Man says county needs a grain vac

Cicero resident Gary Green, who still tends to the family farm in Smith Township, said he wants to help Greene County purchase a grain vacuum after hearing about the ordeal Mike Lacy experienced last month.

Lacy became trapped in a grain bin at Wise Farms, located on Clay County's County Road 200W -- north of Howesville.

When the Lewis Township Fire Department rescuers arrived on the scene they found Lacy inside the grain bin with corn up to his neck. Only his head and his hands were exposed.

It took first responders from several agencies more than four hours to extricate Lacy from the grain bin.

Lacy survived the incident, and was treated at Terre Haute Regional Hospital for several days.

Green says a grain vac would have made the rescue much quicker and more efficient.

"That boy was lucky he got out," Green said. "I think number one we need to get some kind of education to people and I don't know what it is going to take to do that. I'm ready to start some kind of fundraiser to buy one of those grain vacuums and get it down there to a fire department."

To Green, having a grain vac available for use in the county is an essential safety concern.

He has done some checking and said a refurbished model grain vac can be purchased for about $11,000. A new model runs about $15,000-$16,000.

"It hooks to the back of a tractor," Green said.

There are also other more expensive models that have self-contained engines that would be even more versatile, he noted.

Green would suggest that the trailer mounted grain vac be housed at a centrally located fire department to provide better access to it for the entire county for any and all emergencies.

"It needs to be somewhere where people can get to it, if needed," he said. "This thing (the grain vac) will move 5,000 bushels an hour. That's a lot of grain fast. With it, you could vacuum it (the grain) out from around a guy. When you are doing it with shovels and you're cutting holes in the sides of bins, you've got torches and grinders going and the sparks could ignite the grain dust. There is nothing more explosive than grain dust."

Green would like to hear from area agriculture-related businesses, organizations, farmers or any other business operation that would like to partner with him in this safety-minded project.

Green pledged to make a substantial donation personally to get the fund drive started.

"I'd stand up to the plate and really get it going," he said. "When we get it (the cost) covered, I'll go get it and bring it back.

"I would definitely like to see it purchased before the spring. That's when we are going to get into a lot of the guys cleaning their bins out for March and April deliveries ... it has got to happen."

Green went on to say that grain farmers need to be educated about the dangers they are faced with.

"We are all in too big of a hurry. We don't think it (an accident) is going to happen to us and then we get in a grain bin or we get into a truck of grain or a wagon and you can't get out," he stressed. "You just grow up thinking it's not going to happen to you. The next thing you know you are in there (in the bin) and the grain just sucks you down and there you are."

Greene County Emergency Management Director Roger Axe says he thinks Green's idea is a good one that would benefit the county. Finding the right location would be key, he said.

Green, who works as territory manager for Iron Planet, a national heavy equipment auction company, stressed that he would be open to any and all suggestions on how the money can be raised and where will be the best place to put the grain vac once it is purchased.

To contact Green, call (317) 946-0200 or e-mail him at equipmentguy@verizon.net .

"I know we have to come up with something. We can't have that kind of accident anymore and not have one," Green said.