Phelps looks to claim Vermillion County Commissioner District 2 seat

A life long Vermillion County resident who has won races in go karting is looking to win a different race this May, as Curt Phelps is eyeing a victory in the Vermillion County Commissioner District 2 race. 

Phelps, a Republican, faces off against incumbent William Peeples and Kody Zumwalt, while Democrat Ron Shepard awaits the primary winner in the November general election. 

"I grew up in Dana, and at age 19, I bought the home I live in now and that would be 39 years at this location. I live in the river bottoms, just about three miles south of Newport. I have worked at the local paper mill for 31 years. I have been blessed by God to live in a setting I always dreamed about and to work at a place I always wanted to work," Phelps told The Parke County Post. 

Phelps is a lifelong dirt racer, who also has had success in demolition derby, as well as go karts. He helped his son, Austin, get involved in the sport as well, watching his son win several track championships.

"I am here in another race. This one in all reality, is probably one of the most important. I became involved with Wabash County Residents against WVR and their fight against carbon capture and sequestration that WVR has planned for a Class VI co2 well planned approximately one mile north of Universal in Vermillion County. As I have quickly realized, this is a fight I wanted to be part of. This is of the most recent reason, or rather, God has called me for this fight," Phelps said.  

Phelps said the movement is gaining steam, as Wabash County Residents against WVR is getting involved with other groups in Indiana that are being "targeted for these toxic, chemical dumps that, unfortunately, our legislators in Indianapolis seem to not want to listen to the constituents about."

"As a majority, the County of Vermillion is against these projects because of the dangers of injecting a normal amount in the atmosphere into a super critical state of 2,500 psi roughly a mile or so under our main water supply. This is virtually unproven technology in which there was an incident over in Decatur, Illinois, just this last year. If you have seen the earthquake news around Louisiana over the weekend, they had multiple quakes around 4.0. It is maddening, it is tied to campaign contributions that double as bribe money for votes. Corporations are flooding our lawmakers in Indy with money in the form of campaign contributions. If you go to the government web page to see the public record on this, it is plain and clear that there is a direct correlation between contributions and votes for WVR," Phelps said. 

As a result, Vermillion County is in the "crosshairs," according to Phelps. 

Phelps said Universal is the former home of Peabody Coal, something he calls "perfect for an experiment like this." In addition, he calls data centers "wave two of threats" that have been given a "golden key" to the Vermillion County Rise Industrial Park. 

"We have found maps of proposed Class VI wells in the state and our worry is The Rise may be on that list eventually as rumors have begun to swirl about Duke Energy's new power plant they are building next to their Cayuga Coal fire plant. Depending on what that all turns into, it could mean CO2 sequestration if green companies are going to get power from Duke. Like I said, at this point, it is only a rumor, but like they say, where there is smoke, there is fire," Phelps said. 

Phelps admits that with this being his first run at Commissioner, there will be a learning curve when it comes to figuring out it all works, but he says he was built to have a good race and challenge. 

"I want to create a better communication system for communication between the board of commissioners and the public. We are like anyone else. Some people do computers and social media and some do not. I would like to increase the transparency of information in the county to go along with better communication. I want for people to be educated about the dangers that are coming and join in the fight. We need to keep the future bright and safe for the next generation," Phelps said. 

And, he hopes his message will resonate with voters in the May primary. 

"The reason I hope to be blessed with this position is I am one who will listen. I will represent our constituents the way that I want to be. I want public participation as well, as I believe people equal representation. I don't have an issue with making informed decisions, and a huge part of that information is what the people of Vermillion County want, and, as a servant to our people, that is what I will do," Phelps said.