City Moves on Waste-to-Energy Plant

Tulare - Having approved a memorandum of understanding two weeks ago, the Tulare City Council was expected this week to execute an exclusive right- to-negotiate agreement with a Clovis firm that proposes to build a 65-megawatt power plant on city property.

The plant — using patented technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — would convert about 1,000 tons a day of municipal waste into electricity, steam, heat and bio-diesel or other renewable fuels, Public Works Director Lew Nelson said.

“This would be the first full-size power plant in the world using this technology,” Nelson said, adding five or six smaller plants exist that convert only five to 10 tons of waste a day.

Full Circle Energy of Clovis proposes to build the plant on a 20-acre parcel at 2450 West Paige Ave., adjacent to the city's wastewater treatment plant and Tulare Cycle Park.

The proposed zero-emissions project is especially attractive in that a full sized-plant would utilize most of Tulare County's waste stream, helping all the cities and communities meet state requirements to reduce green house gas emissions, Nelson said.

“The timing couldn't be better, in my view, for this (proposal) to come forward,” he said.

The project also has the potential of extending the life of the county's landfills, he said.

Speaking with the Valley Voice in September, Full Circle Chief Executive Officer Fred Furrow explained that the technology his company would use does not burn the waste, but instead uses super-hot temperatures from a plasma torch inside a vessel without oxygen, which eliminates pollution problems.

The process makes a synthetic gas that can be converted into other types of energy, including biodiesel, he said.

If approved, as expected this week, the 180-day exclusive right to negotiate will allow the city to approach the Consolidated Waste Management Authority, a joint powers agency, with the proposal to commit the countywide waste stream to the project. It also will permit Full Circle Energy to develop specific plans and seek financing for the project.

The city does not plan on investing in the project, but Nelson said he has heard from different sources that W. M. Lyles is interested. “They are listed as an interested party in the agreement,” he said.

Full Circle Energy first presented its proposal to the City Council at a Sept. 16 study session. Council members directed staff then to continue talking with the company to determine the viability of such a project.

Since then, other firms have approached the city about developing a waste-to-energy complex. The most recent contacts came after the Nov. 18 council meeting, when two more companies stepped forward, City Manager Darrel Pyle said.

The council had the option at that meeting to seek proposals from other companies to determine the level and degree of interest, but chose to work with Full Circle.
One of the details Full Circle will have to work out is what to do with the estimated 25 megawatts of energy the plant would generate.

“They will have excessive electricity for sale,” Nelson said, adding the company will likely make a proposal in March to Southern California Edison, which must provide 20 percent renewable energy by 2010.

Full Circle might also sell the energy to the meat plant that is proposed for other property adjacent to the wastewater treatment plant. The plant had planned to build its own digester to process waste into energy, but is now very interested in buying steam and electricity “across the fence” from Full Circle, Nelson said.

Although it has installed fuel cells, the city's wastewater treatment plant is still two megawatts short and is another potential client, he said.

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It’s Now Assemblywoman Connie Conway

By Rick Elkins

Tulare - Tulare's Connie Conway, newly installed assemblywoman for the 34th District, does not expect to have a lot of time to get her feet on the ground as the state's budget mess cries out for resolve.

Conway, who represented District 2 on the Tulare County Board of Supervisors for eight years before seeking the Assembly seat, took the oath of office Monday.
She said earlier she would not be at all surprised if the Governor called another special session of the Legislature this month.

“With the extraordinary circumstances we have, I'm just under the impression the Governor may do that again and we'll have to go right to work,” Conway said. “Normally, the month of December would be organizational, to see what you can do and how to do it and working on legislation. We may not have that luxury. We may have to go right to work.”

Conway won a hard-fought Republican primary in June, defeating three challengers, including the wife of Assemblyman Bill Maze, who had served the maximum terms and could not seek re-election. She won the general election Nov. 4 easily, earning more than 63 percent of the vote.

She said she has mixed emotions about the Assembly reconvening before January.
“I feel prepared, but I don't know,” she said.

Conway was joined by 25 other new members of the Assembly – 10 Republicans and 15 Democrats—as she took the oath of office. On Tuesday, she resumed the training that began before new members were seated.

While normally the Legislature does not meet in December, that appears a strong possibility since it failed last week to reach an agreement to address the fiscal crisis.
Reports indicate the state faces at least a $10 billion deficit and possibly as high as $30 billion. Some lawmakers are calling for budget cuts, while others favor new taxes.

