Just thought I would tell you that after the meeting the other night, my son Brian was expressing a desire to actually go and see a wind tower in person and up close. I remembered that there is actually a wind tower farm near Gainesville, NY, so we went up to see it.It isn't that far of a drive either. You go to Hermitage (Rt.78) and take a right off the main road, go 3 miles, take a left (Weathersfield Rd.) and they are right there.
The main gates were open, so we drove right in. There are 7 on the left side of the road and 3 on the right. All of them are accessible by just driving your car literally right next to them! I got out of my car and I have to tell you that I was expecting to hear some noise (whining, grinding, humming, something!) and there was barely any sound AT ALL! All you could hear was a faint whoosh of the blade overhead. Barely audible! If you walked right up to the towers and went around the backside there was a locked access door to get inside, if you put your ear to the door, you could hear a faint hum, THATS IT! If you took 2 steps from the access door, you couldn't hear a thing.
I stopped at McCormick farm's shop back on the main road and was talking to the guys working in the shop. One of the guys told me that not only was he on the town board when the project went up, but he actually lives less than 1/2 a mile from the turbines. I asked him some questions, his responses are in bold print. He told me that they have had NO PROBLEMS with the towers at all. I asked about noise, NONE. I asked about ice throw, NONE. Property values? NO change. Cows dying? WHAT? I then asked him about shadow flicker, he said he heard about that, so he went and watched them and the only shadows he saw were directly under the blades. I asked if they projected shadow flicker outward, away from the towers- He said he had never seen any. Headaches? None Depression? No The man also added that you will never even know they are there, unless you want to go see them.
He also told me that the project was erected 10 years ago, no problems. He told me that the project was the best thing to ever happen there. And lastly, told me that they had applied for, received, and are in the process of getting 58 more turbines! It is a shared venture between the towns of Eagle and Hermitage, NY. The only thing holding to process up now is the negotiations as to what % the town is getting of the money the towers are going to generate. He told me that if the town gets what they want from the project, it will ELIMINATE the town/village taxes for the residents. He said it would not effect school or county taxes, but local taxes would be gone!
And if you are wondering what my son Brian said about it, he asked me "How could you not like these things, they look cool, they don't make noise , and I don't see where they hurt anything."
John & Brian Meyer
The main gates were open, so we drove right in. There are 7 on the left side of the road and 3 on the right. All of them are accessible by just driving your car literally right next to them! I got out of my car and I have to tell you that I was expecting to hear some noise (whining, grinding, humming, something!) and there was barely any sound AT ALL! All you could hear was a faint whoosh of the blade overhead. Barely audible! If you walked right up to the towers and went around the backside there was a locked access door to get inside, if you put your ear to the door, you could hear a faint hum, THATS IT! If you took 2 steps from the access door, you couldn't hear a thing.
I stopped at McCormick farm's shop back on the main road and was talking to the guys working in the shop. One of the guys told me that not only was he on the town board when the project went up, but he actually lives less than 1/2 a mile from the turbines. I asked him some questions, his responses are in bold print. He told me that they have had NO PROBLEMS with the towers at all. I asked about noise, NONE. I asked about ice throw, NONE. Property values? NO change. Cows dying? WHAT? I then asked him about shadow flicker, he said he heard about that, so he went and watched them and the only shadows he saw were directly under the blades. I asked if they projected shadow flicker outward, away from the towers- He said he had never seen any. Headaches? None Depression? No The man also added that you will never even know they are there, unless you want to go see them.
He also told me that the project was erected 10 years ago, no problems. He told me that the project was the best thing to ever happen there. And lastly, told me that they had applied for, received, and are in the process of getting 58 more turbines! It is a shared venture between the towns of Eagle and Hermitage, NY. The only thing holding to process up now is the negotiations as to what % the town is getting of the money the towers are going to generate. He told me that if the town gets what they want from the project, it will ELIMINATE the town/village taxes for the residents. He said it would not effect school or county taxes, but local taxes would be gone!
And if you are wondering what my son Brian said about it, he asked me "How could you not like these things, they look cool, they don't make noise , and I don't see where they hurt anything."
John & Brian Meyer
posted by Yes! Wind Power for Cohocton at
12:38 PM
4 Comments:
It is amazing to me that the Meyers saw the same turbines that my husband and I saw on March 18 at Wethersfield. We stood underneath them, with the winds blowing approx. 30mph that day. Reminded me of the opening scene from the old TV show M*A*S*H - visually and sound-wise. The flicker on the ground at 2pm that day was fantastic, and not in a "COOL" way. We drove a little over 1/4 mile UPWIND and heard a "woop woop" sound like an old hound dog. I would kindly suggest that young Brian do a research project for school to sort out the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, and find reliable data from unbiased sources (universities, governmental agencies, etc.) so an educated opinion can be formed. If the Meyers family does not live in an area where they would be visually impacted or if they are not adjoining landowners, then having an opinion is nice - but not something that should be considered in the grand scheme of turbine placement. I also went to the meeting for the Planning Board last Thursday evening - what a sorry state of affairs when the presence of law enforcement is required for a meeting of concerned citizens. You should all be ashamed that your town is becoming famous (infamous?) for discord rather than positive action. So you see, young Brian, turbines really DO hurt.
By
Anonymous, at 9:28 AM
it is interesting that you have yet to post my commentary that contrasts to Mr. Meyers' blog entry... maybe you just haven't sugar coated my response enough to be palatable for your like minded friends.
By
Anonymous, at 3:52 PM
I think that this blog is amazing!
It reminded this woman of the old M*A*S*H TV show, both visually and
sound-wise? I watched M*A*S*H for years and there was NO SOUNDS at the opening
scene, just the theme song! If she is implying that the towers sounded like a
helicopter, I would love to know how that is.
Also, if these people heard the sound of a "woop woop" from 1/4 mile away
and upwind, wow! Maybe if it sounded like an "old hound dog", maybe it was
an old hound dog they heard.
It is amazing to me that the person I talked to that has lived 1/2 mile
from these towers for 10 years has no problem with them, but someone that took
a "day trip" to see them has such issues with them. That is also the opinion
of an individual that "live in an area where they would be visually impacted"
As far as my son doing a project for school about towers, don't worry. He
already is learning about acid rain, air pollution, health issues,
greenhouse gases, and dependance on foreign oil. You know, the problems that other
power plants create to produce electric.
Think of it this way, in the next 20 years do you think the United States
will use more electricity or less? There are only so many ways to produce
that electricity.
1) Hydroelectric, not enough large rivers around here to pull that trick
off.
2) Nuclear- Now there is a plant I would have issue with!
3) Coal- ever heard of air pollution?
4) Fossil fuels- OPEC loves to hear that!
I know it has been said before, but needs to be said again, these towers
produce electricity from wind, wind that costs nothing, pollutes nothing,
and does not destroy our atmosphere.
I am so sorry that the Planning Board meetings don't meet the high
standards set by this person from Gorham. But you see in America(at least in
Cohocton) we exercise our right to free speech. That means that no matter how good
of an idea one person thinks something is, anyone has the right to challenge
that idea.
From the blog you have here I must assume that Gorham will not be seeing
wind towers anytime soon. It is a shame that, in my opinion I believe that
you are missing the boat.
John Meyer
By
Yes! Wind Power for Cohocton, at 8:17 AM
To the Gorham resident,you will note your comments were published without the sugar coating you suggested. In the future -if you care to comment, you will need to sign your name. This blog is updated once a week.
By
Yes! Wind Power for Cohocton, at 8:20 AM
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