By JUSTIN SCHNEIDER
Out of sight, out of mind.
That adage seems to be the driving force behind the Killbuck Concerned Citizens Association’s latest campaign.
This week, three black billboards with white lettering popped up around Anderson bearing the message: “Landfill at Mallard Lake? BIG MISTAKE.”
“We know that we’re not going to change the world with a billboard, but we want to change public awareness,” said Cheryl Myers, president of the KCCA. “Relatively well-informed people think the landfill issue is dead because they haven’t heard about it in a while. It has long-term negative consequences for people in the entire community.”
The locations of the three identical billboards were confirmed by Burkhart Advertising Corp. which owns the space. They can be found at these locations on the north, east and west side of the city:
n North — Near the corner of Broadway and Seminole near Myers Autoworld Inc., facing south
n East — On Scatterfield near Mancino’s in the former PharMor parking lot, facing south
n West — Near the corner of Nichol Avenue and Park Road, near Keg-N-Bottle, facing east
Myers would not disclose the dollar amount the KCCA paid for the advertisements, but Jeff Gschwind of Burkhart, said Anderson rates are typically $609 per panel for a four-week period.
“I can tell you that they qualified because they are a nonprofit organization,” said Gschwind, vice president and general manager of Burkhart, which is based in South Bend, but has an office in Alexandria. “Nonprofit rates are generally less than what a for-profit business would be.”
Gschwind said the three KCCA billboards will stay up for two weeks, not the standard four-week period.
The KCCA was formed in 1979 in opposition to JM Corp., which wants to create a landfill at the corner of County Road 300 East and County Road 300 North in rural Richland Township.
Myers said the billboards are also designed to promote the KCCA Web site, which has been up and running for about five weeks.
“When people drive by a billboard, they have a moment or two of attention span they can afford to give,” Myers said. “That’s why we invite people to visit the Web site.”
Early this month, Madison County Commissioners John Richwine, Pat Dillon and Paul Wilson attended a KCCA meeting to address the group’s concerns. The meeting ended a long silence brought about by litigation between the group and county government.
In May, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management cut off talks with JM Corp., sending the landfill issue back to Marion (County) Superior Court.
“It’s an outreach tool,” Myers said of the KCCA Web site. “This was a good opportunity to advertise our Web address and inform the public.”
Killbuck Concerned Citizens Association
Web site: www.supportkcca.org
