Editorial: Light at the end of the tunnel?

We are still trying our best to figure out what transpired at the Inland Empire Oilseeds facility just prior to Christmas. Well, actually, what transpired was that the workforce was laid off and the plant was shuttered. Chapter 7 bankruptcy was filed.

What we don't know is the why. And with many issues to be resolved in bankruptcy court, the principals, on advice of counsel, are not yet talking about the why question.

We attended this week's meeting of the Odessa Public Development Authority. We learned that there is at least one "interested party" and possibly two who may want to take over the plant. No names were mentioned, however.

We were surprised to see former IEO managers Joel Edmonds and Wally Kempe at the meeting. They also expressed an interest in leasing the plant back from the OPDA, saying they now had additional capital partners lined up to back them.

So what happened? It appears that everyone is waiting for the results of the bankruptcy proceedings to play themselves out before making any public comments.

As always, we'll keep you posted.