By Cassidy Grom | Echo
Pencil shavings, sweaty gym socks and half-baked pizza are all typical smells in high school. The aroma of twenty-eight thousand chickens was almost added to that concoction for Eastbrook Junior/ Senior High School students.
This week, farmer Adam Swagger broke ground across from the school for a poultry breeding facility 900 feet away from the school. But soon after, the school board and local residents voiced their concerns about the chicken farm's potential odor. As of Tuesday, construction at the Marion site has come to a halt.
State and county law requires a permit to construct a facility for more than 30,000 chickens. Because his facility would be just under that threshold, Swagger obtained a normal building permit from the director of Grant County Area Planning commission on Oct. 22 and broke ground soon after.
When parents of Eastbrook students heard about the preliminary construction, many were immediately concerned. Upland resident Steve Bailey has two elementary-aged children who will eventually attend Eastbrook Junior/Senior high school. Bailey was concerned about the stench resulting from chickens cooped up in close proximity.
"I've been on chicken farms and it has a really bad odor," he said. "It's the ammonia smell."
John Bonham, president of the area planning commission board, said he heard complaints about potential airborne diseases. The Eastbrook superintendent, Brett Garrett, said other locals worried that the value of their nearby property would decrease. The side of a barn near the construction site bears the painted protest "No CAFO" (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation).
Technically, Swagger and Hy-line LLC, the poultry breeding company he works for, were in compliance with state and county law.
"I think it's like letter of law or spirit of law," Bonham said. "Spirit of law says when you get that many animals in one place, let's take a look at it. Letter of the law says 'we are under 30,000 (chickens); you can't tell us what to do.' Technically, that is true, but that doesn't alleviate (community members') concerns."
Bonham says he and other members of the planning commission board were unaware Swagger was given a building permit or they would have acted sooner. Tuesday, an unofficial meeting was called that included Swagger, the Eastbrook Community Schools administration, the Grant County Area Planning Commission and representatives from Hy-line LLC to come up with a solution.
Swagger and Hy-line agreed to relocate the facility to a rural area outside Van Buren.
Both Bonham and Garrett were pleased with the solution and felt it benefited everyone. The Van Buren location is significantly closer to Swagger's home, and the Eastbrook community no longer has to worry about the farm's proximity to the school.
"What happened is what we hope would happen in any case," Bonham said. "(It was a situation) where people could come, hear what was proposed, share their concerns and find a solution that all could be supportive of."
