The boiling Tazewell County windmill controversy may turn into steam where it will either evaporate or become superheated. The Town of Bluefield, Va.'s tall structures ordinance would only affect those structures (including windmills) proposed to be erected within the area of the town's jurisdiction.

There is another matter or two that needs to be given some thought. The town apparently has jurisdiction to the apex of the ridgeline but no jurisdiction south of that ridgeline in Tazewell County or Bland County. Any position that Bland County leaders might take on windmill proposals along East River Mountain will impact Tazewell County, Mercer County and both Bluefields. Another possible scenario is that Tazewell County officials could opt to protect other areas, including Burkes Garden, and allow tall structures to be placed on East River Mountain. News accounts indicate that the Board of Supervisors isn't expected to schedule a second public hearing on the revised proposed ordinance until its October meeting. That will most likely place any vote on the issue after the Nov. 3 election in Virginia. There are five local jurisdictions involved in the controversy and we can expect Richmond to put on the pressure to see that windmills are erected somewhere.

The Virginia Energy Plan released and endorsed by Gov. Tim Kaine promotes the production of electricity by wind power. The plan acknowledges that there may be less usable production from wind powered projects because of low capacity factors, but provides double production credits from solar or wind resources. The windmill issue is a complex and controversial matter for county and city leaders. The political geography of East River Mountain windmill projects clearly favors the proponents of the windmills.

While esthetics, noise, effects on wildlife, and the watershed are concerns, there is also the question of fire. Could these proposed windmill generators catch on fire, and if so, what resources would be needed to put out a fire in a turbine 400 feet in the air on a remote mountaintop? According to one source, "wind turbines manufactured today incorporate the highest quality and safety standards, but the potential for a fire always exists when electronics, flammable oils and hydraulic fluids exist in the same enclosure. Electrical fires can also result from both shorts in equipment and surges due to lightning strikes. Additionally, secondary wind-driven brush fires (and we could add forest fires) originating from wind turbine fires can result in significant additional damage."

We could expect the windmills to be equipped with detection and suppression systems. However the hazard would not be completely eliminated. We have all seen safety devices that were installed and left to deteriorate and when the time came for them to function they didn't. (Have you ever neglected to replace the batteries in your smoke detector?) These windmills are machines and they will require periodic maintenance and repair. The proposed windmills will be located in the middle of a forest and, if by chance, someone would be working on a nacelle 400 feet above the ground, could our rescue people get to them with the equipment they now have if something were to happen? If not, who is going to be responsible for providing emergency equipment and proper training to reach those heights? These are examples of issues that many of us may have not considered. Our local fire and rescue people probably do not have the resources to manage a fire or rescue someone in a windmill turbine 400 feet above the ground.

I sometimes ponder things and wonder what Will Rogers might have to say about some of our contemporary issues. Rogers' quotes are still on the mark in many respects. In light of the current issues - cap and trade, health care and health insurance reform, wars, and an economy that is still in the intensive care unit - Rogers' 1932 observation still seems to fit: "Of course congress is not doing the best they can, but they are doing the best they know how." On the global warming issue, Rogers' observation on the scientific community would probably be about the same: "It seems a scientist is a man that can find out anything and nobody in this world has any way of proving whether he really found out anything or not."

There you have it, a few comments on items of interest to the area. Tuesday is the first day of autumn. I hope you had a good summer and that you have another blue sky to enjoy today. Acorn ... it looks like somebody other than squirrels has been hidin' something.

Wilson Butt, a resident of Bluefield, is a retired Department of Highways official.