Wake up Washington County, Colorado! 

Wake up Washington County, Colorado!

We’ve already lost the war with our water rights. We are currently losing the war to preserve this county. Our commissioners WILL NOT stand up and save us from big government. The sheer destruction of putting a reservoir out on the beloved land by the Buttes. To cover up centuries old Teepee rings and artifacts. Then we’ll dot the land with the ever presenting huge and ugly wind towers, solar panels and transmission lines. You can almost kiss agriculture goodbye, while a liberal federal and state government boondoggle us into believing in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow story. Where will the water go? Where will the wind energy go? Big city living is where it will go!

I presently live in a part of the county that doesn’t look favorable for big wind business. I know my neighbors and the stance that most of them have regarding these issues. Sadly, we have heaps of State land in our area. State land that has already been overcome by government interference. While most of this land has remained in the hands of generations of families, the State decided to turn it into a walk-in hunting area – without acceptance from the lessees. The State wasted senseless money on the building of rinky little parking areas and a walk-in access and signs. The sites are so poorly built that you can pull posts out of the ground and shake the entire foundation. Seriously! Anyone has permission to just go out there and hunt or whatever the government says you can do, all while the Ag families are paying a yearly rent on that land. In Logan County, if a neighbor said NO to these new wind towers, then the government just handed over the State land next door and said, “build away”.

Look into the progressive’s taunt of the 30×30 federal land grab. Just check it out! They are coming for our land and all our precious resources. How far can they shove it in your face before people catch on and rebel? No more being complacent, Washington County residents, our little hub of peaceful living is no more! We are going to be targeted for a long time.

We need a firm statement from our County, one of regulations for these massively subsidized titans. The commissioners taunt that those of us squealing and causing a ruckus are the minority in this issue. They say that the silent are the majority. I am asking for the silent to explain to me WHY, we don’t need regulations for these massively subsidized big businesses to come to our county?

By the way, the Commissioners have called for a final vote on September 28th at 10 a.m. I know that my pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Not one commissioner has answered one of my questions regarding migratory bird studies. Not one. They had a public meeting, but did not answer one single question and spoke upfront that they would not answer questions. Why would they not answer questions from their constituents? I challenge all of Washington County to make sure at the next election that this board of three will always have one seat from an active agriculturist to be on the board. We are an agriculture county, a right to farm county!! We must protect that heritage. You want a big business to come here? Then give some tax incentives to a flour mill, or an animal processing business. Do something for Agriculture, not something to tear us apart.

Kim Harman, The Squeaky Wheel