I believe in Santa Claus.

Now don’t start shaking your head.

I do know the truth about the guy in the red suit and all those little green men at the North Pole.

But even since I was 10 or 11 years old, I have had this deep desire to go against naysayers and disbelievers and have faith in the jolly old elf. I still do.

Many people call me foolish and stupid. Others say I am a romantic or a dreamer.

I like to think I am holding out for the possibility that there just maybe that little piece of evidence that proves the whole world wrong.

Every time I read Francis Pharcellus Church’s famous 1897 New York Sun editorial to a little girl named Virginia, there is a little part of me that wants to believe.

A part of me wants to confront all of the skeptics Church writes about in his famous “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus,” column and say, “See I told you so.”

I wish this was the only instance of my belief against conventional wisdom. But it isn’t.

Take Rentech, for example.

Is the multi-billion dollar coal-to-liquid plant coming to Natchez or not?

Will there be the 2,000 construction jobs promised. Will we add 250 full-time jobs to the Natchez economy at an average yearly salary of $45,000?

I would like to think so.

But as I learn more and more about the company, I fear that believing in Rentech’s future in Natchez is, well, a little like believing in Santa Claus.

I want to believe that this company will help bring back jobs and prosperity to the area. But as I watch the actions and reactions of many interested parties, I have begun to wonder.

Look at Rentech’s stock on Wall Street. A year ago the stock of the company was hovering above the $3.75 a share mark.

Thursday the stock closed at $1.85. Five days ago, the stock sat just above $2.

I know that stocks of new technology companies tend to fluctuate wildly.

Obviously, Rentech has done very little to convince Wall Street of its success in the alternative fuel business.

But neither have they convinced many leaders in the upper reaches of state government.

In the past two years, there have been several industrial prospects that have received the blessings of the governor’s office.

The new Toyota plant being built near Tupelo and the SeverCorr steel plant in Columbus are two new industries that come to mind.

In both cases, the governor’s office played a critical role by not only supporting the project, but also by being the projects’ biggest cheerleader.

Haley Barbour’s support for the two projects were written up in almost every newspaper across the state.

Despite the fact that the Rentech project has been publicly known for over two years, barely a peep has come from Barbour’s office.

Yes, the Mississippi Legislature, with Barbour’s signature, has committed $15 million dollars for site development. But what seems to be lacking is an enthusiasm from Jackson that demonstrates a true belief in the project.

If anything the response has been little more than tepid.

What may be holding Wall Street and our state leadership up is the fact that Rentech has yet to prove it can do what it says it can do.

Like many alternative fuel companies, Rentech hasn’t begun commercial production of its fuel.

The company has announced it is nearing completion of its $45 million dollar production unit in Colorado and says it expects to begin fuel production by the end of spring 2008.

Until then, Rentech has yet to demonstrate the viability of its coal-to-liquid fuel processes.

And that is the company’s biggest obstacle in convincing Wall Street, the governor’s office and many local residents that Rentech is coming to town.

Yes, Virginia there is a Rentech. Let’s just hope its for real.

Ben Hillyer is the Web editor at the Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-2540 or ben.hillyer@natchezdemocrat.com.