02-08-2007RENSSELAER – The Jasper County sheriff, Orville Perry, has been with the department since 1975.
He knows the territory pretty well, and has seen the area grow and develop.
Wednesday, he told Kosciusko County Commissioner Ron Truex there haven’t been any problems at the Iroquois Bio-Energy Co.’s ethanol plant.
Located about two miles east of town on Ind. 114, the facility started production Jan. 19.
Perry and several deputies were having lunch at Martin’s Restaurant.
At another table were several men from Milford and Syracuse, who also were interested in the nearby ethanol plant.
County commissioners Brad Jackson and Truex flew to Rensselaer Wednesday with Jackson piloting the airplane. They met with property owners Harlan Beer and Steve Weisser, and a group of other local men, who drove there, stopping for lunch at Martin’s Restaurant.
One local man said he knew someone who worked at the plant. Prior to lunch they stopped there, went to the scales area and took a look around.
“It smells like a bakery,” said one of the men from Kosciusko County.
VeraSun Energy has options on 230 acres northeast of Milford, near the intersection of Old Ind. 15 and CR 1350N.
The land is owned by Beer and Weisser Farms.
VeraSun has applied for an air permit to operate at the Milford location.
A group of Milford-area residents have formed the Northern Lakes Concerned Citizens Association. Their representatives have been very vocal about their opposition to the proposed plant, citing pollution, increased traffic and safety as major concerns.
The commissioners decided to visit the Rensselaer plant and talk to local citizens.
A tour wasn’t provided, but the commissioners took a slow drive past the Rensselaer facility.
“If we didn’t know where the plant was, we wouldn’t have known by the smell,” Truex said. “We had to stick our heads out the window like dogs to get the faintest odor.”
The odor smelled faintly of yeast.
There was very little traffic on Ind. 114 to the plant and none of it included semi tractors hauling corn.
In fact, one Jasper County deputy commented that delivery trucks are on a strict 15-minute schedule. If they miss their delivery time, they must reschedule.
“The people around here are more concerned with big dairy and hog operations coming in,” Perry said. “A few of the close-by neighbors had questions about the plant. That’s it. There haven’t been any problems out there.”
Rensselaer Central High School is on the side of town next to the Jasper County Hospital.
“We stopped by the school,” a Syracuse businessman said. “The principal was surprised when we asked about an emergency plan, in case something happened at the ethanol plant. He said the school is more concerned about a possible train wreck and what the railcars could be hauling.”
When they flew over the plant, the commissioners commented that there were no stains on the snow and a small stream of steam escaped into the air.
The Iroquois plant was built beside the Pleasant Ridge-Agro Co-op. Processing 35,000 bushels of corn a day, it is one-third the size of the proposed VeraSun plant.
The Rensselaer facility was started by a group of 250 farmers. Other investors include Indeck Energy of Buffalo Grove, Ill., the Andersons of Maumee, Ohio, Noble Americas of Stamford, Conn., and Agro Key Cooperative.
A receptionist at the Jackson County Airport said she and her husband have invested in the Iroquois plant.
Milford area property owner Weisser said, “I benefit in a couple of ways. I’ve got that land and 200 acres to grow corn.”