Wind company's actions give rise to questions ~ Letter to the Editor

Watertown Daily Times | Wind company's actions give rise to questions

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2008

I read the letter from by Paul C. Mason, Cape Vincent, "Uninformed Cape wind foes spread rumors." I may not have visited the office of the St. Lawrence Wind Farm, but I have attended their informational meetings and presentation of their Draft Environmental Impact Statement to the Cape Vincent Planning Board (which was incomplete) as well as the meetings held by BP and the presentation of their DEIS, which was also incomplete. I presented questions to each of the companies via the board and spoke to the companies' reps at their informational gatherings taking the time to read their pamphlets and praises. So I did have direct dialog with all companies and reps concerned.

I do not consider myself an expert, but I do care about where I am living and what is happening to Cape Vincent. Members of the Wind Power Ethics Group are intelligent people who are aware of how these companies are using the almighty dollar to get what they want.

These are the same companies who came into our town and spoke to people and told them they were not to discuss their offers with anyone else. A gag order was given by these companies to all people who were willing to and did sign contracts. Many of the townspeople were never aware of the closed door ethics that were going on.

It is amazing. Mr. Mason states people who either do not want these massive beasts in their backyards or may want them but at a decent distance from their homes have not offered solutions for generating electricity. What bothers me is that people who are getting paid to have these windmills on their properties never brought their options to save energy to the Planning Board table either. They never spoke out until they realized it was not going to be a cakewalk for the companies to get these wind turbines where they wanted them.

When townspeople started to question how many, how big and where they were going to be placed, that is when everything got ugly. So now we are a town divided. Whose fault is that? Maybe it was the way it was done when they sneak behind closed doors. Maybe because it is a subject that divides families and friends. You cannot blame anyone who asks questions of these companies, after all the people who signed away the rights to their land for 20 to 30 years have lost their rights to question anything or anyone. So that leaves me. I still have all of my rights, and I intend to use them.

Mariana Reinhart

Cape Vincent