The noise continues
“Wants to set the record straight” - Tipton County Tribune, Jan. 10, 2014
Until now I have not responded to news reports about my hearing problem. I see no difference between wearing hearing aids than wearing glasses or dentures to correct physical problems. People who discuss these things should understand that hearing aids are not merely to increase volume but to perform other functions attempting to return hearing to as near to normal to as possible.
I want to set the record straight on some things that have been said.
Wind turbine noise has been an ongoing problem for me since the first of last years. Commissioner Heron was reported as saying the commissioners had twice offered to pay for an audiologist for my family and we refused. This is not true. No such offer was made or discussed.
It was also reported that Heron stated that E.ON had offered twice to send us to an audiologist and we refused that offer too. This is not true. No such offer was ever made by anyone to send me to an audiologist.
In January 2013, E.ON representative Andy Melka suggested that maybe my hearing aids were causing some of the noise problems, but no offer was made. I told him that my hearing aids had a retail cost of $5,000 and I asked if he wanted to buy me new ones. End of that conversation.
In November 2013, my audiologist said that no more power could be gotten out of my present hearing aids so I purchased the best hearing aids available, which are what I am presently using. There is no change in the turbine noises. I hope this clears up the hearing aid “news” and the talk that somehow my hearing aids contribute to the issue of wind turbine noise.
There are nights when it is impossible to sleep due to the turbine noise and I certainly do not wear my hearing instruments to bed. In May 2013, E.ON conducted a sound study for one month in our west front yard. This study documented that there were violations of the county ordinance. Steve Edson, plan director, told me Sept. 29, 2013, was the date all violations were to be corrected by E.ON. Sept. 29 has come and gone and no corrective action has been taken, and no one in an official capacity will enforce the ordinance and the noise continues. There are letters concerning this matter between Steve Edson and Andy Melka and my response to Melka’s letter. All of this is public information.
At the last BOC meeting, Commissioner VanBibber stated he was not sure whether the sound ordinance is bad or our enforcement is bad. Not sure? What enforcement of the sound problem is he speaking of? No violations to the wind ordinance have ever been enforced. He also expressed that the noise issue is Heron’s issue. I thought commissioners were to work together to to solve problems or issues and create solutions.
Many people in Tipton County can no longer enjoy our homes or outdoor activities. Due to night and day noise, it is as if we are being held hostage in our own homes by a foreign company. What is worse is that county executives also seem to be in a hostage situation with the foreign company that now has control. If our “CEOs” had some intestinal fortitude, E.ON could be forced to make the corrections in order to be in compliance. I feel residents of Tipton county have been scammed, and because we have complained about the unreasonable noise and flicker that have destroyed our property value and our way of life we have been tagged as perpetrators, rather than the victims.
I feel the moratorium on more wind turbines in Tipton County should continue until the present problems are resolved. Melka told me E.ON knew from their model before construction that our property and home was going to be in the worst possible location. I asked him, “Why would you do that to anyone?” His reply to me was, “Because we can.” His answer tells the whole story.
Dallas Walker
Eastern Tipton County
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URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/01/11/the-noise-continues/