Jerry Edgebiter

Jerry Edgebiter owns the Edgebiter Chemical Plant, whose unreported spill poisons the creek supplying Tom Riley's apple orchard. Sick children, an ill horse, and dead fish lead Tom and Curt Stevens upstream to a leaking barrel and a concealed drain from the company's warehouse. Caught, Edgebiter admits the spill and offers to cover every expense if they keep silent. Whit and Tom refuse the bargain and report the company to the state. Edgebiter also points out the disposable cans, wrappers, and foam cups ordinary citizens throw away. His criticism does not excuse industrial pollution, but it forces his accusers to consider their own waste. Defensive and calculating, Jerry tries to purchase silence while recognizing responsibility everywhere except fully in himself.