Almost five years ago, a group of people in the Town of Marshfield (FDL County) joined together to try to stop the wind development in that Town from being 'ramrodded' through the Town Board. Some of the Board stood in line to get money for towers; when in fact, they already had received money for their "consideration". That group of people eventually filed a court action against the Town. The same storyline is accurate for other towns in that County. Now, people come forward and say they wish someone had done or said something to prevent what happened. The fabric of the community is tattered at best. The amount of angst, distrust, and hatred in the area is so thick you can cut it with a machete. Everyone seems to be blaming someone for something they did. The landowners are even squabbling amongst themselves. Why didn't someone do something?

Decisions on electricity needs challenge all of us to use the best reasoning skills we have to solve real problems. The issues are many, and the evaluations of them are complex.

Our ridges are not a good fit for these massive towers.

I finally decided to write my opinion on the wind turbine towers. Actually it's more my personal experience. ...I would challenge anyone who thinks wind turbines make little or no noise to live next to one 24/7 for two weeks straight. Then they might be qualified to speak accurately on the subject. The wind turbines are noisy!

Currently this is an area known for agriculture, rural residential and recreational. Following the guidelines in the ordinance, commercial wind farms will change the character of the ridge and of the county. Is this acceptable? Will land values be affected? Do economic advantages outweigh any problems that may develop? Monroe County residents need to be involved. Come to the public hearing to share your thoughts.

"Does it seem odd to anyone but me that the April 2005 through March 2006 bird study shows exactly what Forward Energy was looking for - even though it was compiled and analyzed by people who have far less professional experience than those who have written studies that are contrary to this one," stated Dr. Kaspar. "Furthermore, the data does not support the conclusions."

Almost five years ago, a group of people in the Town of Marshfield, in Fond du Lac County, joined together to try to stop the wind development in that town from being ramrodded through the town board. Some of the board members who were also farmers signed lease agreements to put turbines on their land. Four families, including mine, eventually filed a court action against the town. Now, people come forward and say they wish someone had done or said something to prevent what happened. The fabric of the community is tattered at best.

Much as I like the idea of using these nontraditional methods for power generation, we need a dose of facts when anyone comes forward to propose such changes in power supplies. For example, wind is certainly a non-carbon source, but it's not a non-polluter. ...we also need to keep the "law of unintended consequences" in mind. We need to add these sources to both fossil and nuclear plants and traditional generation systems, which work without wind or sunshine.

Nothing prevented Navitas from starting the project the past two years. Regardless, the BOA upheld the extension. The only item they took from the new wind ordinance was the ability to extend the project, clearly ignoring county requirements on wind turbine siting. It's a reckless decision that could prove costly again to taxpayers. The terms of two BOA members expire in July. I expressed my dissatisfaction to the county executive. Again, he guaranteed they are good people. They may be, but they become paralyzed when making hard decisions and lack direction as a board representing Manitowoc County.

Our group, Calumet County Citizens for Responsible Energy, is in favor of 1,000-foot property setbacks, not against renewable energy. We understand and support the need for a renewable energy source. But the county board has been provided with a significant amount of information on health-related issues caused by wind turbines and citizen concerns to find an overall fair solution.

Wind energy, again. Lately there have been a number of letters to the editor from people living in the city of Fond du Lac advising us, living in the rural area, on what wind turbines are all about. Apparently the turbine noise problem will go away if someone raises enough (hybrid) crickets to cover the wind-blade sound. If anybody is interested enough, our average 12 mph wind does produce a quite audible puffing, which changes with wind direction. At the side of the blades, noise is not too bad. The front side produces the loudest sound; the rear, a little less. Gusting winds increase the noise level.

The more we delve into the massive wind farm proposed by the Wind Capitol Group for Smelser Township, the more our concern grows. Smelser Township is too thickly populated. The land is rich farmland and produces wonderful crops. It would be a shame to ruin it. It should be strictly agriculture.

Windmills likely will be perceived more favorably as energy prices burn holes in our pockets; still, some people are concerned they're an ugly visual distraction that generates noise and threatens birds. Now is the time to formulate guidelines - before any specific commercial proposals are on the table.

Regarding the upcoming town elections, I would like to inform the taxpayers of Ridgeville of some hard financial facts.

More than a year old already, the controversy about how to regulate - or, in effect, even allow - two large turbine projects in one of the most promising areas in the state for wind energy has been hashed over again and again. ...The point is to come up with a plan that can address the concerns of worried residents and the project developers, without it being winner-take-all. Because if they hold out for winner-take-all, everyone's going to lose.

Now, as far as I'm concerned, the taxpayers of Random Lake can spend their money whichever way they like, but as with many good sounding proposals, the devil is usually in the details. ...One question that came to mind is: Just what is the educational benefit of the wind turbine?

Three developers are talking about putting up wind turbines in the offshore waters to generate electricity. ...One plan calls for 390 turbines in an area about 18 miles east of Milwaukee, according to the newspaper report. Another would put 610 turbines one to two miles offshore from Kewaunee to Kenosha. ...We have concerns about the effect hundreds of Lake Michigan turbines would have on recreational boating, not to mention sport and commercial fishing, all of which are vital to the Sheboygan area's economy. There is also the danger that wind turbines rising hundreds of feet into the air pose to migratory birds.

That’s about 20 percent of your electric bill coming back to Invenergy in the form of tax credit from your federal tax dollars.

It's rare indeed when inaction on a bill by the Legislature turns out to be a good thing. But by not putting on the fast track a measure dealing with siting of wind energy farms, lawmakers will have the chance to make the bill better. Proposals to give the state Public Service Commission the authority to write rules on wind farm siting, including allowable noise levels and setback from residential development, were introduced in late February and received minimal scrutiny and little public comment. In the end end, the state Senate wisely voted to send the proposal back to committee, thus ending the possibility of action on it in this session.

Will wind power ever make up 100 percent of our electrical needs? Not by a long shot. The wind isn’t reliable enough and you can’t just put up a 400 foot tall wind turbine anywhere. The location must be, well, windy. ...I took a detour and decided to ask a few residents who lived near the “wind mills” what they thought of them. I found out that they are controversial, and no one I talked to wanted their names printed.