Why is the Washington Missourian emphasizing the tax benefits AmerenUE brings to the county instead of the costs coal has on human health and the environment in this front-page article? The way the headline and the first half of this story reads, one gets the impression those revenues are at risk if we don't give into Ameren's demands. But they aren't. Ameren will continue to pay these taxes whether it gets its landfill or not.

In journalism circles this is called burying the lede. The real story is near the bottom of the article. The headline, "Ameren Major Contributor to Local Tax Base," and all of the copy on the front page is about how much Ameren pays to the county in taxes. So what? Isn't this the more important story:

The plant is the leading producer of toxic chemicals in the county, and the county ranked fifth in the state for toxic chemicals disposed of or released in 2007.

The plant is responsible for 93.7 percent of the toxic chemicals in the county, according to a presentation from the Franklin County Planning and Zoning Commission.

The data was included in presentations on the county's comprehensive plan.

The county ranked 15th in the state in cancer rates from 2002-2006, according to the National Cancer Institute.

There are 114 counties in Missouri. Being ranked 5th in environmental toxins and 15th in cancer rates is a huge story. It would be nice to see the paper put the same level of energy it put into researching Ameren's tax burden to the county into examining the reasons for these abysmal statistics. But The Missourian gives it a passing mention on page 2A. It's almost as if the paper has a political agenda to ensure this landfill happens.