Think about what you're doing!
In hopes of saving people from the same type of issues we’ve had with wind tower development here in northeast Wisconsin, I’d like to share some information with the good people of Bureau County.
First, I don’t live very near a tower installation because I sold off my portion of the family farm because towers were being placed on the most fertile and productive portions of it. So I moved far enough away, so I wouldn’t have to see it on a daily basis. In fact, it is painful to go back there and see the “windustrial” site that used to be our family farm. I routinely avoid even traveling the country roads near there. It is just too sad for words.
Secondly, I don’t have any financial gain in fighting wind tower installations. I simply feel that it is my duty to inform others before they fall into the same trap my old neighbors did. I wrote a letter to a newspaper in Calumet County (Wis.) just a few weeks ago (Jan. 29). Below is the text of that letter.
“Almost five years ago, a group of people in the town of Marshfield in Fond du Lac County joined together to try to stop the wind development in that town from being ramrodded through the town board. Some of the board members, who were also farmers, signed lease agreements to put turbines on their land. Four families, including mine, eventually filed a court action against the town. Now, people come forward and say they wish someone had done or said something to prevent what happened.
The fabric of the community is tattered at best. The amount of angst, distrust and hatred in the area is so thick, you can cut it with a machete. Everyone seems to be blaming someone for something they did. The landowners are even squabbling among themselves. Why didn’t someone do something?
A good number of people are rather tight-lipped about what’s going on. Those are generally souls who signed some type of agreement. Another group wants “to just forget about it” and hope for a better day. Yet another group expresses its beliefs and gets accused of having all sorts of motivation.
What an utter mess, one not to be resolved in our lifetime. Families torn apart, friendships lost, hate, betrayal. Heck, it’s the stuff of supermarket novels, minus the torrid affairs.
I voted with my feet and no longer live or own property there. I applaud Calumet County for debating what Fond du Lac County was afraid to broach. Please go and visit Johnsburg now. Calumet County stands at a crossroads. It can follow the path of its neighbors to the south or choose a different fate.”
Incidentally, my brother now looks out his window at a tower that was “mistakenly” placed less than 1,000 feet from his house. I hope he can move before the blades start turning.
Please think about what you are doing before you sign those leases. Energy we can make from many sources; we can’t make new soybean and corn ground.
Mike Winkler
Malone, Wis.
