<b>By ANN ALLEN<br>
Indiana Correspondent</b> </p><p>

GARY, Ind. — Kickert school buses started burning the bean this week as the privately-owned fleet of vehicles went green by switching to a biodiesel/petroleum blend.</p><p>
As the buses pulled up to Grissom Elementary School on the morning of Dec. 4, children were greeted by Gary Mayor Rudy Clay and school representatives welcoming the fleet as the latest convert to biodiesel. Lake Station, Hammond and Monroe County community Schools in Bloomington have used the fuels for more than four years.</p><p>
Kickert’s parent company, Cook-Illinois Corp. of Oak Forest, Ill. – which is the nation’s largest independent school bus company – recently switched its entire fleet of 1,800 buses to biodiesel, estimating the switch will reduce hazardous, unburned hydrocarbons in exhaust fumes by 15-20 percent.</p><p>
Last year, the company reduced nearly 1,000 tons of toxic emissions in Chicago, prompting the launch of a new Clean Air Club for kids and a new website to teach youngsters the importance of reducing air pollution. John Benish Jr., president of Cook-Illinois, urged children at Grissom Elementary to join the Clean Air Club (which can be found at www.CleanAirClub.net online).
“We’ve been trying different fuels for the last 20 years,” said Benish. “In the 1970s, when my father founded the company, we tried compressed natural gasses. In the 1980s, we switched to propane.  Now, in 2007, we’re switching to biodiesel and it’s working well.</p><p>
“We like biodiesel because it’s good for the environment. It helps children. And, it helps farmers in Indiana and Illinois.”</p><p>
Benish said the cost for biodiesel is higher than regular diesel but is offset somewhat by federal grant funds and a state tax break. The buses did not have to be modified to use it.</p><p>
“Biodiesel is used by a standard diesel engine,” Benish said, adding it is especially appealing because it is clean. “As a Midwest leader in alternative fuels, we want to improve the air quality and provide a cleaner and safer atmosphere for schoolchildren.”</p><p>
The biodiesel is 100 percent renewable, has fewer harmful emissions than the petroleum with which it is mixed and is considered safer than common table salt, according to data published by Cook-Illinois.</p><p>
The company expects the soy-based product to reduce exhaust emissions and minimize black exhaust smoke, odors, carbon monoxide and other pollutants.