Re. our dangerous dependence on fossil fuels. Could Mr. Voorhees explain the danger in hydro and bio mass electrical plants in Maine. Why was ME law passed that gave extra tax subsidies for any alternative power plant built after 2000. Is that fair? When Stetson II went online there wasn't even enough room on the transmission lines for their little spits and spurts of electricity. So what will Indeck and Brookfield do? They are hydro and bio mass. They are reliable and can run 24/7 unlike wind energy. How will the problem of no room on the transmission lines be settled ? First Wind is planning on adding 17 turbines on to stetson I. Nothing was mentioned about the 17 turbines when they applied for Stetson I. Except a slip of the tongue at one of First Wind's strange little community get togethers . ...After the slip of the tongue ...the representatives said oh no we aren't going to add any more turbines. But you can't believe anything they say. Why all the secrecy if wind farms are so great for Maine? Why can't they tell the truth? Wendy Todd asked them if they were going to lie in the building of Stetson like they did in Mars Hill. And who is to say what they are planning for their next project in Lincoln. They have a lawsuit everywhere they go. Isn't that a little concerning?

Everything I have read about this wind turbine company makes me cringe . They seem to have no regard for the people who will be made ill by the installation of the noisy turbines, no worries about our property values being reduced, no worries about the bird life that will be destroyed, no worries about the small

amount of electricity that will be generated at great expense to the residents of Lincoln, no regard for the whole truth when telling their story, and they also fail to tell the whole truth about how much money they are taking from our government to put this operation in business...their subsidies are enormous and we, the tax payers, are the ones from whose pockets the money is coming. Please come to all meetings where this company is not telling the whole story and help us keep them from ruining our town of Lincoln. Our lakes and our recreational facilities in general will be enormously affected adversely.

It would also be nice to only have one thread going with wind farm articles. It certainly is strange. Marge...In the anti trust lawsuit against First Wind ..one of the allegations is paying environmentalists to say what they want them to....then all the wind farm corporations use the same information. They used the same tactic with the noise studies in Mars Hill. First Wind paid the engineers to do the study. ME accepted it. Then the families close to the wind farm paid an outside engineer to look the studies over. He said they were bogus. How many are in on the scam? One of the studies was to be released in March or April before Stetson Mt. was rezoned commercial allowing Stetson I to be built. Then the study came out in Dec. I called Neil Archer, the regional director for DEP in Northern ME for the results. He would not even tell me what the results were. "We need to study them further." As it turned out that was the bogus study. Stetson I should have never been built. Because First wind was breaking the law at Mars Hill then with noise. ME govt. covers for First Wind for some reason.

DONT do it Lincoln/ In the end they create very few perminant jobs. They wont sell you any of the power. And for those who say they help your towns by paying taxes. Dont believe it. Whhen you look at the full pictures it's very little.

It amazes me how upset people are about these windmills when we have a mill in the middle of town that spits out cancer causing agents into our air, land and water. Nobody seems to have a problem with that. All you windmill haters take a trip to Lincoln, trust me windmills are the least of our problems.

cocochanel, two wrongs, don't make a right....why keep adding to it?

This article was not at all informative and just plain pro First Wind. BDN get on the stick and do some real investigative reporting for your public!

Why are things not clearer then this. What alternative reason would Wendy Todd have for making these claims. If the noise and such is effecting her then the developers should care enough to rule it out otherwise it is looking to the general public with potential sites like she is just collateral damage. It raises a red flag and the people of Maine deserve clarification on these issues. If it doesn't cause these concerns of flicker and noise disturbances due to close range and long term exposure, then prove it without a doubt. If the developers have integrity then they should be willing to provide these results. Who's holding the credits on these projects? Are they being funded by Maine state tax payer dollars? Can we request a cost benefit analysis showing when and how Maine residence are going to begin benefiting from these wind farms? Do we need to make a formal request to the Legislature as concerned residence of Maine with invested interest?

Mr Sambides

It would have been great if you had included a summary of the excellent testimony that was presented at this hearing. Wedesday night's presentations were very substantive and covered a broad range of topics. This article is really not very well representative of what really happened in Lincoln. There were excellent presentations that covered transmission issues, actually a very critical element of the statewide energy strategy. There were technical sound/noise presentations that raised questions about the science behind how we are actually measuring noise at the turbine installations, and the effects of sound as it carries over water. InLincoln how sound carries over water is pretty relevant, given the fact that it is called the "Lincoln Lakes Region". The most current noise data was unknown to the "expert" noise consultant that the state has on board. There are questions regarding the sensitive archeological area known as Rocky Dundee. Two physicians presented compelling health issues and questions. There were questions regarding the American bald eagle, loons, bats, vernal pools, wetlands and runnoff and water quality. How many eagles are an acceptable kill level? The population has come back in Maine, but are we ready to say that it's ok to kill them? There is data that shows that we should be questioning just how much electricity will be produced by these turbines. It shows that 4000 windmills over the course of 9 years in CA only produce electricity at best 6% of the time when it is needed the most. And 60% of the time when it is not needed at all. Will the DEP take the time to use data from Mars Hill and Stetson to make informed decisions? We do have an opportunity for the department of Environmental Protection to actually get information from what we already have so that imporvements can be made to protect us, which is, after all, their directive.

