How long does it take to identify smell?

That, in a nutshell, was the primary question that was basically unanswered Monday in the latest of many meeting with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

After being told for the last three to four years about the odor problem in Carthage, after a lawsuit has been filed by a resident against RES, after explaining that the only true indicator of an odor is the nose, DNR came up with the wonderful solution of giving a survey to Carthage residents to get their input – something that they should have done a long time ago.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine what the odor is and where it is coming from. But apparently, DNR has to have all of its t’s cross and its i’s dotted before it can even think about coming up with a solution.

As Mayor Jim Woestman said, Wednesday’s meeting was basically a feel-good meeting, and nothing really tangible came out of it. In fact, about the only thing that came out of the meeting was increased frustration.

So much information has been given to DNR  and that is why it is so frustrating to see this state agency sit back and take a “let’s get some more information before we do anything” approach.

The people of Carthage are tired of being held hostage by the smell. The people of Carthage are tired of being told “we need more, we need more, we need more.” The people of Carthage are tired of being told, “there’s really nothing we can do.”

We urge DNR to expense a little bit of money and camp out here for a while to correctly monitor the situation. First-hand proof is always better than second-hand information.

Let’s get this problem solved before it turns into more of a quagmire that it already is.

We want our town back!

CARTHAGE PRESS