**YouTube LiveStream Video of the Mead Town Hall will post here to this page at 7:00 p.m. on April 12**
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 2, 2021
Contact:
Mark Hefflinger, Bold Nebraska, mark@boldnebraska.org
Mead Town Hall: Concerned Locals, State Environmental & Ag Groups Host Discussion on AltEn Ethanol Plant Pollution
April 12 event at Mead Covenant Church + via Facebook video includes panel and Q&A moderated by Fmr. State Sen. Al Davis feat. local residents, scientists, attorney
Mead, NE — An in-person and virtual town hall meeting to discuss community concerns with the AltEn ethanol plant pollution, cleanup, health and environmental impacts, moderated by former Nebraska State Sen. Al Davis and featuring local impacted residents, state scientists and an attorney will be held on Monday, April 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the Mead Covenant Church, and also offer viewing online via Facebook and YouTube, and participation in the Q&A session online via Facebook.
WHAT: Town Hall Meeting in Mead, Nebraska (In-Person & Online Video / Comments)
TOPIC: AltEn ethanol plant and community concerns re: ongoing contamination, cleanup, health & environmental impacts
WHEN: Monday, April 12, 7:00 p.m. CT
WHERE: Mead Covenant Church
1540 County Rd 10, Mead, NE 68041
(*We are asking all in-person attendees to wear a mask and practice social distancing inside the church during the town hall event, which is open to the public*)
LINK TO VIEW ONLINE: https://www.facebook.com/events/1174174353008907
WHO:
Former Nebraska State Senator Al Davis (Moderator)
Jody Weible: local Mead resident within a mile of the AltEn plant, who has experienced health issues, and petitioned state and federal regulators to investigate AltEn pollution; also a former 24-year member of the Mead City Planning Commission.
Paula A. Dyas: lives just north of Mead, and is a Senior Scientist at Merck Animal Health; solicited a sample of AltEn’s soil conditioner for testing after her dogs became violently ill after consuming it.
Leesa Zalesky: lives near Wahoo, NE, and is a retired investigative journalist and author with 25 years of experience covering the agricultural industry.
Janece Mollhoff: Resident of Ashland and former City Council member who initiated a wellhead protection program. Previously completed a water quality study for League of Women Voters that identified gaps in safeguards for Nebraska water.
Dr. Judy Wu-Smart: Assistant Professor of Entomology, University of Nebraska; manager of UNL Bee Lab at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center near Mead, where every hive deployed since 2017 has collapsed — a total of 36 hives, each containing 40,000-60,000 bees.
Dr. John Schalles: Professor of Biology at Creighton University, who uses remote sensing and geospatial analyses to assess water quality and the health of inland and coastal waters and wetland ecosystems, and teaches courses in aquatic science, remote sensing, toxicology, and zoology.
Dave Domina: Attorney with Domina Law Group, who has represented Nebraskans, landowners, and cattlemen in matters including class action lawsuits, product liability, wrongful death and serious injury, and a wide variety of complex commercial cases.
Mead Town Hall Local Sponsors:
Concerned Citizens of Mead
Nebraska Sierra Club
Bold Nebraska
Nebraska Conservation Voters
League of Women Voters of Nebraska
Nebraska Wildlife Federation
Wachiska Audubon
GC Resolve
Nebraska Communities United
Nebraska Farmers Union
Nebraska Interfaith Power & Light
Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska
Nebraska State Grange
View the Facebook event page, which will also host the town hall live stream:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1174174353008907
Nebraska Sierra Club backgrounder on AltEn:
https://www.sierraclub.org/nebraska/alten-crisis
Recent media coverage:
‘There’s a red flag here’: how an ethanol plant is dangerously polluting a US village (The Guardian: Carey Gillam, Jan. 10, 2021)
Chemicals don’t just disappear’ — Persistence by researchers, residents uncovers pesticide contamination at Mead plant (Lincoln Journal Star: Chris Dunker, Feb. 7, 2021)
‘A dump for seed corn companies’ — Mead residents worry what comes next for troubled ethanol plant (Lincoln Journal Star: Chris Dunker, Feb 14, 2021)
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