I will admit, it was not a waste of my time to spend two hours on a Friday night listening to the “Why’s” I cannot support these wind turbines at this time. What I learned tonight was that there is still not enough evidence that this much destruction of land, destruction of communities that once were cohesive, is worth the financial gain for so few lease holders. Everyone needs to slow down, stop reacting so quickly to something that we don’t know enough about yet. Work together as a community to realize the best results for, not only you today, but for your children and theirs, in the years to come.

A 90-megawatt wind turbine project has been proposed for the town of rkwright and surrounding towns will probably be getting their own proposals. When trying to make sense of a complicated issue like this, it helps to compare it with a more familiar alternative. What if a developer proposed building a 90 megawatt high-efficiency gas-fired generating station in Arkwright using gas from the high-pressure pipeline that runs through the township? How would the two proposals compare?

While daily bird kill may appear minimal, the cumulative effect over the next 20-25 years, the life span of towers, will be devastating to bird populations and their genetic pool.

The chairman of the Cohocton Planning Board has admitted when challenged that he is “just doing what he is told!” That mindset is unacceptable. The ethical course is to fulfill their sworn duties in a fair, rational and objective manner. That means obeying NYS codes and dismissing legal counsel that perverts the basic protections provided within the law. Any member of government that is unable or unwilling to adhere to this standard does not deserve community support and should resign. Those of moral character know in their heart that the UPC project will not bring prosperity to our town. At its core - it has always been a bad business deal. New leadership, balanced benefits, hard work and practical business initiatives that create a genuine future for our children and grandchildren should be the proper goal for everyone. The voice of opportunity cries out, oppose the wicked ways of the Town Board or be resigned to a life of servitude in a UPC company town.

There is an adage, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Indeed, when the subject is complex and esoteric, the common person needs to be on guard. Self-proclaimed proponents of energy and the environment have a notorious history of taking advantage of our good intentions. A contemporary example for the Ithaca community is the ludicrous proposal of John Rancich to deface the Finger Lakes landscape with windmills under the guise of “sustainable energy.”

Tax-credit-driven developers – Governor Pataki blessed and encouraged them – ranged the nation’s sixth most populous state seeking to plant 3,200 wind turbines on verdant fields and ridge lines. It became clear the Empire State was on the verge of a huge mistake, almost irreversible, the equivalent of West Virginia’s shaved mountaintops. Even though the turbines are said to be only 30 percent efficient, even though they loom, hum, flicker and, occasionally, catch on fire, an alliance of Big Government, Big Capital and Big Environment seemed determine to crush all opposition. In the face of such Goliaths, Cherry Valley’s Davids kept sling-shotting pebbles at the behemoths.

It has been said that for evil to triumph, it is necessary for good men and women to do nothing. The time for doing nothing has passed. If we don’t act now and put an end to the corrupting influence of this company we are giving it our tacit consent to not only ransack the countryside but to treat the town government and all who live here as its own personal lackeys.

Does it make sense to trust a company that: 1) had no idea it was planning to build in a karst landscape until informed by interested private citizens; 2) now proposes inadequate safeguards to address the problem; and 3) continues to put out rank misinformation such as the weight of the turbines? Is this a track record people feel comfortable with in a company that wants to make huge, irreversible changes in the local landscape?

Wind Project are two megawatt turbines, the taxation rate will be $16,000 per turbine. The county’s consultant determined that the full taxation rate per turbine would be $40,000 per megawatt. Therefore, the county’s offer represents an 80 percent tax exemption. This rate of exemption will apply to all wind projects in Herkimer County. The Jordanville Wind project will bring “six to 12 jobs” to the county, according to the Jordanville Wind Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement. By comparison, Wal-Mart brought over 200 jobs and generates over $1 million a year in sales-tax revenues at its distribution center in Schoharie County, which employs many Herkimer County residents.

Their potential for power contribution to the grid, compared with fossil, hydro or nuclear, will be miniscule, but their contribution to landscape desecration will be immense. Casting both light and shadow over the entire scene, however, are the two potential wild cards of beaucoup loot for a lot of people and a significant amount of political prestige for a few. So, to arms!

I am writing in regard to a recent newspaper article on Ann Humphrey, former Perry Supervisor, who took a job with Horizon Wind Energy, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, only 8 months after finishing her term as Supervisor and pushing through the new zoning law which would accommodate industrial wind turbines in Perry. At the very least, her move has the appearance of impropriety. It is my understanding that N.Y.S. Public Officers Law 73(8)(a)(i) requires elected State officials to be removed at least two years from any governmental position before taking a job which is in direct conflict of interest with their public service. It seems it would be good public policy to adopt the same policies and practices at our local government levels. We should consider what kind of precedent has been set here. What happens to public trust when public servants take these jobs?

Reunion has been using the phrase “sweetening the deal.” Is this an admission that the offer hasn’t been or still isn’t sweet enough? Reunion has also been stating, “wait until our application is in” to provide all the financial and environmental details of their offers. What strategy is this? Like the legendary Trojan Horse? Get in, then ravage?

It may grieve many to hear me say this, but I believe that we are about to witness the death of Arkwright as all Chautauqua County residents know it — a naturally beautiful, peaceful, tranquil place to live and raise one’s children; the land with majestic woods, creeks, and waterfalls; the town voted best rural town in Western New York this year. The town is about to have its heart torn out of it, its center, its very identity. Sound extreme? You better believe it is.

The public needs to hear all of the FACTS and if it appears that the project could be detrimental in any way than it should not be constructed.

One thing is clear: The environmental community must view wind-power projects as they would any other type of industrial development. To prejudge wind power projects, and indeed to blindly support them regardless of the environmental consequences, is just wrong. Even the most well thought-out position on renewable energy must not overstep common sense.

The commercial wind industry is making a mockery of environmental and renewable energy advocates who support them. They're often ruthless in their local activities, and will no doubt disappear long before we can hold them accountable for their indiscretions against us and against the planet. Where, I wonder, will Invenergy and others like them be when society realizes the folly of it all?

Numerous other issues were raised and questions remain unanswered. A common question emerged, and has always been a question of mine since we first heard about this proposed project. Why are we making any decisions according to Horizon's time-line when so many unanswered questions remain? What's the rush? Oh, yeah - the incentives offered by our government, using our tax dollars to sell us out to these multi-billion dollar corporations, are due to run out by a certain date. As the Town Supervisor from the Tug Hill area told us when he was in Warsaw on Oct. 4, the wind companies couldn't exist if it wasn't for these subsidies. Thus, the rush by corporate developers to acquire access to our most valuable U.S. asset - our countryside. Your land is a finite resource. God isn't making any more of it. Better think twice before signing it all away!

From an environmental standpoint, wind power creates a huge paradox. It does provide “clean fuel” benefits, but wind turbines also exact a heavy toll on the surrounding area. I recently traveled through the Carbondale section of Pennsylvania. Wind turbines have been allowed to flourish there. They are not simply part of the landscape. They are the landscape. Pure and simple, the wind turbines clearly, eerily dominate everything in that area.

I heard nothing at the Oct. 5 meeting that would cause the Town Board to reject the hard work that the Planning Board has put into the local wind ordinance. I believe the Planning Board has the protection of all the Town’s citizens in mind when they drafted this ordinance and it should stand without the influence of a developer pushing an agenda. This wind ordinance is the last chance for our leaders to plan the future of Cherry Valley because everything hereafter becomes mitigation.

We should all support the Cherry Valley wind ordinance as it now stands. I believe that the setbacks and noise level restrictions spelled out in this document offer a layer of protection for both the town and the adjacent property owners who may be negatively effected by this project.