Wise WordsLetter of the Week, Month or Season
Week of February 4th, 2008
To the Editor of the Columbus Dispatch:
I was disappointed at your coverage on the Ohio Supreme Court case granting the request of 19 land owner wind company lease holders to remove taxpayers right to vote on local zoning for wind turbines.
It is not just "wind opponents" who opposed the zoning now removed from the ballot, as your story suggested, but residents who support the development of renewable energy but have valid concerns for proper siting of industrial wind turbines, particularly in residential areas. What your story does not reveal is that the zoning at issue in Jefferson Township was passed by public officials with family members holding wind (turbine siting land leases) and officials who refused, at a public hearing, to accept evidence regarding health, safety, and noise issues. The zoning fails even to address road repair costs that will be incurred by the township.
Contrary to what your story suggests, those circulating the petitions submitted a timely and appropriate lawful referendum petition to their township trustee, as required under Ohio law. Public officials, however, failed to properly certify the referendum prior to submitting it to the Board of Elections. And now the majority are denied their right to have a voice in what happens in their back yards.
A sad tale, indeed.
Perhaps your story could have considered Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pfeifer’s dissent: "The Court ought not stand in the way of the exercise of pure democracy this case represents: an informed, interested electorate deciding how the future will unfold in their own community."
Attorney at Law
Logan County, Ohio
Week of January 3rd, 2008
"We are not alone" - Appeal for Contributions to Pennsylvania Group to Cover Legal Fees
Hi friends, The Christmas rush is over, and if you are like me, you’ll expect to get some bills to pay in January. Nothing new there. But, what if you are also facing a lawyer’s fee of about $5,000 to help you file an appeal to keep hundreds of turbines off the mountains in Tioga County? Remember, this is part of God’s Country – some of PA that we love to visit .....
Week of December 15th, 2007
General Letter to Logan and Champaign County Citizens.
Wind companies blew into your communities between 2 and 3 years ago. Unless you were a land owner wanting a lease you probably did not know until several months ago. That is the business practice of wind companies but, then they tell us they want to be part of the community and that the community will benefit from their "windmills". When was the last time you encountered something that was good for you that sneaked into your life?...
Week of November 11th, 2007
Letter in Response to question from an Ohio news agaency which claims to be truth based.
The subject of the e-mail you have sent me today (copied below) is: "ePluribus OhioNews Bureau: Asking for Clarification of Your Question on Wind Energy" Surprisingly, the body of your e-mail takes on an adversarial tone. Your organization professes unbiased and patriotic...
Week of September 3rd, 2007
Rebuttal to AP article written in collusion with Environment Ohio Marketing.
As we have seen from wind factory developers time and time again - in state after state and across the globe, they elegantly craft grossly exaggerated tales of benefit...
Week of May 14, 2007
Informed public scrutiny: Supporters of wind turbines need a reality check.
...Al Gore’s recent documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” has added to the concern that doing nothing to curb greenhouse gases is leading us to global disaster...industrial wind development will do little, if anything, to reduce greenhouse gases. In fact it may actually contribute to the problem rather than alleviate it.
Click here to read the entire letter of the week.
Week of May 7, 2007
Letters from people living near Industrial Wind Turbines
First, ask yourself why would anyone living near wind turbines complain about them if there are no real problems caused by them? What could anyone expect to gain from complaining about them? What is the point? There is none, other than to tell the truth in the hopes that people and governments will wake up and realize there are true problems, and that proper regulation is needed to ensure wind turbines do no harm in the name of public good.
Click here to read letters from more real wind turbine neighbors.