Cook standing up for wind farm opponents
Daily Advance | January 19, 2017 | www.dailyadvance.com
Some county commissioners seem to be confused about the alleged merits of the local wind energy project. They suggest that the military submitted a report that confirmed there was no interference with the relocatable over-the-horizon radar, or ROTHR, receiver site in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Whether a written report was issued is unknown to me. But I was present when a Navy captain and a representative from Washington, D.C. addressed the commissioners. My recollection was that the meeting boiled down to a request for Pasquotank County to cooperate with the federal government if the project was to go forward. Is that the same reference that was made by commissioners who opposed the recent letter to the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump? The fact is, the letter was out there for about three weeks and Commissioner Frankie Meads spoke about this at a recent meeting.
The Pasquotank commissioners have steadfastly supported the wind energy project all along, suggesting that it would provide needed revenue to the county. It certainly looks as though the financial impact has taken precedence over the interests of the citizens they were elected to represent.
It is interesting to note that the commissioners first learned of this letter when informed of it by Commissioner Meads. The county pays a lobbyist $25,000 per year to inform them about matters coming from the legislature which are of importance to the county. Looks like they could save the taxpayers some money if they simply obtained their information from Commissioner Meads.
Lastly, I suggest the following: Senator Bill Cook has stood up for the citizens of this area. Except for the commissioners in the affected counties, there are a large number of people in these counties who have opposed the wind farm. The commissioners in Perquimans County looked in the faces of their citizens and voted against their citizens.
Many people like me are close friends with state Rep. Bob Steinburg, who continues to maintain his steadfast support for the project. But I will say this, relying on support from the Navy, who was being pressured by the Obama Administration, certainly casts a cloud over the Navy position.
But retired Gen. John Kelly, our soon-to-be director of Homeland Security, has stated his view that the interference from wind turbines will have a negative impact on national security. So I applaud Sen. Cook for keeping his head out of the sand. He may not be the senator of Commissioner Jeff Dixon, but he is mine and I am very proud of him for taking a principled stand.
John Woodard
Elizabeth City
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/01/19/cook-standing-up-for-wind-farm-opponents/