June 14, 2012
Maine

Peru voters say no to wind farms

Terry Karkos, Staff Writer, Sun Journal | www.sunjournal.com 13 June 2012

PERU – Election clerks were still busy counting ballots at noon on Wednesday from Tuesday’s town meeting polls. They took a break from midnight to Wednesday morning.

Results, however, were in for the municipal elections and the straw poll on wind farms. A majority of voters said no to wind farms in Peru.

Timothy L. Holland won re-election to the Board of Selectmen, getting 316 votes.

The second available selectman seat, however, is up in the air. After a recount, candidates Richard I. Powell and John L. Witherell remained tied at 284 votes apiece.

“If one doesn’t concede within seven days, then we’ll have to have a run-off election,” Vera Parent, town clerk, said Wednesday at the town office.

“We did a recount just to make sure it was a tie,” Parent said.

Candidate Richard J. Vaughn received 155 votes.

Parent won re-election as town clerk, receiving 548 votes, and Lolisa M. Windover received 526 votes for her first three-year term on the RSU 10 School Board. Incumbent RSU 10 Director Jessica Hines did not seek another term.

As for the non-binding straw poll that asked if voters support the construction of wind farms within the town limits of Peru, 194 said Yes; 394 said No.

That means the Peru Wind Power Committee will now make recommendations to selectmen about pursuing more restrictive measures.

Parent said selectmen have scheduled a meeting for 5 p.m. Thursday, June 14, “to figure out what’s going on.”

They are expected to go through balloting results on the town meeting warrant and determine if a special town meeting is needed to resolve any articles that may have been voted down.

Check back with SunJournal.com for results that are expected later today.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/06/14/peru-voters-say-no-to-wind-farms/