Ethanol Vote Results

As you may have heard or read in the news, the zoning change I last wrote about passed the monolithic County Board by a large margin. Although, I was surprised to see three Republicans join the three Democrats who voted against it.

TV 20 News had a short one-sided report on the vote last night that aired the Republican talking points without mentioning why the proposal was controversial. The SJ-R article provides more depth.

This quote from the article caught my attention:

Springfield attorney Gordon Gates, arguing on behalf of residents in the Waverly area, said the new zoning measure does not protect agricultural land. "There seems to be this implication that if this ethanol refinery under a conditional permitted use is no longer needed, that the property will then somehow revert back to row crops," Gates said. "That's insane. We all know that's not going to happen."