Imperial returns to operation; CEO defends Chambliss

Imperial Sugar's chief executive says his company never tried to enlist Sen. Saxby Chambliss to help it avoid blame in the February refinery explosion that killed 14 people in coastal Georgia. Imperial Sugar CEO John Sheptor told reporters in Savannah Wednesday that the Republican senator has shown "integrity and character" in his response to the tragedy. Chambliss, a Republican who faces a Dec. 2 election runoff, is fighting a subpoena by a Savannah attorney who wants to question the senator about whether Imperial Sugar persuaded him to harshly criticize a whistleblower testifying at a July Senate hearing. Attorney Mark Tate also accuses Chambliss of trying to discourage victims from suing the company. Chambliss has denied the allegations. His attorneys say the Constitution gives Chambliss immunity from testifying.

Imperial Sugar's coastal Georgia plant is operating again for the first time since a February explosion killed 14 people and injured dozens more. Company CEO John Sheptor said Wednesday the refinery in Port Wentworth resumed producing liquid sugar earlier this month and on Thursday will receive its first shipment of raw sugar since the explosion nearly 10 months ago. Imperial Sugar executives and employees celebrated Wednesday as they broke ground on a new 75,000-square-foot packaging plant to replace the one destroyed by the blast, which investigators determined was caused by dust igniting like gunpowder. Sheptor said the refinery should resume producing crystalized sugar in early 2009 and all new construction should be finished by next fall.


(Associated Press)