1 Front Volume 142 No. 15
Friday, March 18, 2016
Single Copy Cost 50¢
Coleman: ‘We will get noticed’ EDCNCI seats board By Goldie Rapp grapp@bcrnews.com
The Economic Development Corporation of North Central Illinois (EDCNCI) has officially sat its board of directors and will hold its first meeting on Wednesday, March 23, in Peru. Board members were elected to represent Bureau, LaSalle and Putnam counties, along with the private sector. Representing Bureau County is Keith Cain and
Debb Ladgenski. Representing Putnam County is Kevin Coleman. Representing LaSalle County is Jill Bernal, Robert Eschbach and Don Finley. Representing the private sector is Scott Stavrakas, Steve Aubry, Jim Riley, Steve Nelson, Joni Hunt, Brad Bruins and Dan Aussem. At the first meeting, board members will have a chance to get to know one another and will elect officers for the board including chair and vice chair. According to Coleman, each officer will
Calvin Tussey, process board operator at Marquis Energy, is able to monitor every aspect of the corn to ethanol fermentation process from his station at the Hennepin ethanol plant. Marquis Energy took seven and one-half years to produce 1 billion gallons of ethanol. With the addition of their new facility they expect to reach the 2 billion milestone by 2020. See more on Page 2.
Tonica News photo/ Dave Cook
hold a two-year term. The rest of the board will hold a three-year term. A lottery will take place to avoid members leaving the board at once. The EDCNCI Board will also soon be looking to hire a recruiter to begin its search for an executive director, who will be in charge of making contacts with businesses all over the U.S. and beyond to see about bringing them to North Central Illinois. Coleman said it’s his hope that person will be hired and working for the group
no later than this fall. Cain, who was appointed by the Bureau County Board to serve on the EDCNCI, is looking forward to representing the Bureau County area and hopes the board can become unified. “Any kind of industry in this region will help everyone, and I think this will be a good way to get us all together,” he said. Cain pointed out how the board is not only made up of governmental representation, but also local businesses from the private sector, which puts a broader per-
spective on the area. “What is best for certain locations will be what we promote for that area … If we can all work together as a group, I think it just makes a lot bigger statement,” he said. “A lot of people have invested good money into this.” Coleman, who was appointed by the Putnam County Board, has been a part of the EDCNCI since before its inception. Coleman was apart of the planning process when EDCNCI was just an idea, and he sat on the interim
EDCNCI Page 3
Lostant to tax cell phones By Zachary J. Pratt news@tonicanews.com
From the crop to the tank ... Marquis Energy hits 1 billion gallon milestone
By Dave Cook
news@putnamcountyrecord.com
HENNEPIN — Since April 20, 2008, Marquis Energy has been producing ethanol in Putnam County. Seven and one-half years later, through the continuous enhancement of their production method, the team at Marquis Energy — approximately 150 people, reached the milestone of having produced one billion gallons of ethanol. Everyone knows it’s an ethanol plant and has seen the endless parade of trucks traveling to and from the facility or the barges regularly working their way down the river, but what about having an understanding of what actually happens there? Marquis Energy produces more than just ethanol. The process of making ethanol creates additional opportunities for marketable products. They also make use of every advantage Putnam County has to offer an industry located within its borders: Easy interstate access, rail roads, the Illinois River and manpower from throughout the area. Jeff Peterson, president and director of risk management, said, “That’s our strength here, the logistics. Being located on the Illinois River is a huge key to our success.” The process
The transition from corn to ethanol begins as the corn, from as far away as 60 miles, is loaded into one of the roughly 300 to 400 trucks per day traveling into the plant. Those trucks deliver a total of 300,000-400,000 bushels of corn per day. After being weighed at the entrance, the corn is unloaded and directed into storage silos. The plant can store up to 2.4 million bushels, enough for approximately six to seven days worth of ethanol production. After the corn is taken out of storage, it travels by conveyor to the hammer mill where it’s ground into a flour. From there, the flour is mixed with water and enzymes to create a mash that begins the chemical process of breaking down the starch into simple sugars. This helps prepare the corn for efficient fermentation, and optimized fermentation leads to increased yield and profitability. The mix enters a slurry tank for retention time to allow the enzymes time to work. The corn mash absorbs heat from the 200-degree cook water, so to maintain the optimum 185 degree temperature for the enzymes, the mixture travels through steam-powered jet heaters. The heat provides a physical process of breaking down the starch. Andy Rowe, process manager, said, “After more retention time and enzymes, an operator
Vol. 142 No. 15
will send yeast into the tank and let it grow and reproduce for about eight hours before we fill the ferment tank with the mash mixture.” Fermentation is the biological process which converts sugars into cellular energy, producing ethanol and carbon dioxide as a result. Some ethanol plants sell the carbon dioxide to industries which have a need for it, such as beverage companies, providing the plant with another product and revenue source. “We don’t sell our CO2, the logistics for us to reach a viable market do not work out favorably, so we do not market it,” said Peterson. Marquis’ typical fermentation time is about two days. “You might hear in the alcoholic beverage industry of fermentation times of weeks or months, but we don’t have that kind of time. We add a lot to help it out, enzymes and yeast propagation come into play,” Rowe said. When the fermentation process is finished the mixture is typically 16 percent alcohol by weight. From one of the 16 fermentation tanks, the blend travels through three columns of distillation. Distillation is the action of purifying a liquid through a process of evaporation and condensation.
You can’t avoid the mess, but you can avoid the stress. 2 Rooms: 3 Rooms:
One Section - 8 Pages
© The Tonica News
board before being elected to the board of directors. To see how the organization has grown in the last year and one half, he said it’s been “fantastic.” “Forming the board is another hurdle we’ve gotten over in the planning stages,” he said. For Coleman, the EDCNCI has the potential to bring industry and jobs to the area to benefit the economy and people of North Central Illinois.
Offer expires May 31, 2016
$105
Reg. $149.95
$125
Reg. $169.95
Marquis Energy Page 2
LOSTANT — With the lost revenue from landlines eating away at the town’s finances, Lostant expects a cell phone tax to help pick up the slack. During its Monday, March 14, meeting, the Lostant Village Board approved the proposed ordinance to tax cellular phones. The board has been discussing the possibility of taxing cell phones in the same manner as other towns, based off the cost of a household’s basic plan. Prior to this meeting, the document had been drawn up, so everything was ready for a vote. “I think we can vote on this,” said Trustee Jack Immel, noting that some members were not present. “We have a quorum.” The issue went to a vote, and the ordinance passed. In other discussion, resident Karol Hetrick came before the board to discuss her concerns with the town. In short, Lostant should be growing, but it is not. The board explained they have no real control in her particular complaints, such as various businesses closing down or going elsewhere. Also Immel applauded Mitch McCaw at the meeting. “Could I recognize Mitch for the award he got?” Immel asked. He directed his next statement to Mitch McCaw, who was in attendance: “I think they’re calling you Mr. Aquaman now.”
McNabb, IL 61335 (309)740-4470 (815)882-2150
www.oxygreenillinois.com Ken Troyan, Owner/ Operator