Benton County residents express concerns over industrialized area

GENTRY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Gentry residents are concerned about how a nearby plant could have adverse effects on their health, as well as the environment, and their livelihood.

For more than sixty years, Jim Jensen has lived off Old Highway 59 in Benton County between the Siloam Springs and Gentry city limits. Last September, a concrete plant opened across from his home.

“My dad lived on this land until he was 100 years old. I’ve lived here for 65 years,” said Jim Jensen.

Jim Jensen and his wife Rosanna own a car dealership on the land, but they’re also farmers. Jim says with the area near their home being industrialized, they believe it could cause harm to their way of life.

“In farming, it’s a delicate balance between rainfall, soil, nature, good luck, good weather, and outside influences coming in like industrial zones, concrete plants, asphalt plants. It tips that balance to where it actually can become unsustainable, both for animals and people and for the farming, for the plants,” said Jim Jensen.

Rosanna Jensen says she’s already seen pollutants from the plant affect her breathing and eyes, but it’s also affecting her herd of organic goats.

“I see the effects in my eyes and in my lungs. There is actually some days when this heavy dust comes in and I couldn’t even open and close my eyes. It’s so dusty, and I can see that in the goats because I was just looking at them and well, you see the little stuff in the corner of their eyes because, well, they’re having the same effect, too,” said Rosanna Jensen.

One nearby neighbor, Kevin Osnes, says he’s experienced similar symptoms.

“I think we all thought that it’s just something that came with spring and the pollen. But we’re quickly learning that it’s not. We have two grandsons who live on the property and both of them have asthma. They can’t go out really during the day without getting a dry throat, eyes watering, burning,” said Osnes.

Lynn and Dan Pasckiewicz have lived in the area since 2006. They say they care for many children in their home, including children with special needs through the Arkansas Support Network. At any given time, they say they could have up to nine children in their home, and the new plant poses a threat to those children.

“Most of them have respiratory issues, which is a big concern with the cement plant,” said Dan Pasckiewicz.

Neighbors also fear the industrial zone that the plant currently sits on, could grow even larger.

Next to the concrete plant, an additional 20 acres is zoned for industrial use. Residents say they’ve spoken with surveyors on the land and have heard it could become an asphalt plant. Osnes says he’s worried that this could increase pollutants that are already making their way into the water, further affecting his cattle and the well that provides water to parts of his land.

“We’re in an extremely karst area, which basically {means} if you went out to your driveway and changed oil and spilled it on the ground, it would work its way into the water,” said Osnes.

Osnes says their water filters, which usually last more than a month, are coming up completely covered in sediment after only a few days. One of his bulls recently died, and he believes the pollutants may be to blame.

“Loss of livestock, with the prices and everything, that’s a big hit,” said Osnes.

Environmental damages are also a fear amongst residents, with natural wetlands being disrupted. Osnes says they’ve tried to talk with the city, but they have been left feeling unheard.

“We’re not a vote to the city, therefore we don’t have a voice,” said Osnes.

KNWA/FOX24 reached out to the Gentry Mayor’s office for comment on the potential plant but has not yet received a response.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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