Don’t you love an interesting tale of “good vs. evil?”

Wednesday’s Finance Committee meeting of the Alpena commissioners reminded us of such a tale.

In one corner was Commissioner Cam Habermehl, champion of the little guy and common sense everywhere.

In the other corner was the evil state Department of Environmental Quality, the nemesis to the local board.

At issue was whether the county should continue racking up expenses in trying to end clean-up from a leaking underground gas tank at the current jail site that was begun years ago. Thousands of dollars have been spent over the years by the county on testing and clean-up at the site, yet the DEQ never closed out the project.

Recently, more testing was done at the site, and more suspected contamination was found. When faced Wednesday with how to proceed, Habermehl said “enough is enough” and predicted the issue would never go away. He suggested doing nothing at this point, and the rest of the committee agreed. The full board, when it meets July 31, will discuss it again.

We’re not sure that “ostrich” approach as advocated by Habermehl is going to fly, but it is intriguing and one with which many readers can identify. Certainly, county officials have tried in the past to correct the situation.

DEQ officials shouldn’t be blamed here, either. They have an obligation to clean up the site, and they are attempting to do that. They are only doing the job the state asks of them.

Is there a compromise at this property that can be reached which will satisfy everyone?

Stay tuned.