Windmills on Ice Mountain - Gamesa Wind Turbines

[My2Cents]

Just thinking (which I sometimes shouldn't do)... If these turbines go in and someone should ask that old question; Does a bear do (you know what) in the woods ?? Tell 'em yes, but, not on Ice Mountain.. they were driven out !!! Wait 'til those rattlers get "wind" of this !!!

[newcouncilmember]

There was an announcement in Fridays paper of a special meeting on Wednesday March 18 to discuss the windmills and whatever else arises. PRETTY CONVENIENT THAT THE PEOPLE WHO WORK AND HAVE A JOB WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE IT.

[sammie]

There was an announcement in Fridays paper of a special meeting on Wednesday March 18 to discuss the windmills and whatever else arises. PRETTY CONVENIENT THAT THE PEOPLE WHO WORK AND HAVE A JOB WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE IT.

Who is sponsoring this meeting and where and what time is it?

[sammie]

Just thinking (which I sometimes shouldn't do)... If these turbines go in and someone should ask that old question; Does a bear do (you know what) in the woods ?? Tell 'em yes, but, not on Ice Mountain.. they were driven out !!! Wait 'til those rattlers get "wind" of this !!!

Speaking of rattlesnacks, don't know if this story was ever posted here, but it is worth reposting if it was.

http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/07/ ... olly-sods/

Tragedy at Dolly Sods

We recently heard from William H. “Marty” Martin, one of our favorite researchers. Marty has been studying the life cycle of the timber rattlesnake for 25 years. He regularly visits several dens that have been in existence on the Allegheny Front for thousands of years — to check on the emergence of snakes in the spring. Marty had been concerned about the possible disruption of the snake dens by the construction of the Ned-Power Industrial Wind Turbines, but he was assured that the dens, located in rock piles, with crevasses going into the earth, would not be disturbed.

When Marty returned to his study site this Spring, this is what he found: “It is finished. There is nothing left to save. The nicest part of the entire Allegheny Front is gone — a victim of mountaintop removal for “green energy.” The center of the study area — what I called the middle knoll where you could look north about 150 meters to Wildcat Rocks– is now a pad for a turbine. This was a globally rare environment– the scrub oak heath barren grading to a red spruce stand on Wildcat Rocks itself.

“As you know, the area was the site of a long-term study on the Timber Rattlesnake (MARTIN. W. H. 2002. Life history constraints on the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) at its climatic limits. Pp. 285-306 in G. A. Schuett, M. Hoggren, M. E. Douglas, and H. W. Greene (Eds.) Biology of the Vipers, Eagle Mountain, Utah. I have never experienced anything like this. A civilized people would not do this. The maps that I saw showing the location of proposed turbines did not show any turbines on the study sites. To me this a personal 9/11 — millions of years of natural history now destroyed.”

Here at Friends of Blackwater, we oppose the standardless and unregulated siting of industrial wind turbines. Why? Because, as Marty Martin’s story so vividly shows us, without strict regulation of wind turbine siting, the unique ecology of the Allegheny Highlands will be destroyed!

Thank you for your continued support of Friends of Blackwater, as we work to protect all of God’s creatures in the wonderful Highlands of West Virginia.

Friends of Blackwater

July 2008

[newcouncilmember]

The Tyrone Borough Council with Sharon Danaways name at the bottom of the ad.

[sammie]

The Tyrone Borough Council with Sharon Danaways name at the bottom of the ad.

I don't get that paper so could you please tell us the specifics regarding the place and time? Thanks.

[One lone voice]

Thank goodness I looked in here before calling it quits for the night, or I would not have known about this meeting Wednesday. They must not want very many people there, 'cause there are a lot of us out here that DON'T get the paper, and otherwise would never have known about it. Everyone....tell your neighbors and all your friends and family about it. Spread the news the old-fashioned way!!!
By the way, where is it to be held?

[newcouncilmember]

Borough building at 4 oclock on Wednesday. Thats all I know.

[My2Cents]

Borough building at 4 oclock on Wednesday. Thats all I know.

Thanks for info !! Wonder if this is a "closed to the public executive meeting?"
Does anyone know ?? 'Tis a strange hour for windmill discussions. Maybe they are going to seal-a-deal with "someone," then
dine at Burley's.:rolleyes: Just guessin' and thinkin' again !!

[Bill Latchford]

Borough building at 4 oclock on Wednesday. Thats all I know.

Just to clarify, that you will be showing up to a Tyrone Borough Authority meeting. This is not a Tyrone Borough Council meeting. The Authority is who the Borough is leasing the property to right now so they to have to give an OK to the sub leasing of the property in question for Wind Plant development. I am unaware of how they run their meetings.

[My2Cents]

I don't think anyone said "council meeting." Maybe, the council is to meet .... or, however it was worded!! Another "play" with the words Bill !!
Meeting, schmeeting... we know, it's a get together and wind mills will be, at least, part of the discussion... if not all.....call it what you may !!

[Bill Latchford]

I don't think anyone said "council meeting." Maybe, the council is to meet .... or, however it was worded!! Another "play" with the words Bill !!
Meeting, schmeeting... we know, it's a get together and wind mills will be, at least, part of the discussion... if not all.....call it what you may !!

Just offering up information that some may find useful, so they will have a heads up about the persons that are on that particular board. No harm I thought...and not a play on words. No one had mentioned yet whom the group was sponsoring the meeting so I thought I would...

[My2Cents]

Thanks.

