The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON, Ind. —
Time marches on, leaving old remnants of success in its path. So it is with the former Emge packing plan and stockyard on Anderson’s west side. Last week, the Anderson Board of Public Works approved a contract to have the former slaughterhouse off West Eighth Street demolished. Given the plant’s past status as a major employer, it’s a sad day. But it’s been a long time in coming. The Emge facility has been dormant for generations.
Sometimes we’re slow to let go of the past in this community — witness the passionate opposition to the expansion of the Prairie Farms dairy operation in Anderson’s Shadyside Park. But when that history has turned to dust, it’s time to move on.
Neighbors of the Emge plant know that it would do a world of good for the neighborhood to raze the facility, which became an eyesore long ago. It’s sort of the NIMBY sentiment in reverse. Generally, folks say “Not In My Backyard” when a controversial project — such as a landfill or a power plant — is proposed. Sometimes, though, neighbors can get fed up with something that used to belong but no longer does in their backyard. The city will contract with Beam, Longest & Neff, an Indianapolis consulting firm, to develop a plan for the demolition on the five-acre site. That’s the same firm that worked for the city back when the idea was to turn the Emge plant into office space. Anderson could have saved money by skipping that ill-fated idea and instead going right for the demolition. It’s hard to stomach such missteps in these times of economic hardships for taxpayers.
But now the right thing is going to happen. It’s time to say good-bye to vestiges of another era when those vestiges only help you remember how bad things have gotten.
Plus, the city has a use for the site. The plan is to put a storage tunnel there to increase underground sewage treatment plant capacity, thereby reducing sewer overflows into the White River.
