KANE – The Kane Area School District is now in the second round
of competition with at least 40 other entities nationwide vying for
a portion of a $4 million grant.

If its grant application is chosen, the district will serve as a
pilot project for using alternative energy – in this case, wood
from the Allegheny National Forest – to heat the high school on
Hemlock Avenue. Currently, the school is heated by natural gas.

The maximum the Kane Area School District can receive is
$250,000 which is the amount they are applying for. Should the
grant be awarded to Kane, the district will have to match the funds
dollar for dollar.

But matching those funds is nothing compared to the savings the
school would see in using an alternative heating source,
particularly in light of the rising price of gas.

School officials calculated the savings, and based on last
year’s price of gas, savings would amount to a minimum of
$50,000.

Additionally, officials believe the equipment they would build
as part of the project would pay for itself in seven to 15 years
depending on the price of gas by then.

Lois DeMarco, silviculturist and ecosystem management team
leader for the ANF said the approval of the grant will work for
both parties involved while allowing the Kane school system to
become something of a pilot to area industry interested in seeing
how these types of alternative energy systems work.

“On the national forest, we have a product that, if used, would
help us with our forest management objectives,” said DeMarco. “For
the school it is more of an economical opportunity.”

DeMarco is referring to small diameter and low-valued trees that
are in the forest: “Small round wood material, or pulp wood,” she
said. “Four, five and six diameter trees, not saplings or
seedlings. We would identify areas where we have particular
vegetative management goals and hire someone to come in and cut
them.”

Superintendent Sandra Chlopecki said the Kane School District is
the right match for the funds because the district lies within the
ANF and also already offers a forest studies curriculum. Current
classes offered include agricultural mechanics and forestry taught
by Jack Detrick and Mark Bierbower.

Chlopecki added that if the district receives the grant, builds
the facility and gets the project underway, forestry studies
classes might expand to include learning how to mark an area off
before cutting among other learning opportunities.

The only “down side” to the grant application process said John
Rook, facilities manager for the school district, is that it is not
only a difficult application to write for, but also competitors
include national forests and applicants located out West who can
benefit from clearing some of the smaller trees to help prevent
forest fires.

Rook visited a school district in Kingsley that has been using
an alternative energy source for the past 15 years as part of his
investigation. He said while the technology used in that district
is somewhat older, he can see the value in what it has
provided.

He added that while he conducted his research, he discovered
there was a company in St. Marys that is able to manufacture the
equipment needed to carry out the process of renewable energy.

Rook said he found Advanced Recycling Equipment Inc., which he
said is one of three companies nationwide that would be able to
supply the district with the equipment needed.

This fact is a plus, said Rook, when it comes to determining who
might be able to receive the grant funds because of the
accessibility of the plant.

Looking to gain local support, the Kane School District has sent
about 120 letters asking area industries to write letters on their
behalf to aid in their being chosen to receive the grant funds.

“So far the letters we have received sound very interested,”
said Rook. “We have heard from a variety of school districts and
businesses.”

The district has already made it through the first batch of
applicants of 87 in December and is now working on a more detailed
application as one of 40 entities applying.

“The potential for forest fires is not a concern here but better
sustainability of the forest and getting rid of what is on the
forest floor is,” said Chlopecki.

Chlopecki said removing some of the smaller trees on the forest
floor would encourage growth of trees such as black cherry.

The Kane district is the only entity out of what is considered
region 9, encompassing 20 states spanning from Wisconsin to Maine
and only one of three school districts to make the first cut as
well.

The grant is being offered by the United States Department of
Agriculture Forest Service, State and Private Forestry Technology
Marketing Unit through the 2006 Woody Biomass Grant Program.