Editor:

I am disappointed to hear the rhetoric and misinformed claims of the people that I thought were my elected representatives: Senator Robert Ortt, Legislator John Syracuse, and Supervisor Dan Engert.

Reading the newspaper accounts of their support for the anti-wind group that has set up shop in our town, I wonder how they could have driven to last Thursday evening’s event  sponsored by Save Ontario Shores (SOS) without seeing the many signs of support on the agricultural lands being worked by us, the farmers.

Did they stop at any of these farms? No, they drove right past. That’s when I realized that it’s not about the farms. They are just fields that these politicians pass by, they cannot vote.

I guess I shouldn’t be at all surprised they didn’t stop to talk to us. Not a single one of my elected officials has ever initiated contact with me about the project, and, as far as I know, they haven’t initiated contact with any of the other larger land owners in the project area either.

I guess those people who are supposed to represent us have done the math. Given the acreage of land that we work and size of the families, it’s clear that the agricultural community does not have enough votes to count or even warrant stopping by for a discussion. This is despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the land owners are supportive of the project, based on the amount of acres that are presently under lease by Lighthouse Wind.

We have been the rural backbone of this town for generations, and those close to the business know that we don’t want this to disappear. That’s one of the reasons we choose to diversify and to host wind energy projects. These projects not only provide us with an opportunity to improve our agricultural business, but also allow us to participate in advancing renewable energy to help improve our environment and provide new revenue sources for our community.

We have contributed to the history of this town, and we want to make sure it has a thriving future. Senator Ortt, Legislator Syracuse, Supervisor Engert, and any other of my local elected officials, my door is open if you want to stop in.

Please don’t just pass me and my fellow agricultural community by. I may be working the farm, but I can make time for you.

Ben Atwater

Atwater Farms

Town of Somerset

Editor:

I would like to make a couple of observations concerning the Lighthouse Wind Project.  In Mr. Riggi’s letter in July about the Lighthouse Wind signs being posted in The Town of Ridgeway, Riggi writes: “Has Apex now also targeted Ridgeway for Industrial Wind Turbines?” Much to his surprise, there are wind project supporters throughout Orleans County.

I have also seen Save Ontario Shores signs in the Town of Ridgeway and Village of Middleport. It’s called freedom to support for or against. However, I do find it presumptuous of Mr. Riggi to assume that Apex is targeting the Town of Ridgeway for wind turbines.

This is the kind of intimidation moves that Mr. Riggi, and SOS have pushed on a lot of people with their un-substantiated facts.

At the Yates Town Board meeting on August 11, Mr. Barth (anti-Lighthouse Wind) suggested that our town utilize the Town of Somerset’s Attorney (anti-Lighthouse Wind) as it  would be cheaper for the towns moving forward. In other words, fire the attorney who is representing us. Is this another rail road job to the Town of Yates residents who are fighting so hard for the wind project to become a reality?

The Town of Yates has done a wonderful job taking care of our town for the betterment of our town, way before Mr. Simon and Mr. Riggi were elected. I think it would be a big mistake to join forces with the Town of Somerset.

We are two separate towns with two different ideas on what is best for our Town. We should not turn over our town’s decisions to the Town of Somerset’s attorney concerning a project of this importance for the Town of Yates.

Many years ago, the Town of Yates let the Somerset power project slip through our fingers. The residents of this town should band together and not let this project slip by us.

With the rising taxes, bringing a few new businesses into the town is not going to solve our problems. Take a hard look at the towns with wind farms and how they have benefited. This could be us.

When I look out across my yard, what a beautiful sight it would be to see a wind turbine against God’s beautiful sunset.  One I truly hope becomes a reality for our town’s success.

Donna Bane

Town of Yates

Editor:

I came down the road the other day and noticed that one of my blue Lighthouse Wind yard signs was folded up like an accordion and bent over. This is not the first sign that someone has taken. Some of my friends and neighbors have had their signs stolen as well.

Not only are signs being stolen, just last week there was a sign that was defaced and publicly displayed at the SOS rally. But SOS people are trying to shift the blame, spreading more mistruths throughout the community.