I'm not minimizing the serious effects to those folks that were lied to and hurt by First Wind up in Mars Hill that you did report on. But, come on, this topic needs some reporting with a little more depth. Lets educate the people on what the issues really are. Many people don't understand the complexities involved. This is the biggest issue that this state has seen in a long time.

Maybe these people who are having all these medical problems are just crazy. Do you think if they received money from First Wind would they be complaining? I think not. I'm so sick of Friends of Lincoln Lakes, why don't they go and be someone elses friend and leave Lincoln alone. Windmills will be good for the town, we can't rely on the mill to support us forever.

How about making intelligent comments, instead of just being angry and bitter. The real Coco Chanel was way too classy and elegant to say mean things like that. Everyone needs a friend. Even Coco. Some people thought she was a little crazy too sometimes, but she got the last laugh, didn't she?

Friends of Lincoln Lakes are not guilty of anything other than educating people and standing up for the rights of citizens in this free country. Last time I checked, Lincoln was still supposed to be operating under the United States Constitution. The Lincoln town "fathers" and the governor have been ruling with impunity for quite awhile now. They just don't like people standing up to them.

FYI, It's the rabble rousers in history that have been the ones to get things done for the people. Without them to stand up for things, we would still be an English colony. The Boston Tea Party would never have happened.

Sometimes, we have to stand up for our principles, even though we might get ridiculed and make a few people angry. We may not always win, but without challenges to our government, we would be no better off than folks over in North Korea or communist China.

I don't believe my words were angry or bitter. The wind turbine syndrome that they speak of does not exist in the world of medicine. As far as Friends of Lincoln lakes they started complaining that it was going to ruin the view then it was going to upset the animals and birds, then the enviroment and when they still didn't get what they wanted they started on the "wind turbine sydrome". What are they really fighting for? Isn't wind "green energy? You would think that would make them happy.

Whose State is this Anyway?

By Lynne Williams

Maine is a rural, relatively poor state. As such, we have become the target of multi-national corporations that seek to control our natural resources and direct them out of state. Nestle is continually expanding water mining into our communities. Plum Creek is trying to turn the Moosehead Lake region into a destination filled with high priced resorts and acreage for luxury home. Industrial wind farm corporations such as FirstWind and TransCanada seek to put turbines on ridgelines throughout the state. The Governor recently declared, at the ribbon cutting for a new industrial wind farm, that we are poised to become the wind power supplier for the rest of New England. We are becoming a plantation, but we have the power to fight back against this dangerous trend.

Article 1 of the Maine Constitution states the following: “All people are born equally free and independent, and have certain natural, inherent and unalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness. “ As it goes on to state, “All power is inherent in the people; all free governments are founded in their authority and instituted for their benefit; they have therefore an unalienable and indefeasible right to institute government, and to alter, reform, or totally change the same, when their safety and happiness require it.”

The Maine State Constitution also guarantees municipal home rule, giving the inhabitants of a municipality “the power to alter and amend their charters on all matters, not prohibited by Constitution or general law, which are local and municipal in character.”

The language here is significant. People are the source of all governmental power, which governments must exercise for the common benefit of people, nations, or communities. To ensure that this is so, the community has the inalienable right to reform, or change their government. It is not the state that holds the right, nor elected officials or governmental bodies, nor corporate interests. Rather, communities of people naturally have a right to self-government, and they are powerless only in their inability to abdicate that right to anyone.

In addition to looking at the Maine State Constitution, we can look to history. The American Revolution rested its legitimacy on the proposition that it is beyond the delegated power of any government to deprive the people of their fundamental right to local self-governance. Community self –government is exempt from, and therefore superior to, the state government.

If the individual retains the inalienable right to enjoy life, liberty, happiness and safety, it must necessarily follow that those rights demand the right to self-government. And that right to self-government belongs to the majority, not to a privileged minority (corporation) that seeks only its private goals. State and local laws that favor private businesses over local self-governance rights are attacks on the inalienable rights enumerated above. These laws usurp the authority of the people to govern corporations, which are essentially creations of the state. Courts that approve of this are ignoring the history of this country and this state, particularly the rights of the people.

