December 17, 2010
Massachusetts

Cohasset: Tempers flare at wind turbine hearing

By John Penny, 95.9 WATD, www.959watd.com

Some tense moments between Hingham residents and the Cohasset planning board on Wednesday, during a special permit hearing for a 410-foot wind turbine at Turkey Hill.

The massive wind turbine proposed by the Trustees of Reservations is on Turkey Hill near Route 3A in Cohasset, on the Hingham line. Besides the Golden Living Center, which is the closest residence to the site, the project doesn’t really affect Cohasset residents all that much. However, it does affect Hingham residents and over 60 turned out for the hearing. Tempers flared as board chair Al Moore lashed out against a Hingham resident during a heated exchange.

Moore yelled at the resident, while banging his gavel, saying, “Please be quiet or we’ll ask you to leave! Would you please leave sir!”

The resident asked if he was obligated to leave, to which Moore replied, “Yes, if you’re not going to be quiet!”

Hingham resident Joe James also lives near the site. He gave a profanity laced tirade after planning board member and self-proclaimed wind turbine advocate Charles Samuelson suggested that if he didn’t like the project, he should move to Cohasset.

Samuelson said, “I can suggest if you’re concerned about it, there’s probably some property for sale in Cohasset. Move!”

The Hingham resident proclaimed, “That’s a bull$@&# thing to say right there. That’s as arrogant as I’ve ever heard!”

The planning board closed the public hearing and will reconvene to deliberate on the issue January 12.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/12/17/cohasset-tempers-flare-at-wind-turbine-hearing/