The completion would come five years after ground was broken in late 2006. The plant is expected to produce 113 million gallons of ethanol per year once it’s finished, but construction has halted since late 2008, and Aventine filed for bankruptcy soon afterward. The project’s contractor, Kiewit Energy Corp., canceled its engineering, construction and procurement contracts for Aurora West and an Illinois plant in early 2009.

But Aurora Cooperative president and CEO George Hohwieler announced at the company’s annual meeting that Aventine officials had informed him that they plan to re-emerge from bankruptcy and have the plant finished in 2011, according to the News-Register.

In a news release today, Nebraska Ethanol Board administrator Todd Sneller confirmed those plans.

I’m no lawyer, but based on a few documents filed in Delaware federal bankruptcy court, here’s what appears to have happened: Kiewit filed an objection to Aventine’s reorganization plan in December, in which it said it’s still owed about $15.2 million for Aurora West construction.

Kiewit’s attorneys objected to several aspects of the plan, including the following: One, Aventine laid out three options for reorganization but didn’t say which one it would choose; two, Aventine didn’t say how it would treat Kiewit’s secured Aurora West claim; three, Aventine’s plans for revenue depended on the plant being built by early 2012 but didn’t commit to finishing the plant and didn’t say what would happen if it wasn’t; and four, Aventine’s stated liquidation value of the plant dropped to about $2.4 million to $5 million without an explanation to Kiewit.

Aventine filed a new plan Jan. 13. In another document filed the same day, Kiewit’s objection is said to be “resolved in [principle], subject to documentation.” The document also says Aventine modified its plan in several ways to meet debtors’ objections. (How exactly this 104-page plan changed to appease Kiewit is where the I’m-not-a-lawyer part comes in. Sorry.)

All of which is to say, Aventine and Kiewit seem to have come to some sort of an agreement that will allow the plant to be finished in 2011. And that would mean 113 million more gallons per year of ethanol produced in Nebraska and one less unfinished eyesore for Aurora.

But with this blog, I want to direct you to some of those nuggets I can’t turn into a whole story, just to help keep you abreast of developing issues in Nebraska communities you might be interested in. I’ll try to provide a little background on the issue when I can, and of course I’ll always give credit to the weekly that did the legwork and give a link when possible. For more bits and pieces of news from around the area, check out the links under “What Mark’s Reading” on the right sidebar.

So here’s the first installment of news and notes around Central Nebraska:

Central City
— There are now four government bodies on board with looking into forming a new joint action agency for a hike/bike trail running from Central City to Marquette. The latest one to sign on was the Merrick County Board of Supervisors at its meeting earlier this month. The city of Central City is taking the lead, with the village of Marquette and the Central Platte Natural Resources District also signing on. The project’s been seeking a government body to take ownership of it for three years.

— The Central City Republican-Nonpareil has some details of the latest developments in the Central City school board’s fight with its contractors over its new track. The project began in spring 2008 and wasn’t done in time for 2009 track season, forcing the school to move two home meets. After terminating its contract with Olsson Associates and Diamond Engineering of Grand Island earlier this month, the board decided to give the two companies “one last chance,” according to Superintendent Candace Conradt. The work was scheduled to restart on Monday.

Burwell
— The Burwell Tribune has news that John and Cindee Haddix, owners of the historic Burwell Butter Factory antique shop, plan on leaving town after their liquor license was denied by the Burwell City Council. The couple planned to sell some margaritas and beers to accommodate customers who stay at the store for quite a while, but the council denied the license on a 3-2 vote (with the tie broken by Mayor Chuck Cone) after Police Chief Ben Hughes recommended its denial. According to the Tribune, the couple plans to move its businesses to nearby Sargent soon.

Shelton
— From last week’s Shelton Clipper, it looks like the village of Shelton is close to finishing an agreement with Jim Fairbanks to buy land for new ballfields. A purchase agreement is being drawn up. The village has been working on this effort to get more softball fields since mid-2007, and this would be a big hurdle to clear.