Communities have a right to pass ordinances that are an expression of the rights held by the people of a given community, and which are protective of the physical, natural, social, governmental, cultural and community values of the people. And these rights are superior to the rights of corporate creations of the state. Neither the states, nor the courts, have authority to delegate away the rights of the people. If there is an absolute right to self-government, then there is by definition an indefeasible right to community self-government. If community self-government is denied, then the entire right to self-government is denied.

As inhabitants of communities within this state, it is not only our right, but also our responsibility, to ensure the continuance of local self-governance, particularly when the health, safety and continuity of those communities is threatened by extractive practices being imposed on these communities by corporate entities, with the acquiescence of state government. There is strength in numbers and when all communities recognize that what is happening to their neighbors could happen to them, we will join in solidarity and fight the interlopers side by side. This will be a long fight, not without losses, but with ultimate victory if we do not give in. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Lynne Williams is a Bar Harbor attorney and former State Chair of the Maine Green Independent Party.

13 Albert Meadow, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, (207) 266-6327

cocochanel...

cocochanel...poor cocochanel:

It is claimed that Friends of Lincoln Lakes do not 'exist' ,at the moment. That may take a long time to prove don't you think? I guess the Lincoln legal bills defending their contention of the groups non-existence is funded by non-existent money as well.

As far as Dr. Pierpoint and her 'Syndrome",I know you wish she too did not exist. But a Syndrome of her description, is now confirmed by neuroscience, in the medical community, double peer reviewed. What will occur in the future, is that the Wind Maffia and their Blowtoys will have to fight for their existence. Tax Piggies can only exist so long and feed at the TAX TROUGH , until their Pork becomes questioned as to Its worth by the Feeder.

Did the BDN reporter attend the same meeting as I did? There were five times the number of presenters of critical information and pertinent questions than the number of people who had anything positive to say. One speaker critiqued three different sections, including presenting testimony that the transmission line this project will tie into is already overloaded. Dr. Steinberg offered very compelling scientific information about noise. Dr. Szantyr did a most professional dissertation on deleterious vibro-acoustic effects on health. This type of information, painstakingly researched by concerned citizens, is far more important to inform the BDN readers than any quotes from Dylan Voorhees, the paid shill of NRCM!

I have visited both Mars Hill and Stetson Mt. If you have not been to either of these sites, you have no idea of the magnitude of a sprawling industrial wind site and what a blight on the land it is. I have visited on a windy day with the folks who live on East Ridge Road and Mountain Road. I have witnessed and felt personally what these residents experience. I could leave, but Wendy Todd and her neighbors live there on the north and east sides of Mars Hill Mt. They suffer from relentless assault of the noise and vibro-acoustic effects and shadow flicker. cocochanel, how dare you suggest that these good people are crazy! When growing numbers of doctors are clearly documenting the medical conditions that are becoming known as Wind Turbine Syndrome and Dr. Nina Pierpont is publishing a book on her peer-reviewed study of this, then it is time to stand up for the rights of people to not have their health harmed. This is real. The symptoms are there when people are at home when the turbines are roaring. They subside or go away if there is a lengthy period of quiet from the turbines or if people go away. Only a fool cannot recognize the cause and effect.

First Wind has offered the 18 families money who live around the wind farms in Mars Hill. Something like $ 2000 a year for 40 years. After saying there is no noise there is no noise . Even DEP says there is no noise. Corporations like First Wind don't shell out money for nothing. One person's house has been appraised at 50 % less value that before the wind farm was built. They are awakened in the middle of the night by the noise ...have to keep their windows closed in the summer. Anyone who says the Mars Hill families who are hearing the noise are crazy should keep this in mind.

Let's keep in mind that the proposed site for the wind turbines in Lincoln is zoned for residential buildings only, and also for the utility infrastructure that are needed to support those homes, like the cable and Bangor Hydro lines that we all have out in front of our homes. The planning board broke the law by approving the permit for these industrial turbines. The proposed wind towers are the equivilant of a 35 story building or taller. Thats almost twice as tall as the highest building in downtown Portland. That is damn tall.

So, how about the Lincoln planning board, town council, and the First Wind employees, that they are in love with, setting up house with each other on Rocky Dundee, or on the side of Rollins Ridge. They might have been willing to look at things a little differently, when they were making these decisions, if it was their own families who were being put in harms way.

