Voice of the People

I see by the Chesterton Tribune that maybe they will finally develop the commercial part of Coffee Creek Center. I hope so. As a NIPSCO customer I would like to see some return on my investment that I have paid in my utility bills for years carrying this project. I am still wondering how they are going to route truck and form machinery traffic across 49 bypass since they closed the 1050 north pass over 49.

Enough said. I would like in add some humor about Chesterton’s planning & development plans. I saw in the news where soon after Chesterton’s rejection of GK Development plans for a strip mall South of 1100 North, that they were then considering a developers plans for a commercial center and residential development south & east of the Toll Road overpass.

Chesterton would have to extend water & sewer lines under the Toll Rd. The newspaper stated that the planners felt this was a good idea and needed study.

My suggestion is that if Chesterton would like to extend out into undisturbed farming area then why shouldn’t farming move into Chesterton?

We could start mushroom growing in the old WiseWay or Jewel stores. Just close off the windows and use the existing air conditioning & heating. Mushrooms grow in sterilized chicken manure so one of the stores could be used as a confined broiler growing or a egg laying chicken factory. Then some other existing building could be used as a fish worm growing farm using the spent soil from the mushroom factory. Speaking of fish they are now growing fish indoors. I just read where a fellow raised over 500 lbs. of fish in tanks in his basement. Some of the buildings could have skylights put in and flowers & plants such as tomatoes could be raised in hydroculture from the fertile water from the fish farms. It is just unlimited what we farmers could do if Chesterton just wants to switch places with us.

Keith Lakin

Local farm owner

Posted 6/21/2006