News From The Front Line

Just returned from Lesterville and here is some of what I saw and heard.

Returning to Lesterville from Centerville on Thursday night I saw a scene that reminded me of "Close Encounters". Remember when Richard Dreyfuss first sees the landing zone at the base of Devils Tower? Well that is what the Taum Sauk area looks like at night from Highway 21. Must be enough lights to light two super bowls. I did not have time to head up Highway U to see what it looks like from that vantage point, but anyone heading back to Lesterville should plan an after dark drive to take a look at this site.

There did not seem to be much thought about the Ameren settlement except that everyone seemed to be happy that it was settled. There is still some dissatisfaction at the Court House and Sen. Engler is unhappy that Iron County did not get anything directly out of the settlement. The biggest question is who is going to be appointed to the two boards (tourism and education) and will they really be independent. Guess only time will tell.

On Highway J near Oats a new 3 bay fire station is near completion. This was built with part of the $5 million FERC fine. Still no 911, but I guess its still in the works.

Here are two links about another aspect of this story.

New State Park

PSC Investigation
I wonder what this political investigation cost the tax payers. Ameren and it's insurance carrier may pay a lot in this settlement, but there are a lot of tax payer funded costs that are going to just be absorbed in this deal.

Finally, Ameren is having a press tour on the reservoir site this Thursday. I'd love to see it, but I'm not driving back to Lesterville for the event. So hope that all the news media will do a good job of showing us what the top of Proffitt Mt. really looks like. Still want to encourage Ameren to install a webcam and let all of us watch from our computers.