Jackson St. Resident: "I'm really wondering if quality of life is restricted to the west side of Hwy. 41"

August 30, 2001

I recently received an e-mail from John Casper at the Chamber of Commerce with regard to the proposed ethanol plant in Algoma. Actually, this was a mass e-mailing since the company I work for belongs to the Chamber, and so with a click of a button, I along with many, receive the Chamber's corespondence.

What really irked me was Mr. Casper's NIMBY stance. The e-mail contained an attachment for a petition to stop the plant. Now, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't wish an ethanol plant on anyone, but here are some of Mr. Casper's reasons for stopping the plant. Ethanol plant's are known to:

Emit noxious odors

Emit hazardous elements in the air

Make extreme amounts of noise

Have high volume of traffic

All this from a guy who helped plow a rural highway down a residential area, complete with schools, kids, and 168 houses. Yep, I live on Jackson Street.

I'm really wondering if quality of life is restricted to the west side of Hwy. 41.

I found in Mr. Casper's e-mail the height of hypocrisy. My neighborhood is just as much a part of this community as John Casper's Algoma.

--Joel Kluessendorf

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