LTE – Jan Scepurek – 9-25-2013

September 16, 2013

Dear Editor,

I think there should be a rule that facts should be accurate before a person writes a letter to the editor.

 For instance, Carol Johnson was mistaken about the Town of Forest’s finances. Anyone who has attended meetings regularly (which she has not) would know that the line of credit is not through First State Bank of Baldwin. What services was she referring to being provided with borrowed funds? Keeping the town livable – that’s a function of government. Doing the will of the majority is what this Town Board was elected to do.

The pro-wind group wants to blame the current town board for spending money on legal bills to preserve the township the way it is. Remember, none of this would have happened if the wind developer had notified the residents and not included a secrecy clause in the hosts’ contracts. They are the ones to blame, they made a mistake! Carol Johnson knows that.

The current town board is doing what is best for the town. For a few people to make a few thousand dollars while the majority can’t sleep, or lose their health or their property values, would not be fair.

I, too, would encourage people to read the docket at www.psc.wi.gov and type in 2535-CE-100. There is a lot on there about the problems people have living in current wind farms. Read James and Darlene Mueller’s testimonies: “five years of hell.” Watch the YouTube video listed under Jamie Fletcher’s comment on 8-13-13: the poor people who are losing their health, losing their livelihood (dairy farming), leaving their homes. They got a raw deal. There is definitely a problem at Shirley – which was developed by this same wind developer – Emerging Energies, and they have done nothing to help the people whose homes they have rendered unlivable. Their excuse is “we no longer own that particular project.”

There is nothing on the docket about any “nocebo” except under Carol Johnson’s comment. I can’t say whether that exists, but I do believe the people who have suffered health problems and noise problems; they aren’t going to make up the fact that they had to leave their homes and have to pay two mortgages.

If wind energy is so great, how come Carol Johnson got a solar collector? Could it be that solar is more efficient at this climate??

Carol Johnson does not attend very many meetings, so she wouldn’t know whether they are civil or not. All the meetings she is not at are civilized. When she “spoke up at a public hearing for the town budget,” what she said provoked a response. “The lack of civility that is now the norm in our local government meetings” is simply untrue. Lack of civility only happened when people made remarks that were unfounded, untrue, and accusatory. Backlash occurred on one occasion, but it is not the norm.

Which side has the better experts is a matter of opinion. In my opinion, two mechanical engineers with 25 years of experience each, would outrank a noise measurement technician.

Anyone can see by reading the docket that there is testimony after testimony by people who have had health problems – who did not expect to – so to say “there are no documented health effects” is just false. I totally believe the people who have had to leave their homes and said it was “five years of hell.”

The only reasonable decision for the PSC would be to deny the Highland Wind Farm and prevent a repeat of the Shirley disaster. The evidence is overwhelming and undeniable, that large 2.5 megawatt turbines 1250 feet from homes is too close.

Thank you,
Janet Scepurek
Town of Forest resident