Living within Means

“Everybody knows we need to have cuts and nobody wants to do that,” Conway said, calling upon the state to take a hard look at duplicate programs. She described herself as a “big believer in living within the means we have.”

She doesn't see how the overall budget situation can get much worse.

“If ever anything was going to get done, now is the right time,” she said. “I don't see how we can put this debt off any more. We can't use creative tools and if that was going to happen, it would have happened in the past 90 days.”

Schools are an area of big concern to her as she begins her Assembly career. Much of what the state does ties the hands of local schools on how they can spend money, Conway said. She proposes giving schools more flexibility and reducing the strings attached to categorical funding.

Water is another issue that is certain to dominate the state's agenda over the next several months. Conway said it is imperative for the state to come up with more water storage.

“The state needs a wakeup call,” she said, responding to reports Southern California will see a reduced water allotment this month.
“People in Los Angeles need to know water is not just there. We understand water in the Valley. I just don't understand why the rest of the world doesn't understand that.”
While stressing it is important to find better ways to use water we have, she said as the state continues to grow in population there has to be more storage.
The state can't conserve its way out of this problem and needs a comprehensive approach, but whenever talk turns to more storage, it seems to stall any solutions, she said.
Conway begins her term as member of the minority party. The new state Assembly will be comprised of 51 Democrats and just 29 Republicans – three fewer than last term.

Well Prepared

Conway took office in 2001 as District 2's representative on the Board of Supervisors, a position she held until to two weeks ago.

She twice served as chairman and was also active on several statewide committees, including the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, which she chaired.
In 2006, she served as president of the California State Association of Counties.

She was also a director of the National Association of Counties and is a past state president of the Cities, Counties and Schools Partnership. She has developed a close relationship with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of the reasons she has been listed as one of “5 newcomers to watch” in the Sacramento Bee's preview of the legislative year.

“I feel prepared, but it's just a different arena. There are no aisles to reach across in local government,” Conway said. “I do have a very clear understanding of the relationships of local government and state government. I'm used to working in a non-partisan environment and building coalitions. This will be more challenging, because it is partisan and it is set up in such a way that it's not easy to navigate.”

Born in Bakersfield, Conway was raised in Tulare. She graduated from San Joaquin Memorial High School – attending school there with Rep. Jim Costa - and graduated from California State University, Fresno.

She inherited her love of public office from her father, John Conway, who served as county supervisor from 1980 until his death in 1991.

She has been active for many years in Tulare, serving on numerous committees, including the California Public Employee Post Employment Benefits Commission; the Tulare County Employees' Retirement Association; the San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee; the California State Association of Counties' Excess Insurance Authority; and the California Elected Women's Association for Education and Research.

She also served on the Tulare Redevelopment Agency board, the Tulare Hospital Foundation board of trustees and is past president of the Tulare City Historical Society.

While she won't get her Assembly assignments for a few more weeks, she has requested appointment to the Agriculture, Business and Profession, Governmental Organization, Health, and Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy committees.

“I believe they put you on three or four. With Republicans, because there are so few of us, they might put me on five,” she said.

While she plans to feel her way for a while, she already is working with local community colleges on legislation for funding to expand career technical education.
She has also begun to put her staff together. Justin Stoner, who has worked with Rep. Devin Nunes, R- Tulare, will be her district director at her Visalia office. Dillon Gibbons has been named her chief of staff in Sacramento, Leigh Carter her legislative assistant and Dana Zacky her scheduler. “They're all very young and some are new, just like me,” said Conway.

Despite the many challenges facing the state today – budget, economy, drought – Conway is excited and ready to put the same time and effort into her new office as she did as county supervisor.

“There's a bit of apprehension. It seems like there are insurmountable challenges,” she said, adding she feels the state is at a crossroads right now.

“When people ask me, 'Why are you doing this?' I tell them it's a bigger challenge. And, like what I always tell people, 'Don't be whiners; try to be part of the solution.'”

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Tulare's Korenwinder Wins Baja Race

Tulare - If Michael Korenwinder sounds like a guy whose dream has come true, it's because the 47-year-old motorcycle enthusiast was the first of 29 solo riders to finish in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.

Korenwinder completed the grueling 634-mile course in 18 hours, 13 minutes and 11 seconds—faster than the 19-hour goal he had set for himself and 17 minutes ahead of the second place finisher.

“Out of 29 entries in the Ironman class from all over the world, a Tulare guy won it!” an excited Korenwinder said after returning to Tulare Nov. 24.

Korenwinder has raced in the Baja 1000 before, but as part of a team of several riders who took turns riding the challenging course, which changes from year-to-year to give no one rider the advantage.