The accusations that Apex Clean Energy and its supporters are stealing yard signs make me sick. We’re busy, hard-working people. We don’t always have time to make sure our voices are heard as loud as we’d like, much less have time to drive through Barker and Lyndonville stealing yard signs.

I would never take someone else’s sign. I want my voice heard as much as I want everyone else’s heard.

I want people to hear about some of the benefits of the Lighthouse Wind project. Wind turbines would bring much-needed money into our community and provide a boost for our school system and a better education for our children and grandchildren.

I ask everyone to show respect and stop stealing signs. We all deserve the chance to share our thoughts and opinions, whether that’s a letter to the editor, a chance to stand up at a board meeting, or a bright blue sign in our yard.

Sincerely,

Linda Fisk

Lyndonville

Editor:

The Orleans Hub is tremendous. It is absolutely necessary to keep people informed about their community.  I am so pleased you are better able to accommodate your paid advertisers by now rotating the ads along the right-hand side.

The no-cost access to the public to read the news is a plus insuring that ALL can avail themselves to this first-class “news” source.

I was just reading about the SOS gathering and Article 10 that has taken “home rule” away from the citizens of this area regarding wind turbines.

Our democratic values of self-governing are at stake with this SOS standing up for freedom and self-representation. This whole ordeal with the wind turbines, Apex, Albany, etc. is at the very core of our U.S. Constitution and the United States of America and how we came to be as a nation.

Thank God for the “freedom of the press” which is an outdated term to describe this electronic transmission of information but you know what I mean.

All of you at The Hub are doing a tremendous job at a terribly important task of educating the public.

Elizabeth Storch

Middleport

Editor:

For the 100th time, please let me point out to those who cannot grasp this: SOS is not funded by the fossil fuel industry!!!

SOS is not a “membership” group. We have a board consisting of three people and a treasurer. It as an entirely volunteer organization. We do not charge anyone dues nor do we pay the board members.

We make donations to the group from our own pockets to support our activities. We sell T-shirts. Sometimes we sell our signs but many of them we give away.

We have come together to fight the industrialization of our towns by outsiders planning to rape our landscape, slaughter our birds and leave us with up to seventy 650-foot non-recyclable pieces of “out-dated before they begin” wind turbines. We have come together to fight the loss of home rule and for the return of the democratic process.

Apex is a privately held corporation funded by tax subsidies, production tax credits and the selling of RECs (a totally ludicrous method of easing people’s conscience about their energy usage by purchasing something that doesn’t even exist to “offset their carbon footprint”).

Peoples’ persistence in the absurd thought that we are funded by the fossil fuel industry is laughable. If they could see our balance sheet compared to the millions of our tax dollars Apex has to spend promoting wind turbines they would be astounded. Are they incapable of understanding that some people are willing to fight for their beliefs, their property, and their future with everything they have including their own money?

Some people are equally incapable of understanding the exaggerated claims made by Apex regarding the financial benefits of a PILOT agreement. They might as well plant a few beans in the backyard and wait for that beanstalk to climb into the clouds.

The list referred to in an earlier letter accusing SOS of being funded by the fossil fuel industry is a list of participants in a meeting. They are listed in alphabetical order not in order of anything else. This meeting took place long before SOS came together as a group and the person “implicated” in the letter is not a founder of SOS.

There are lobbies for both sides of many issues in this country. This is one of them. I suspect Apex is quite generous with the pro-wind lobby groups including AWEA. I suspect Apex has an agenda on how to deal with the opposition, after all they have a full time public relations manager.

I suspect their coffers are much richer than SOS’. I suspect they solicit naïve local people to be their shills, pumping up the idea of “moral responsibility” in direct relation to installation of wind turbines.

Apex themselves appear to have no moral responsibility when it comes to the democratic process and the will of the people. A majority of the citizens of both Somerset and Yates have said via surveys that they do not want this industrial wind facility in their towns. Apex refuses to move on.

The counties of Orleans and Niagara have said they do not want this project here. Apex refuses to move on. What has happened to democracy?

For the last time, SOS is NOT funded by big oil. We are a dedicated group of concerned citizens who want to see APEX GO HOME.

Sincerely,

Susan E. Dudley

Lyndonville

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Editor:

Is there anyone in either Orleans or Niagara County that possesses the attribute of moral courage?

