong table and checker board at City Park someone donated the paddles, balls and checkers. Taking notice this impressed Estes, hoping they would stay at the park for all to use.