Neighbors praise Reiss, but still have issues Noise and truck residue are still worries near the coal plant By Ray Barrington News-Chronicle Residents near the C. Reiss Coal Co. said they were pleased by efforts to cut down coal dust, but expressed concerns about noise and trucks near the company's Fox River operations. C. Reiss has installed new sprayers to keep down the dust at its site, sales manager Dana Frazer told the Green Bay Protection and Welfare Committee on Tuesday, and they are just starting to operate. Frazer said the concerns over the dust, especially last winter when the ice on the Fox River turned black from the residue, were "a wake-up call for us and others in the industry." Since then, Reiss has installed 14 30-foot-high sprayers to cover the area. The sprayers will be used as needed and cover the coal storage area completely, he said. Area environmental activist Bob Schmitz said he did not see the sprayers hitting the top of the piles during one operation, but Frazer said the sprays could and did reach all areas and that coal piles were being shortened. He also assured Schmitz that none of the sprayed water went back into the Fox River, and it was all kept on site. But neighbors expressed concern over dust being dragged out of the area on truck tires and noise from coal shakers. Terry Mehlberg said the trucks were still leaving large areas of State Street and Broadway black with residue. Frazer said the trucks do drive through a pond to wash off the tires, but spraying to remove the dust might not be feasible because it could cause truck brakes to freeze during the winter. Mehlberg and others also expressed concern about low-frequency rumbling from coal shakers. Frazer said the company was within compliance limits for noise, but Ald. Guy Zima said he had received complaints from at least one woman whose windows were rattled by the noise. Still, Zima said, "it's the first time I've had some positive feedback from the neighbors." Frazer said the company was still working with the city or county on possible relocation of the piles from the site just south of the Don Tilleman Bridge. One site mentioned has been near the mouth of the Fox River near the Pulliam Power Plant. The committee will revisit the issue early next year. In other committee news: - Neighbors disputed figures over how many baseballs flew out of the Northeastern Wisconsin Lutheran High School baseball field during Green Bay Shockers American Legion league games. NEW Lutheran principal Steven Siekmann said figures provided by the Shockers showed one baseball went over both the outfield fence and an outer fence on the fly and into neighboring yards on Pecan Street, but the neighbors said "four or five" balls went into their yards on the fly. An attempt to put netting above the fence did not stop any of the balls, said city inspector Tom Lesperance, who said netting that would work would have to be between 50 and 60 feet high. Neighbors had expressed concern over the Legion team playing there because of the older age of the players compared to those in high school. Legion players can be up to 19 years old. Siekmann said the one long ball he had been told about was actually hit by "a younger kid - a very large younger kid." The committee asked the school to continue to notify area residents about events at the field.