October 31, 2015
Colorado

Calhan residents looking for answers following damaged wind turbine

Angelica Lombardi , Multimedia Journalist | Oct 30, 2015 | www.krdo.com

CALHAN, Colo. – Concerns in a Calhan neighborhood after neighbors say there have been repeated shootings.

The most recent shooting involved a turbine in late September. The damage is estimated between $20,000 and $250,000. It happened near the intersection of North Yoder and Heaston roads.

“We’re really not sure of the motive at this point,” said Deputy Scott Brettell.

Neighbors in the area say this isn’t the first random shooting

“There’s been one lady who had her brakes sabotaged and damaged. There were also a couple of others had their windows shot at,” said Rebecca Rivas.

Neighbors say the shootings were reported but nothing has been investigated until the turbine was damaged.

“They’re treating it totally different than what peoples’ lives are involved and this is not ok, this is not the way people should be treated,” said Deborah Stout-Meininger.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office says they can’t comment on other shootings because they could all be related, but say residents have been upset since NextEra Energy installed the turbines in March.

“It’s been very controversial between the county and NextEra and some of the citizens opposed to the project,” said Brettell.

One neighbor says she’s been concerned for safety since the turbines went up and that noise has been an issue.

“We discovered that sleeping in the truck was more quiet and we got better sleep,” said Sandra Wolfe.

Wolfe says it’s an added problem to the shootings and hopes the Sheriff’s Office can put a stop to it.

There are no suspects in any of these cases. Next Era Energy is offering a reward for information leading to an arrest. You can call the Sheriff’s Office at 719-390-5555.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/10/31/calhan-residents-looking-for-answers-following-damaged-wind-turbine/