“The only time I really got scared was toward the end of the course when we were running along side of the ocean,” Korenwinder said.

Fog had set in and he was riding the course pretty much from memory of the pre-runs he had made, he said. Trucks ride the same course as motorcycles and one already had passed him and he was quite sure that if others came up from behind they would not see him.

“I said a little prayer and asked the Lord to keep an eye on me,” Korenwinder said.
About 30 Tulare-area residents, including his wife and two daughters, attended the race and were at the finish line to greet him.

His brother, Ty Korenwinder, said everyone was “a little worried” about the fog and when Korenwinder came around the corner to the finish line “we all just broke loose” in celebration.

'Absolutely Incredible'

People in Tulare monitored his brother's ride via the Internet and they would call to Mexico to keep family and friends informed, Ty Korenwinder said. They were able to do this because riders were equipped with a transponder that kept track of where they were.

“As long as we were seeing progress…we knew he was moving and OK,” Ty Korenwinder said.

He called his brother's feat “absolutely incredible.” He had thought winning was a long shot but also knew his brother had the skill and determination to win the race, he said.

Mike Korenwinder will win a money prize for his feat, but the exact amount had not been announced by late last week.

Interviewed at the finish line by race officials, Korenwinder told them he had “a great group of family and friends who helped me get through this race. None of this would have been possible without their support.”

Local businesses and the farming community in Tulare were especially supportive of his run, even holding a fund raiser. D & E Yamaha of Visalia, his employer, and the Yamaha Motor Corp. were his official sponsors.

In addition to placing first among the solo riders, Korenwinder placed fifth among all entries in the 40-PRO riding class, which included teams as well as solo riders.

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Encore Melodrama to Offer
'Some Good Evil Laughter’

Tulare - Encore Theatre's Dave Burley knows a good melodrama when he reads one and, in his opinion, the script for “Dirty Work at the Crossroads” is about as good as it gets.

If the first few pages of a script don't elicit at least a few hearty chuckles from Burley, forget it. In this case, “Dirty Work” exceeds his expectations.
“This is an extremely funny melodrama,” Burley said. “I laughed several times on the first page alone.”

This is the third time in about 15 years that Encore has produced “Dirty Work” and the second time Burley has directed the hilarious story of sweet Nellie Lovelace, an innocent country girl, who is pursued by the dastardly (and married) Munro.

Burley and cast members, many of whom are long-time friends, say they have thoroughly enjoyed working on the production. “It's a lot of fun,” said Jerrod Turner, who landed the role of Munro after his older brother Ryan — who as Mookie also has a lead role — coaxed him to audition.

The audience will have a hard time believing Jerrod Turner has not acted since eighth grade, when he played the father in Bye Bye, Birdie at Cherry Avenue Middle School.

“He is just unbelievable,” Burley said. “I've not seen a villain as great as Jerrod. He's the kind of guy that can just walk on stage. He's a natural and he's a real nice guy. For someone as good as he is, he's very humble and very good to work with.”

Now on staff with a young adult church ministry in Visalia called Elevate, Turner previously worked as a night disc jockey on KDUV radio.

As Mookie, Ryan Turner, who is a sixth grade teacher at Cherry, has taken on his first comedy role at Encore.

“Mookie is kind of a country bumpkin,” Turner said. “He doesn't know what's going on. He's innocent and naïve.”

This is quite a change for Turner who describes his previous Encore roles as “pretty straight laced.” Encore regulars will remember him from such productions as “Beauty and the Beast,” “Singing in the Rain,” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying.”

After choreographing Encore Kids for the past five years, April Brooks has taken a break to do other things, including acting, and she has the role of Nellie, the play's heroine.

“She's been my heroine before in other plays,” Burley said. “She's the epitome of a heroine. She is sweet. She is nice, she is very loving.”

This is Brooks' first melodrama and she is enjoying working with so many good friends and with a script that is side-splitting.

“There's hardly a moment you won't be laughing,” she said. She, like Ryan Turner, is a sixth grade teacher at Cherry.

Jennifer Mejia is tackling the role of the despicable Ida Rhinegold in “Dirty Work” and Burley said she is doing a “good job of being evil,” especially since she has gotten the evil laugh down pat.

“Look for some good evil laughter in this play,” Burley said. “This is going to go down as one of my favorites for sure.”

Others with major roles in the play include Burley's wife, Susan, Shauna Noblitt, Lauren Celata, Timmy Reveles, Darlene Corter and Savannah Summers.

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