It is disheartening to watch young folks and even some seniors ignore the intrusion of the Apex giant whose goal is to consume these two counties with our own precious tax dollars.

Have our civic leaders failed? My guess is yes they have. Have our schools failed to teach civil discourse when the very community in which our children will eventually reside practice apathy? My guess is yes.

And what about each and every community organization that sits by and watches this horrific assault on our beautiful fruit-bearing water accessed property be compromised by carpetbaggers bearing gifts? My guess again is yes.

We are in trouble folks. Stupid cliche signs dictate a position of either support and or resistance to these monster wind turbines. Signs do not vote. Signs do not speak. It is the very few who practice pounding these advertisements into the ground hoping to change an opinion.

The project managers from Apex, the Virginia firm, specifically Sandy Reisky have a resume that exceeds $4 billion in projects. Mark Goodwin, Jim Tronsdale and Steve Vavrick likewise have a combined resume of $3 billion in projects.

Note these dollar amounts are yours and my tax dollars. Needless to say we have very little to object to how these dollars are used, distributed and mostly become the partial salaries of these CEOs.

The Lighthouse Wind Project in rural Orleans and Niagara counties will, as per their own notes, produce energy to power 53,000 homes.  None of of which are in this part of the state.

There is also a claim that these turbines will produce jobs. No number of gainful employment is indicated anywhere, and no local work is earmarked for these communities. The project is a IDA payment pilot.

Actually, a few folks will benefit from lease agreements. However there is no mention of infrastructure implications, road support for heavy equipment, land, lane access etc. All of this information is irrefutably vague for a reason.

Stand up folks and stop this insane assault on our community. Contact Gov. Coumo and request a revision to Article 10. He needs to hear that 70 percent of the residents oppose this project.

Likewise call our former Senator, George Maziarz who authored this bill and challenge his convoluted thinking about the necessity of home rule.

This community is being shortsighted. This company needs to be challenged as it has been in other parts of the country. CEOs are getting very wealthy at our expense. They are using our tax dollars to do so. It is time for this to stop.

Frank Herstek Ed.D

Lyndonville

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Editor:

I have written before about my belief that SOS (Save Ontario Shores) is backed by the fossil fuel industry. SOS has very forcefully stated they are not on numerous occasions.

Why then is Mary Kay Barton, an active SOS member, listed as the very first participant named on the list from the DC Energy Advocates Conference that was held in February of 2012??

The article, “Anti Wind Groups Coordinate with Fossil Fuel Funded Organizations” states: On February 1st and 2nd, at least two prominent advocacy groups connected to fossil fuel corporations, the American Tradition Institute (ATI) and Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), met in Washington with 32 NIMBY (“Not in my backyard”) organizations to discuss a coordinated “subversion” campaign to wreck wind energy.

The American Tradition Institute is now the Energy & Environment Legal Institute.

As Suzanne Goldenberg of The Guardian writes, “The strategy session is the latest evidence of a concerted attack on the clean energy industry by think tanks and lobby groups connected to oil and coal interests and free-market ideologues.”

Here is another excerpt from the article: The document, “National_PR_Campaign_Proposal,” authored by American Tradition Institute Fellow John Droz, Jr., indicates the meetings were called to discuss plans for a coordinated national disinformation campaign against wind energy.  The document details a series of wind energy attacks ranging from “counter intelligence,” setting up a “dummy business” and steering kids away from science projects on wind because, “it doesn’t meet the criteria we set up.”

I encourage you to read the list of names and the article for yourself: (Click here).

Barton and the other members of SOS have stated repeatedly that they are a local grass-roots group. So, this should lead you to ask questions about what else they have mislead you about?

If you would like to know some of the other things I have discovered in my research but don’t have time or just want to know, without the work, contact me.

I have a list of other misrepresentations.

Susan Campbell

Lyndonville

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Editor:

These are some thoughts on wind turbines:

“Fear not the wind” – The outer blade travels over 130 miles per hour. That is a category 4 hurricane. That is something to FEAR.

What does home rule mean? The NYS Constitution grants towns the right to pass laws that provide for the protection and enhancement of the physical and visual environment of local property.

Does home rule apply to this project? No. All local elected officials are demanding that they are opposed and should be listened to but are being ignored.

