Take time to learn about wind farms
We should be proud and thankful that we live where we can be a part of the decision process and have a part in our local communities. But these decisions should be based on facts, not emotion. It is so easy to let our hearts influence our minds.
There is certainly nothing wrong with loving our families, our lifestyles and our neighborhoods. But we must also remember there are two sides to a story, and one is usually more factual than the other.
If you are concerned about wind turbines, be sure to get the facts and not just listen to runaway emotions. Take a drive on a sunny day and look for shadows or a flicker. And while you are there, stop and listen. Take another drive after dark and see if the red light reaches the ground.
I always enjoyed hearing Paul Harvey report “The Rest of the Story.” The facts are a wind farm will improve roads. It will make payments on leases that will help the local community. It will create jobs, and any new job is better than none at all. It will pay application fees, fees for building permits, and taxes, even through the abatement period. It will produce clean, renewable energy.
If you are asked to sign a petition against a wind farm, make sure you know the facts and you are aware of what you are giving up.
David Etherington, Russiaville
Karickhoff bill helps a privileged few
I think Mike Karickhoff’s HB 1219 that would allow police, judges, prosecutors, etc., to opt out of government-run databases is poorly thought out. The people this bill is designed to protect are law enforcement professionals. Most carry weapons. Surely they would know how to go about getting a restraining order if someone is truly a threat to them.
Newspapers and their journalists should be up in arms about the bill: The public’s right to know trumps the fear of what someone “might” do with information from those databases. We don’t arrest or convict someone because they “might” do something.
Examples: A judge presides over a case of landlord vs. tenant. Should we be able to know if that judge owns multiple rental properties? Wouldn’t that likely influence his decision on the case? How about a police officer who owns rental property and spends the majority of his shift patrolling around only those particular neighborhoods? The public has a right to know.
Will Karickhoff’s bill allow politicians to opt out? Shouldn’t the public have the right to know where local politicians own property in order to know if they are unjustly enriching themselves through misuse of the power of their office?
If law enforcement personnel can opt out, why not the banker who enrages a client by denying mortgage refinancing? Why not a teacher who fails a student and angers the parents? Why not a doctor who loses a patient on the operating table and must deal with the anger of the patient’s family? Why not the fast food manager who deals with disgruntled public all day?
In theory, anyone who has a job dealing with the public could have more to fear from an individual looking at a database than does the chief of police, who wears a badge, carries a gun, and has other law enforcement officials to rely on.
Either all should be able to “opt out,” or no one should. This bill does nothing but help a privileged few.
Peggy Lane, Kokomo
Letters
Letters to the editor - Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013
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May 22, 2013: Letters to the editor
Servicemen enemies of U.S. Constitution?
One of the enduring features of our constitutional republic is the right of its citizens to know what their government is doing. The current administration has decided to develop new policies on religious tolerance in the military.
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May 21, 2013: Letters to the editor
Tipton development: A study in contrasts
These are exciting times for Tipton County, with Chrysler coming to the county and bringing more than 800 legitimate jobs.
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Letter to the Editor: May 13, 2013
Good people wouldn’t do this to their neighbors. This common refrain is being heard over eastern Howard County where industrial development is planned for our farmland in the form of massive wind turbines.
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Letters to the Editor: May 12, 2013
How fortunate, that after years of trying to bring top-notch wind energy companies to Tipton County, this great choice is here for us — just at the right time. Tipton County badly needs the revenue from clean wind farm companies.
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Letter to the Editor: May 10, 2013
As a taxpayer and concerned citizen of eastern Howard County, I have read some of the latest scholarly and peer-reviewed information available on industrial wind turbines. It’s not something I ever wanted to do or expected to do, and I do not pretend to be an expert even after reading much information.
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Letters to the Editor: May 9, 2013
More than 1,500 Hoosier children just received an early death sentence from the Indiana Legislature. By slashing the state budget for tobacco prevention and cessation by 38 percent, our lawmakers told us that the health and future of our children isn’t important.
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Letters to the Editor: May 8, 2013
The citizens of Howard County have watched Tipton County’s elected officials deal with growing opposition to wind farms. They have responded to the concern of their citizens and are reviewing their ordinances related to wind development.
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May 5, 2013: Letters to the editor
All at IU Kokomo deserve recognition
This week, nearly 550 Indiana University Kokomo students will reach a milestone they will treasure for a lifetime when they become IU Kokomo's newest graduates.
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May 2, 2013: Letters to the editor
Reports of climate change span decades
From an article in The Washington Post:
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May 1, 2013: Letters to the editor
Turbine setbacks fail to protect vulnerable
Counties throughout Indiana are now beginning to rewrite their zoning ordinances pertaining to industrial wind turbines, due to new health and safety information coming out almost daily.
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May 22, 2013: Letters to the editor
Raw: Kevin Durant Tours Moore After $1M Pledge
Weiner Launches Bid to Become NYC Mayor
Okla. Teens Get Video of Deadly Tornado Overhead
Man Shot While Questioned in Boston Probe
School Storm Protection Spotty in Tornado Zones
9-year-old Tornado Victim Loved Family, Singing
Moore Native Toby Keith Tours Tornado Damage
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Okla. City Mayor: Up to 13K Homes Hit by Tornado
Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Paperless Scanner, Vision of the Future
Florida FBI Shooting Has Boston Bombing Links
Garcetti Elected Los Angeles Mayor Over Greuel
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment
Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case