[One lone voice]

I've been doing some research and look what I found:



Pennsylvania State Constitution, Article I, Section 27:
“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”

[Something to say]

I said I was done with this thread, and in all reality I have been for some time. I've only continued to post because I can't tolerate injustice. With that said, I have one more post.. I must get his off my chest before it swells up and I explode. Will it change anything? No...but it will make me FEEL a lot better.

I thought about putting up numbers again, but that would only be redundant. Its one thing to keep stating facts if people are capable of understanding them, but in this case, well...no point.

I have an issue with this council that is leading your town, Tyrone, and although I don't live there myself...my mother was born and raised in Tyrone.. I have many relatives in Tyrone including my own daughter... I shop in Tyrone...and I have spent more of my youth in Tyrone than I did here at home. So even though its been brought to my attention ...more than once ...that my opinion doesn't matter, I still have one and I'm going to express it.


The Blind are leading the blind. This current mess with your police force is unfortunate, but at least people are opening their eyes. I don't know who is right and who is wrong and frankly it won't have an effect on me either way. However, I am encouraged by the way the town has woke up and is actually participating in SOMETHING. My advice to you people would be to stand up for what you believe in and express your opinions but please use some tact in doing so. Get your facts and present them in a dignified manner.


Last March Kris Yaniello reported:


March 11, 2008 by Kris Yaniello in Tyrone PA

Due to the consensus of Tyrone Borough council last evening, at the April 22 primary voting booths, borough residents who are registered to vote may check mark an informal survey about his or her thoughts on a proposed Gamesa Energy USA 10 to 15 turbine wind farm on the borough's watershed property on Ice Mountain.

The survey decision comes in the midst of Gamesa increasing payout figures in its proposed 30-year lease agreement with the borough, due to wind resource information gathered from an Ice Mountain meteorological test tower. Gamesa is willing to increase the Option Period for the option to lease the land to $5,000 per year, compared to the original $1,500 per year.

Gamesa has also increased the Operation Period per windmill per year from $6,000 to $7,000. The original three percent gross annual electricity revenue has now gone up to 3.5 percent, and increase to a maximum of 4.5 percent in the latter of the 30-year contract. The gross annual electricity revenue is only paid if it is higher than the now $7,000 per windmill per year.

The windmill survey that will be placed at voting booths throughout the borough requires simply a "yes" or "no" to the proposed wind farm.

Registered borough voters will have to show his or her voting stub before the survey can be taken. Council members and police enforcement will be at the polls to oversee the conducted survey without being of any influence for or against the proposed project.

The results of the survey cannot be binding upon borough council due to Home Rule Charter, but council feels the informal survey will provide a fair and impartial assessment of the opinion of borough residents on the proposed wind farm project.

laughable

Borough residents who are not registered to vote but would like to register can do so by coming into the borough office by the registration deadline of March 24.

Tyrone Mayor James Kilmartin feels that not only will this survey be yet another tool for council to use in its decision on Gamesa's proposed wind farm, but he hopes more people will get registered and vote at the upcoming primary.

This became the ONLY tool council used in making its decision. Oh...that and the call from our governor...It sometimes takes a BACKBONE to stand up for what is right.

"We want to hear what the voters have to say, that's very significant," said Kilmartin. "If people aren't registered, we want to get them registered. We want to hear what the borough residents have to say."

He added, "We hear from people all around the area and outside of the area, but we want to hear what the very residents in the borough say. This will be a non-judgmental vote in the way that it's not pressured."

Sadly...this informal poll did not provide council with an accurate account. And the manner in which this poll was taken ....lol.....questionable to say the least. The petition that was presented was clearly a more accurate account and 600 borough residents signed it .....unless of course you choose to believe council's version of how the petition was administered. I think THAT more than anything sticks in my craw. I'm still appalled by the way council claimed that people said they were STRONG-ARMED into signing the petition...lol. Did you sign the petition? " Well yes sir I did. I had no choice. A drunken man at the Bull Pen breathed all over me and I had no choice. I was afraid. Alcohol vapor was consuming me. I was afraid for my life. THAT MAN TWISTED MY ARM AS SURE AS I'M STANDING HERE AND HE THREATENED TO SHOVE A BUDWEISER DOWN MY THROAT IN PUBLIC IF I DIDN'T SIGN." GAWD.....talk about throwing your own under a bus.


In added fairness, Councilperson Patricia Stoner said that the borough will gather the completed surveys and compile the results with the assistance of not only council members, but also representatives from the "Save Ice Mountain" coalition that consists of borough residents who oppose the wind farm project.

Saying it and doing it are two entirely different things. I have yet to find one member of Save Ice Mountain that was contacted to assist in manning tables OR compiling votes.....BUT HEY....it looks good on paper!


I guess the bottom line is this..... YOUR council WANTED the revenue that Gamesa offered. THE ONLY THING THAT COULD HAVE SAVED ICE MOUNTAIN WAS TOWN PARTICIPATION......and for the most part.....MANY OF YOU SAT BACK AND GRIPED ABOUT IT IN YOUR INNER CIRCLES BUT ALLOWED THIS TO HAPPEN BECAUSE YOU DID NOT PRESENT AT THE MEETINGS AND SPEAK YOUR MIND PUBLICLY. They sold you out and made you believe its what you wanted. And I for one find the whole fiasco to be both disgusting and disappointing.

Bill.....I will say this in your favor. Even though you had made it kinda clear on several occasions where you stood...or did ya...anyway......at least you had the A.S.S. to make yourself available.





AND FYI= Borough Authority consists of....Robert Miller, Jay Young, Jen Bryan, Mark Kosoglow and William Hall.