Drive east of Bloomington at night and park for 20 minutes. Like the endless flashing lights? Each turbine is 450 feet tall and 50 of them flash 45,000 times every hour. Oh, I forgot, if you live in town, you don't have to look at them. For tens of thousands of us in rural areas, it is all night - everynight - for the rest of our lives.

As the debate over "Wind Farms" continues, and is now into court, I cannot help but wonder why it has progressed this far dividing neighbors, friends and families. I also reflect on how the whole ordeal, which has put much undue stress on all parties involved, could have been avoided had our County Board followed normal protocol regarding the granting of Special Use Permits. Last fall, when the hearing for Special Use Application was in front of the County Zoning Board of Appeals, there were several long nights of testimony from both sides. After all testimony was heard, the Zoning Board of Appeals voted 3-1 to deny the application. At that point, in normal county procedure, the issue is over and the applicants must wait a year to apply again. However, in this case, our County Board leadership decided to be above the norm and overturn the Zoning Board of Appeal's recommendation forcing themselves and the county into imminent litigation.

I really hope that everyone on the west side of Bloomington keeps fighting against construction of a wind farm. The Ellsworth-Arrowsmith area is virtually destroyed by turbines as far as you can see complete with red flashing lights at night. Many roads are virtually unusable because of damage caused by large trucks. Wind farms should be built on tracts of land, as close together as possible. That's how they are done in Arizona. They shouldn't be scattered all over the countryside!

How can we ask citizens of this county to live surrounded by these 400-foot machines? I encourage anyone to check the site map at the commission office on Lamm Road to see for themselves the sacrifice we are expecting from a significant number of our neighbors. Neighbors who only wish to enjoy the beautiful landscape and the rolling farmland our county provides, for the present anyway.

Our family has been blessed with living and raising a family by the Mackinaw River Valley north of Carlock. With all the timber and rolling hills, it’s breathtaking beauty. We find out from a neighbor that all this is in jeopardy. A proposed wind farm in our area is picking up steam by a Chicago-based company and the map of this project is devastating. As much as we applaud the technology, the placement of these monsters stinks.