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| Top Story | This story pubished online: Monday, April 26, 2004 11:46 PM CDT |
Illiopolis residents trying to resume life with a sense of normalcy in the wake of fatal explosion
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The Stahl family corn and bean farm in Illiopolis sits about a quarter of a mile from the Formosa Plastics Corp. factory that exploded Friday night and burned for several days, claiming the lives of four workers.
The force of the blast popped the farmhouse windows out of their frames and sent Deborah Stahl, husband Jim and their 16-year-old daughter, Kara, fleeing as chemical fumes stung their eyes. But the Stahls never intended to cut and run for long.
"You can't live your life in fear, you can't be afraid of everything all the time," said Deborah Stahl on Monday, acknowledging the accepted risk of living by such a volatile neighbor. The family had evacuated their home Friday and spent much of the weekend away from it to escape smoke and fumes. On Monday, life was pretty much back to normal as Stahl got busy planting rose bushes in her yard - and counted her blessings.
"I always figured that if the plant blew, we would be gone - and so would most of Illiopolis," she added. "So we were really very, very lucky. But we're also farmers and life goes on - you can't just uproot the farm and run away."
Illiopolis Mayor Allen Brickey says attitudes like that are common among the 1,000-strong population of his town as life gets back to some sense of normalcy. "A town or village is just a location on the map, but a community is made up of people, and it's the people who make this a good place to live," he said.
Brickey said Illiopolis has been overwhelmed by the amount of assistance it received - some 25 fire departments from surrounding communities, many of them volunteer, rushing in to help fight the fire, flooding the town with men and equipment. "Just seeing things like that makes you feel good," he added.
But some of his neighbors say the sadness that remains is for the memories of the workers who lost their lives and the families they left behind.
"There's no sense of getting back to normal about that," said Burl Edwards, who owns Christine's Pit Stop bar and diner, which has been used as a makeshift headquarters by emergency crews and officials.
"People have lost dear friends here, and getting over that is going to take a while."
Counselors were standing by to help children who returned to class Monday in the Illiopolis School District, but Superintendent Larry Eyre said they weren't needed. "We were fortunate because none of the parents of our children were directly impacted by what happened," he said.
As the Illiopolis community looks to the future, Eyre said the school district is heartened by statements from Formosa that the plant will be rebuilt. In a tax base hammered by the collapsing value of farmland, the chemical plant pumps in some $200,000 annually in taxes to the school district. "Losing that plant would have a very big economic impact on this community," he added.
Formosa spokesman, Robert Thibault, confirmed again Monday that the company would reinvest and rebuild in Illiopolis.
"We are committed to bringing the plant back online," he said. "We have an investment here we want to preserve and we have a commitment to the community and to our employees."
Thibault said clean-up efforts were going well and even better than expected. All last remains of the fire were extinguished as efforts moved into an "assessment, investigation and recovery phase."
Public meeting set to discuss safety issues
A public meeting to discuss the aftermath of the Illiopolis chemical plant explosion will be held at 7 p.m. today at the Illiopolis High School. Managers from the Formosa Plastics Corp. and other officials will on hand to answer questions about air and water safety and other issues.
Drive needed to replenish blood supply
Treatment of workers injured in the Illiopolis chemical plant explosion has created a shortage of donated blood, according to the Central Illinois Community Blood Center in Springfield.
Supplies of O-Negative and O-Positive blood are needed and the blood center will be taking donations Friday, April 30, from 2-7 p.m. at the Illiopolis High School Cafeteria. Donations can also be made during the week at the blood center headquarters at 1134 S. Seventh St. in Springfield.
Call 753-1530 for more information.
Tony Reid can be reached at treid@herald-review.com or 421-7977.
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