Turbines would ruin rural vistas
The Advertiser-Tribune | Jul 10, 2018 | www.advertiser-tribune.com
I invite everyone to visit the wind turbines in Van Wert and Paulding counties and even taller turbines in Hardin county. I did, and then came home to think. Do we want this to happen in our own county and surrounding area?
Promotional material from the above wind farms states: “The home-grown power will be another crop from the fertile land of northwestern Ohio.” They don’t tell us how unsightly they are, the nuisance they create and the land they spoil.
Our forefathers cleared this land to farm. Later, farmers removed fence rows. We have open fields. One of the most enjoyable things I do is drive the country roads, view the well-kept homesteads, beautiful growing crops and the sky above without obstruction.
I always thought it was through my prayers, as a 10-year-old, which helped my father buy our home farm in 1937 shortly after the Depression. Dad was 54 years old. He loved and cared for the land, making it more productive than when he bought it.
I have always been a farm girl. When I was a teenager, I prayed I would marry a farm boy, and I did. I had his love for 64 years.
I have an old picture, given to me, of our 205-acre farm we were fortunate to purchase 54 years ago. It was in need of help. We have improved it over the years. The soil that grew our crops, our dairy herd that we developed, hard work and proper management solely paid for the farm, college educations for our three sons, plus built our home on the corner of the farm, leaving the old farm house for a son who came home to farm.
The farm, our family and God has been our life, and it has been good.
It is stated the Van Wert/Paulding turbines are 328 feet in height to the mast. Total height is 476 feet with blades. The nacelle weighs 85 tons. Each foundation uses the equivalent of 60 truckloads of concrete and 60 tons of steel rebar. The Seneca County turbines are proposed to be even larger.
What becomes of the displaced soil? The farmer can farm around the turbine but must also contend with the driveway leading to the structures.
The select landowners reap the financial rewards of the turbines. Money isn’t everything. We came into this world with nothing. As farmers, aren’t we to care for the land and soil and leave it better for the next generation?
I wonder what God is thinking?
Ruth Hoepf,
Tiffin
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/07/11/turbines-would-ruin-rural-vistas/