SALINE CO., Ill.—During a regular meeting of the Saline County Board last night, the board took action on only minor topics, but heard concerns voiced by both citizens and board members regarding the vacation and relocation of Rocky Branch Road.
Alan Porter spoke to the board, telling them that even though the vote had been cast and Rocky Branch Road will be vacated and relocated, he hoped that the board would actively work to remain educated, and not to allow themselves to be owned by Peabody. Porter displayed for the board a book that explained all of the practices and requirements that mines must abide by, and told the board that he had found numerous discrepancies between the regulations and already displayed practices by Peabody Energy. He ended by simply asking the board to attempt to be educated rather than ignorant of the practices of the coal company.
Steven Karns also spoke to the board on the matter of Rocky Branch Road. Karns told the board that one of his largest issues was the use and placement of the funds received in exchange for the road closure. Why did the board choose to allow the majority of the payment to be classified as a “charitable donation,” therefore not requiring it to be placed in the road funds which could have been use to fix existing roads in Cottage Township.
Board Member Jeff Murrie echoed these concerns as well. Why did the board not ask for a larger amount of money for the road, and why wasn’t it paid in a lump sum? Why did the board not notice that the agreement with Peabody did not specify a time frame under which the road extension between old and new Routes 13 must be built, but instead allowed the wording to be that it would be done after mining and reclamation was completed? Furthermore, why did the board allow the terminology to classify the payments as “charitable giving,” which is a tax deduction for the company, since charitable giving is defined as “generous donations or gift to relieve the need of indigent, ill, helpless persons or animals”? This point was met with bitter laughter of some of those in attendance. Murrie finished by saying that he, in summary, did not want the county to seem as though they were in any way perceived as being in any of the previously mentioned dispositions.
For more on the details of these conversations at the Saline County Board meeting, as well as other matters that were addressed during the meeting, check out the upcoming edition of Disclosure, on stands May 14, or right here at the e-Edition on May 12.