Information on the destruction of chemical weapons at the Blue Grass Army Depot has been more accessible to the public since the Bechtel-Parsons Blue Grass Community Outreach Office opened at 301 Highland Park Drive.

A team of four have been keeping the public informed on the destruction and storage of chemical weapons since 2003.

Mickey Morales, public involvement manager; Diane Osborne, outreach specialist, Sandy Plant, outreach office manager; and Jill Abner, administrative assistant, comprise the community outreach program for Bechtel-Parsons Blue Grass.

The company was selected in 2003 by the Department of Defense's Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) program to design, build, systemize, test, operate and close the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant being built to destroy the weapons at Blue Grass Army Depot.

BPBG comprises several companies including Bechtel National, Inc., Parsons Infrastructure and Technology Group, Washington Demilitarization Company (WDC), Battelle Memorial Institute, General Physics and General Atomics.  

The different companies have successfully designed, built and operated all the chemical weapons destruction facilities in the United States.

The Richmond office is dedicated to informing the public on issues surrounding chemical demilitarization and offers a slew of information from a wide variety of sources.

"This (weapons destruction) is a very visible issue and the people have a right to know the factual information," Morales said. "This gives people a place to go if they have various fears, misconceptions or concerns."

Sandra Plant wants the community not to confuse the outreach office with a public relations office.

"What we do is not public relations," she said. "That is a planned message given to a specific target audience. Our goal is not to change people's minds, but develop a two-way form of communication. We're not here to win a vote."

Aside from providing the community with information, the outreach office affiliates are also strong supporters of teaching and education.

The Bechtel-Parsons Blue Grass outreach office offers student and teacher grants every year.

A $1,000 scholarship is awarded to three graduating Madison County high school seniors who plan on attending Berea College or Eastern Kentucky University and the Teacher Innovation Grant Program is available to Madison County teachers, grades 1-12.

Criteria for the Teacher Innovation Grant Program include a complete application, a written proposal of projects that need funding and he or she must be a Madison County teacher, grades 1-12.

Students interested in applying for the $1,000 scholarships must be a graduating senior from a Madison County high school, attend Berea or Eastern Kentucky University as a full-time student, maintain a minimum high school grade point average of 3.0, a minimum ACT score of 18 and a completed application including a written essay.

The outreach office also awards an endowment scholarship to an EKU student pursuing an environmental science degree.

"We want to leave a legacy for the community," Morales said. "When we leave here, we want the community to be a better place."

The outreach office will be closed upon the destruction of chemical weapons at the depot which is tentatively set for 2012.

Anyone with questions regarding the depot or the disposal of chemical weapons can visit the Bechtel-Parsons outreach office Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., call the office at 626-8944 or send questions via e-mail to outreach@bechtel.com.

Ronica Brandenburg can be reached at rbrandenburg@ richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.