By Chris Taylor
Metropolis, IL – Engineers were on site last week as environmental testing continues for contaminants at the former Laidlaw coathanger and cleaning chemical plant in Metropolis, Illinois. The city-owned property borders Fort Massac and needs a clean bill of health in order to be sold to the park's financial support group. A spokesman for the environmental contracting company Terracon tells the Paducah Sun this is the third of four quarterly water samples needed to verify the groundwater there is no longer tainted by industrial chemicals. The Friends of Fort Massac want to purchase the site to develop Massac Village, a historically replicated town which would complement the park's re-created fort next door.