Should Article 10 be challenged in court? Yes. There is a move by the towns of Somerset and Clayton to rally many counties and towns to form a large group of opposition.

Who gives the go-ahead to this project? An unelected panel in Albany. They have no investment in the Town of Yates or Somerset.

Who is paying for all the signs and billboards in support of the project? A guess is Apex and maybe New York State. Are lease holders required as part of the lease to post signs on their property? Who knows?

Has Apex and the state government been transparent about this project? No.

There was a recent meeting between Apez, the state government and federal officials which the towns were not allowed to attend and the content of the meeting was not disclosed.

If windmills are built, are they forever? Yes. When everyone goes broke (remember the coal plant), the lease holder has the problem of removing and the time and cost will be prohibitive, so they will remain. A mistake that cannot be corrected should never take place.

Are subsidies forever? No. Those groups that receive them think they are but technology changes as well as government programs. There was a great example recently involving solar energy and the State of Nevada. Solar City has lost its shirt on solar panels and the state wants to eliminate the subsidies they have paid for many years. Subsidies are for startup ideas but each business needs to stand on its own at some point.

How efficient are wind turbines? 23 percent, max. Most of the time it will be considerably less.

How inefficient are wind turbines? 77 percent and higher, and will mostly run on fossil fuel not wind.

Most efficient green energy? Niagara Falls.

This project is a terrible idea, can’t be fixed and is unwanted by the majority of taxpayers as well as public elected officials. Does Albany care or hear that message? Let me be clear Albany: Don’t let this project move forward.

Ray Watt

Yates

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Editor:

I know that I reflect so many people in wanting to give thanks and cheers to our hometown Keeler Construction and all the men and women who worked so tirelessly on the paving of Route 98.

I watched these people work in extreme heat from sunrise to sunset to get the job done north of the canal bridge. It is wonderful that Keeler got the bid and local employees and their families directly benefit from it.

As I sat with my grandson on a picnic table last week and watched the trucks and other huge equipment working in tandem so efficiently, he said that someday he wanted to run one of those huge rollers. And I am sure that Keeler will still be in business when that time comes.

Karen Watt
Albion

Editor:

To the friends of Orleans Community Health, it has been a busy year since I last wrote to you and I have much to tell you about “what’s new” at OCH!

We are eagerly awaiting the start date for our Emergency Department (ED) and Lobby improvements. We expect to commence work in early fall.

Team Health joined OCH on Aug. 1 as the Emergency Department providers and already is receiving rave reviews for courteous, timely, expert patient care. So, if you need our services in the ED, you can count on the best of the best caring for you.

We also have a new Care Coordinator working in the Emergency Department to help patients find primary care physicians if they do not already have one and doing follow up phone calls to check on patients recently discharged. Mackenzie Smith is the new ED Nurse Manager and has done a great job in just a few months.

On Aug. 29, Dr. Ian Cole will be assuming his role as the Medical Director for the Comprehensive Rehabilitation (CMR) Unit and Transitional Care Unit. He will be joined by long time staff member, Tamara Chappius, as the CMR Admissions Coordinator.

Dr. Anthony DiBenedetto has returned to OCH and is seeing many patients in our surgical suite. We are so happy that he has returned!

We anticipate a new Certified Family Medicine Physician at Albion fulltime starting in October. We also added a new electronic health record that offers an upgraded, intuitive patient portal.

Our Navigator staff has been working hard to help our patients enroll in the New York State Health Insurance program and have already signed up hundreds of our community residents.

Our cafeteria has had some aesthetic improvements compliments of our own Facilities staff and thanks to the generous gift of the TWIGs group, providing new café chairs.

We have a new Ultrasound Unit with 4 dimensional sonographs, a new 64 slice CT scanner that offers minimal scan times with low dose, a new bone density unit that can scan the spine, hip, wrist, or entire body in less than five minutes. We are installing new Nuclear Medicine equipment by the end of September.

OCH has collaborated with community pharmacy partners at Rosenkrans Pharmacy and Middleport Family Health Center Pharmacy to help patients’ transition home with medications they need in easy to use packaging which assists adherence to often complicated regimens.

