We need more people thinking like Tricia, so as to save our planet for our future generations!

Great job Tricia!

The issue of whether or not to bring windmills into Burke is tearing our town apart. Neighbors are no longer talking and all trust has been lost, even amongst friends. The matter boils down to a simple question, What is best for the town? Although there are accounts of health issues caused by these giant turbines, they are few and far between. We have control over where these windmills are placed because this is our town. Negotiation will be our strongest tool.

Alternative energy sources are inevitable. We have depleted the earth’s resources to the point of no return. Now it is up to us to salvage what we have left. This will take wind, water, and solar power, as well as any other technology that has been developed to use our natural surroundings in order to produce power. The future of this world depends on our decisions now.

This town needs these windmills. Already I have seen local children graduate from high school and head toward an environmental degree with scholarship money from these companies. I have seen people with little to no education get hired and trained to work for these companies. If it were not the windmills, there would be something else coming into this town, and, believe me, windmills are our best bet.

Instead of focusing on the negatives of windmills, let’s look at the bigger picture: global warming. Look at the research that is available on this topic; it will scare you. No longer will coastal towns exist. With the melting of the ice caps and the rising sea level, these towns will be under water. Forget vacationing in Florida; it will be gone too. These are not myths. Education is key in this situation.

We must try seeing each other’s side in this conflict. As the old Chinese proverb says, “If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” We cannot tear the town apart over this issue; we must work together and negotiate to get what we want in a manner that pleases everyone.

First, I would like to thank you for many words of encouragement on behalf of the Keep Burke Beautiful clan. You have been a tremendous help to us, and you were right, the word of the people is what counts. We are continuing to fight these large wind corporations and their corruption. It will be a long battle, but one we are committed to.

I would also like to thank the Tacys and my parents for their tremendous effort and countless hours of planning and research, and all of the other residents of Burke who have stood up for their rights against these domineering wind companies.

Another thanks to Derek Champagne for doing his duty as a public official.

We must support our neighboring towns and their struggles with these monsters.

Another statement I would like to make about our town board and its members: I do not blame them for what has occurred in our town. I blame Noble Wind Energy for all of the difficulty that we are going through. These men have been trained to be incredible, topnotch salesmen. They have preyed on the innocent people of these towns, knowing very well that these are simple country folks trying to make a living. With them being exceptional salesmen they could sell sand to the desert.

I know all along what they have been telling these people, “everything is alright, don’t worry about it, we’ll take care of it,” and these farmers have been listening to them, trusting them. Also, once you have a contract with Noble you are bound to promote and expand wind and all the good it will do. Ha Ha, what a farce.

I’m willing to bet that there is not one member on that board that doesn’t regret coming in contact with these people. Our town will never be the same.

It’s so good that people like District Attorney Derek Champagne are around to uphold the integrity of public office and giving the public some hope.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858 – 1919)

Thank You Mr. Champagne

Your thoughts are well put and appreciated by many, including me.

Notice what General Municipal Law (GML) says and does not say. It forbids conflicts of interest, taking pains to explain what constitutes a conflict of interest by a municipal officer. It says nothing about whether the town officer (with a conflict of interest) is required merely to abstain from voting or actually abstain from any and all participation in formulating the ordinance in question.

Reading the law (attached, below), one surmises that a “conflicted” town officer cannot participate in any manner in the creation of that ordinance.

You see the point, I’m sure.

I agree with you that those towns where there was a conflict of interest in adopting a wind law, should do the wind law over. However, I think GML is clear that “conflicted” town board members must, this time around, recuse themselves from anything having to do with the discussion, formulation or adoption of a wind law.

I also agree with you that these board members are all good and honorable people in a difficult and, at times, treacherous job. (You couldn’t pay me enough to be a town board member!) My dismay is directed not against the town board members; it’s against the wind developers who should not have led these good and decent board members down this dangerous path.

My dismay is likewise directed against the town attorneys, including the attorneys who drafted the wind laws on behalf of these towns, who should have warned board members they were likely violating NYS law. (It may be they did warn board members, and it went unheeded. That, alas, I don’t know.)

Were I a town board member, especially a supervisor, I would be calling up these attorneys and asking some pointed questions. And, perhaps after that phone conversation, placing a call to what I assume are various NYS legal ethics agencies, inquiring if these attorneys violated legal ethics.

Calvin

Unfortunately, especially in small towns, elected officials often vote in matters involving companies that they have personal business with. They should keep the code of ethic close by and ponder it in any matter they consider in their positions as public officials.

The fact that they did, however, does not mean that they voted in favor of these projects simply for selfish reasons. They are decent men who chose to serve in communities that they love and have deep roots in. It is sad to see the trouble they are in, my thoughts are with them.

It does not mean that the wind companies are corrupt, evil or that the energy they seek to produce is any less valuable than if this situation had not occurred.

I support commercial wind energy projects but the local approval process must be fair and transparent. Let’s strike the previous votes and vote again with those who have a conflict abtaining.

Audubon’s Position on Wind Power:
Audubon strongly supports properly-sited wind power as a clean alternative energy source that reduces the threat of global warming.
http://www.audubon.org/campaign/windPowerQA.html

Greenpeace:
Over the last 20 years, wind energy has become the world’s fastest growing energy source.Today’s wind turbines are produced by a sophisticated mass production industry employing a technology that is efficient, cost effective and quick to install.Turbine sizes range from a few kW to over 5,000 kW, with the largest turbines reaching more than 100m in height. One large wind turbine can produce enough electricity for about 5,000 households. State-of-the-art wind farms today can be as small as a few turbines and as large as several hundred MW.
http://www.energyblueprint.info/85.0.html