In my opinion it is unreasonable and irresponsible for Supervisor Rienbeck and the zoning law review committee to recommend any less setback from all of our public roads. The notion that the users of secondary or seasonal roads warrant less protection from potential harm than those using main roads is an absurd idea. I am discouraged that this review committee is resisting virtually every effort to significantly regulate the placement of wind turbines in Cape Vincent contrary to Mr. Rienbeck's claim.

Wyoming County, once labeled one of the most beautiful counties in the U.S., has come under siege to the unscrupulous "snake oil" salesmen of the industrial wind corporations. Approximately 200 of these massive 400-feet industrial scale oil-filled wind turbines litter the landscape as if someone indiscriminately threw giant darts in a slipshod fashion irreversibly devastating green hills, forests, wildlife with a failed technology that produces less than 1 percent of the nation's electricity.

Both developers of wind farms in the town of Cape Vincent have asked for a quick conclusion to the wind law committee's work. Well, what a surprise. The developers thought that the town had been bought and paid for and now that the town fathers are giving the appearance of concern toward the citizens they serve, the developers are becoming impatient.

I hope the first order of business for the committee is to abolish the rules that prohibit public attendance or participation and free speech of committee members. I would point out that it was the public who brought these issues to the attention of the board and proved the case for changes on the merits. In large part, problems with the law stem from lack of public involvement. Though procedure was followed, the lack of public education or transparency to the greater weight given to developers' needs leaves the law fatally flawed.

Property values must ultimately be determined through professional appraisals and, if necessary, appeals. Meanwhile to confirm the obvious, ask a prospective buyer if they would still be interested in purchasing your home after learning that wind turbines will be constructed within the view shed of your property. Wyoming County landowners who are planning to "escape" the future onslaught of wind farms must be advised that the marketing of potentially encumbered property requires full disclosure ...Do not sacrifice your quality of life and that of your children as well as your most important financial investment by remaining passive and silent.

Perhaps the most insidious damage has only just begun. In this small, close-knit community, divisiveness has already taken hold. Many residents fear that their neighbors will sign leases without realizing how it may affect the rest of the township. Friends, relatives and neighbors are taking sides. Citizens are losing faith in a local governing board that seems to have taken the dive without checking the dangers first.

We, the Concerned Citizens of Allegany, are concerned our Allegany Town Planning Board will not act in the best interest of our residents. The board is in the process of reviewing an application for 32 wind turbines to be erected on 7,000 acres of land in Chipmonk (see www.everpower.com/allegany.html).

Protection of the public must be paramount. After reading the Cape Vincent engineers' recommendation of 1,200-foot setback from public roads, I was astonished to read one of the committee member's comments, "The chances are so minuscule. I don't see why putting these restrictions on these roads is reasonable." My response is: it is not a chance I want to take with my family, friends or fellow citizens. So why did they choose a 1,000-foot setback instead of 1,200 feet?

The wind industry holds a lot of promise in New York because of the landscape. That doesn't mean it should be a scatter-shot, helter-skelter process to get wind laws drafted and projects up and running. While the intervention by officials is welcomed, we still can't help but wish it came earlier in the process - at least for Enfield's sake.

The Clayton zoning law allows noise levels up to 50 dBa with setbacks of 1,250 feet from off-site residences, hospitals, churches and public libraries, irrespective of boundaries. Given our very quiet residual ambient, which is typically in the range of 20-35 dBa, our 50 dBa represents untenable noise inside residences and other public locations. The law also allows wind generators to be built within 500 feet of property lines and existing public roadways. ...A start in the right direction was announced at the Nov. 12 town council meeting that a citizens wind committee will be formed very soon.

The guidelines included in State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's Wind Industry Ethics Code provide vital oversight into the wind energy industry. The proposed ethics code establishes public disclosure requirements that will allow residents to know the full extent of any involvement between public officials and wind energy companies. ...Three wind energy companies have already signed on to the Attorney General's Wind Industry Ethics Code. We hope Babcock & Brown, sponsor of the proposed Ripley-Westfield Wind Farm, signs on in the very near future.

Over the last couple of years, concerned citizens all around Jefferson County have sponsored informational sessions on wind turbine issues. These sessions have brought out the facts and the health hazards of placing wind turbines where people live. ...The facts are there and the facts are being stepped over to pick up money our Congress has made available for renewable energy. This is your money, and this is just another giveaway program for an inefficient source of energy. We need to channel our tax dollars into the development of real fuel-cell technology for cars and trucks.

State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has taken the lead at the state level to bring some oversight to the proliferating proposals for wind power developments across the state. Mr. Cuomo has drafted what is now a voluntary set of ethical guidelines for wind power companies and municipal officials in the wake of a corruption investigation in Franklin County, where wind companies are alleged to have improperly influenced local officials to get permission to build wind towers.

As we stood on Telegraph Road in the Town of Eagle, looking at a landscape of turbines erected by Noble Environmental ... one turbine in particular almost seemed to whistle. The rest of them raised a steady whoosh, whoosh, woosh. Maybe it was just one errant whistling turbine, and a field of them may be scenic, but what if New York fulfills its alternative energy goal, and there are thousands of these 400 foot towers in the upstate countryside? Would you live next to one?

[W]e are being urged to support the construction of massive wind turbine farms all over this country. Why are these developers so eager to build these massive inefficient industrial complexes? Because our state and federal government are offering lucrative tax incentives to build them. Where do you suppose this money will come from? The taxpayers. These international companies hire public relations firms to market their product. They love to use buzzwords such as: green energy, renewable energy, carbon exchange, global warming, etc., to lure you into thinking wind turbines are the answer to our energy needs.

The long-awaited full report on the Horse Creek Wind Farm noise study will go public in a week, the town announced Wednesday. But the availability of the report was not enough to satisfy upset residents who stormed into the council meeting demanding that the town start formulating a local law to limit noise levels of wind turbines and establish setbacks. "We need to start clearing the air," said Patricia Booras-Miller, vice president of Environmentally Concerned Citizens Organization of Jefferson County.

Many of our small towns are being sold a bill of goods from the wind company charlatans that are backed by information from the AWEA, which also supplies the U.S. Department Energy its information. The U.S. taxpayer will pay for this in tax subsidies. This is why it is important for our citizens to attend informational presentations on wind being held throughout Jefferson, County.

Everybody knows we need to get off oil, especially foreign oil. Naturally, as oil and gasoline prices climb, there is that feeling of desperation about wind and gas drilling. Of course, what's lacking is an energy police with authoritative government planning _ just as what was missing on Wall Street were government oversight and regulation of loan practices and packaging. We can't just let some companies put a few windmills on that ridge, a few gas wells in that pasture and a couple of huge solar panels on that hillside. It is too haphazard. We need energy leadership before it is too late.

The public information program that was held at the Thousand Islands Central School on Sept. 25 was attended by Jefferson County residents who wanted to learn more about industrial wind turbines. The program was put together by a group of citizens from the Cape Vincent, Clayton, Orleans, Lyme and Brownville areas who saw a need for a program like this. ...The public needs to be informed of how our quality of life would be affected and reminded that we are not in an Empire Zone so the profits here would not be close to what was gained in Lewis County.

Finding clean energy sources is a way of the future, and that means we need to seriously investigate opportunities - especially those in our own back yard. Most important is to make certain we do not compromise the environment as they are developed. ...Drilling for natural gas and the creation of wind farms can be economically beneficial to communities as well as landowners. Yet, there are legitimate environmental concerns that need to be addressed.