OCH Pharmacists are using cutting edge guidelines on Antibiotic Stewardship ensuring each patient receives the right antibiotic for the right infection for the needed duration as well as transitioning patients from intravenous medications to oral administration in collaboration with their physicians. Additionally, they have decreased inappropriate antibiotic usage in our nursing home by 6 percent since February.

Lake Plains Dialysis has gone through an extensive renovation and we look forward to patients and staff returning to a new and improved site!

For the first time, OCH hosted a joint training program with local law enforcement, fire and EMS to help ensure the safety of our patients and staff and develop new processes to aid in the collaboration with first responders.

Our nursing home has a new administrator – long-time employee Jenifer Maynard has accepted this new role. Staff on North Wing continues to provide an improved dining experience, “drive-in” movies, and a new electronic medical record to begin installation in October.

Thank you for your continued support of Orleans Community Health. We are honored that you allow us to care for you.

Sincerely,

Wendy Jacobson
Chief Executive Officer

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Editor:

I fear not the wind. It is great on a hot summer day but not so great when it is blowing loose soil off farm fields at planting time. It is also annoying when blasting snow across open ground and creating hazardous driving conditions.

I do fear the government of New York state for the rules and regulations they foist upon us. Governor Cuomo wants 50 percent of the state’s electricity output to be from green energy sources by the year 2030. And the verdant shores of Lake Ontario are a prime target for the “harvest the wind” companies.

Apex Clean Energy has arrived with suitcases full of cash to persuade large landowners to host an Industrial Wind Turbine for the next 30 years. It is profitable for Apex and also for the host. But who else?

Apex used to send me flyers boasting of the monetary benefits of these giant machines. Will there be cash to Yates? Will there be cash to the LCSD? There certainly will be none to the Village of Lyndonville.

Apex admitted that there will be no reduction in the rates for a Kwh. Harvesting the wind costs mega dollars and they must sell the output to pay everybody with a hand out. Apex will also receive a subsidy from the American taxpayer at the same time.

Apex wants to install approximately 140 turbines in Niagara and Orleans counties. How MANY must be built to achieve Cuomo’s goal of 50 percent? In the meantime, the governor has agreed to subsidize the nuclear power industry.

Oh yes, proponents also talk of climate change or some euphemism to indict humans for destruction of the planet’s atmosphere. I can guarantee that my children are not worried about the production of carbon dioxide.

Who of the proposed leaseholders lists reduction of greenhouse gases as the primary reason to take farmland out of production? Not one would do it for free.

James Tuk
Lyndonville

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Editor:

Lyndonville schools just got a big boost from the state – $165,000 to buy new technology for classrooms.

That money means new interactive whiteboards to help engage students in lessons. As a parent and grandparent, I’m always thrilled when I see an opportunity that improves the education of our young ones. Right now, I see another one of those opportunities.

The proposed Lighthouse Wind project will bring a brighter future for our children, and not just because it means a cleaner, more sustainable earth. A PILOT agreement with the locality would mean big bucks for our schools in Lyndonville.

If $165,000 means new whiteboard technology for the schools, imagine what millions of dollars from the wind project would bring. That could allow our children access to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs vital to their success in an increasingly technology-driven world.

In addition, being at the forefront of wind energy, a quickly expanding industry, could bring jobs for our children as they grow older. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says wind turbine service technician is the fastest growing occupation in the nation. Wouldn’t it be great if some of those jobs were here in Niagara and Orleans counties?

I support Lighthouse because I support our children. I hope the rest of the community educates themselves enough to feel the same way.

Sincerely,

Susan Campbell
Lyndonville

Editor:

For a long time, one of the many criticisms of President Obama is that he refuses to call various radical, ostensibly Muslim, groups “radical Islamic terrorists”. It is one of many ways that the disingenuous, as well as those who are sincere, have discredited him.

The comments so eloquently delivered by Khizr Khan during the Democratic National Convention were informative in this regard and constituted the beginnings of an education for many of us. When asked in a subsequent interview about the issue of what ISIS, among others, should be called, Mr. Khan (whose son, Humayun, was killed in Iraq while fighting for the United States) stated unequivocally that describing ISIS as “Islamic” unfairly dignifies them, as what they practice has nothing to do with the tenets of Islam.

I do not intend to fully explain why I am convinced it makes practically no sense to call the thugs who are part of ISIS “radical Islamic terrorists”, but I agree with President Obama that it does not.

To put the issue into perspective for those who are certain that Obama is not being straight with us (or worse that he is an ISIS sympathizer) allow me to ask, “Has anyone ever heard the K.K.K referred to as a group of radical Christian terrorists?”

As they have burned churches, lynched and bombed, these ostensibly Christian fanatics have revealed that they have nothing to do with the tenets of Christianity.

Calling the K.K.K. “radical Christian terrorists” is preposterous, because they clearly are not following Christ’s teachings. But I guess, if one’s purpose was to anger Christians, one might call them radical Christian terrorists.

Even if his critics don’t get it, President Obama is keenly aware of the effects his words can have.

Sincerely yours,

Gary Kent
Albion

Editor:

The State Legislature wrapped up a marathon session in Albany in June with agreements on a range of issues spanning from ethics reform to zombie properties and fantasy sports.

But, one of the most significant achievements to me is the steps we took to combat the heroin and opioid epidemic that’s wreaked havoc across our state.

My Senate Republican colleagues have led the way on this issue that has affected so many of our communities. I was humbled to serve as co-chair of the Senate’s Joint Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction. Together, in formulating budget and legislative initiatives, we held dozens of public forums across the state.

We hosted hundreds of meetings and heard from addicts, family members, law enforcement, health and mental health experts, local residents, and other participants. We heard countless, tragic stories of heroin and opioid abuse that has ripped families apart and has torn through neighborhoods in every corner of the state.

The anti-heroin legislation was one of the signature agreements reached with our partners in government during the last few weeks of session. Recently signed into law, the comprehensive package increases access to treatment, expands prevention strategies, and extends the length of time someone can receive life-saving services.

This agreement builds on the $189 million in related funds we secured as part of the budget and legislation approved by both houses of the State Legislature. Under the new law, opioid scripts are limited from 30 days to seven days to cut down on excessive prescriptions while also ensuring that patients in need are still served.
It also mandates training on addiction and pain management for all physicians and prescribers to achieve the key goals of education and prevention.

Another key pillar to combat this epidemic related to treatment and recovery. Our legislation allows families to seek 72 hours of emergency treatment related to substance use disorder. Beds and program slots for those struggling with substance use, critical to treatment and recovery, are also increasing across the state and expanding in our community.

Finally, by removing roadblocks from insurers to cover necessary inpatient treatment services and requiring plans to cover the costs of opioid overdose-reversal medication like Naloxone (Narcan), we’re taking dramatic steps to empower families and save lives.

I believe these new measures will help break the cycle of heroin and opioid addiction in New York and ultimately save lives. I’m optimistic that next year we will be able to continue this progress while also focusing on needed enforcement components. I’m committed to protecting the lives of all New Yorkers, and combating this epidemic remains a top priority of mine.

That’s because while I’ve heard too many stories of loss and heartbreak, I’ve also head stories of triumph and success in overcoming the evils of drug addiction. I’m hopeful these new initiatives will allow many more individuals to share their victory stories, because after all, that’s what our work represents – hope.
State Sen. Robert Ortt
North Tonawanda

(Ortt represents the 62nd Senate District, which includes Orleans, Niagara and part of Monroe County.)

Editor:

As a long time environmentalist (we were called conservationists way back then), I’ve always backed wind and solar projects. I built my own solar hot water heater about 40 years ago.

I have one point that may encourage a lakeshore cottage owner to come out in favor of the Apex proposal. I believe they are the core of the opposition. At least the signs on the north side of the lake road are mostly “Too big, too close.”

They are rightly concerned their cottage values will drop. I believe the opposite will happen. My thoughts are on the order of the politician’s view that all publicity is good publicity.

These turbines will attract attention, likely a great deal. But this could be a good thing. After all, in this country few things are ever too big or too tall. Generally speaking, ANYTHING rated in superlatives is GOOD. Wouldn’t the sight of these turbines tell people this is a part of WNY that is progressive, and forward thinking and acting?

I believe the turbines will attract far more people than they will repel. I am a 20-year resident of Lyndonville.

Dennis Seekins

Lyndonville