There is a reason for zoning laws in Maine. It is to protect residents from harm when they make the decision to live in any particular area. At the very least, they would be able to make an informed choice based on what was allowed around them. If that mountain was zoned for industrial uses, there would have been many folks that would have made very different decisions with their life's savings.

Pat DeFilipp needs to build these windtoys offshore. He claims the technology is not there yet. Oil platforms are in water over 200 feet deep and are going ever deeper. If Maine firms won't build maybe some eng. outfits from the Gulf should come North and show how it is done. Jim Shaw and Mike Brown are both paid by FirstWind to say what they do. It is not surprising then that they are all for whatever fills their pockets. I would not give 2 cents for any home or business in Mars Hill. How's that for depreciation? The DEP better not be in bed with the wind wangs like the NRCM. There is no point in having a DEP or NRCM if anything goes here in expedited process Maine. Hopefully the DEP dares to stand up to the wind piggies. The Town Officials in Lincoln sure don't. There should be a cleaning out of town officials who disregard our zoning for their own personal gain.

The residents/taxpayers of Lincoln should consider several points before making this difficult decision.

1) I support wind power in general, but what is the need to rush into this particular project? Does it not make sense to carefully vet First Wind, which

is in fact facing litigation in other states? Has the Lincoln Council carefully examined these cases? Are they sure who they are getting into bed with?

2) If the Council is comfortable that First Wind passes muster, then why not openly share the basis for this confidence with the taxpayers?

3) Assuming the process goes forward, why not adopt a moratorium on constructing turbines within a mile of any existing occupied residences, with

individuals establishing residences within a mile afterward doing so at their own risk?

4) It has been reported that the First Wind project will generate "at least $400,000 in tax revenue for the town annually." How was this number arrived at,

and specifically how will it be used to benefit the taxpayers?

I went to the meeting Wednesday night. It was the same old blah blah blah comming out of the same old windbags. " please may i give brad my 5 minutes so that he may drone on some more ". It is the same old played out nimby jargon that we have heard over and over. The fiends of lincoln lakes for the most part are old gray haired coots that will not be around to enjoy the benefits of this wonderful wind project in the years to come. Go away old people. Let the young people enjoy this great development in our town.

Age begets wisdom. Self-imposed badlness begets fadism.

Garysmom, its OK to be a fervent believer in the Rollins Project. It is not OK to call people names and disrespect the efforts of citizens to participate in our democracy. I went to the meeting Weds. night, also. I listened intently and it seemed like the presenters had done a great deal of research and raised a number of pertinent issues concerning this project. I learned new information about power line capacity, about db-c noise, actual decibel readings taken by a resident in the impacted area. Plus a professionally presented paper on health impacts by a local doctor.

What I really appreciated was the DEP folks ran a professional meeting and everyone had a chance to speak without undue time constraints. Both the Lincoln Town Council and the Lincoln Planning Board could learn from this.

My mother always taught tolerance and to never call names. She taught respect for others, especially older people. Throughout my life I have found much wisdom and inspiration from older people. Obviously, I do not know you, but I truly hope what you are teaching "Gary" as "garysmom" is not reflected in the remarks you post in the BDN.

Someone who lives close to the Mars Hill wind farm saw a $100.00 decrease in property taxes.... then they went to what they had been previously.... and stayed there. Maybe there should be an audit of Mars Hill revenue from First Wind.

deantheblower, My son Gary is a dentist. He is however as touched in the head as the rest of the fiends of lincoln lakes. Go Wind Power !!!

At least Friends of Lincoln Lakes has the balls to get up in front of a crowd, unlike some people who prefer hiding in the BDN comment section, calling names. Mud slinging is what people resort to when they have nothing of substance to say themselves. It's usually a technique used by the ignorant masses. And even the ignorant people usually have more 'nads than garysmom, because at least they will say things right out in the open. Well actually, there was another group that ued to hide their identity. They hid behind their white sheets and white hoods.

I do believe that garysmom is afraid of the Friends of Lincoln Lakes! And she is so terrified that she has to hide. hahahahahahahahaha

The truth will set you freeeeeee.

Age begets wisdom and knowledge, SELF-IMPOSED BALDNESS is as much a FAD as the Wind Will be.....Just follow the law!

garysmom needs to grow up. Name calling is usually done by people who are immature and cannot carry on an intelligent conversation. They hide behind false/phony names instead of standing up and being counted. I resent being called an old grey haired coot. I suspect that I know who you are but can't yet prove it, and also know that you would sell yourself out for a penny. Will the money you will make on leasing your property to First Wind be worth all of the heartache this industrial wind turbine farm will cause. Try looking at the real documented, scientifically proven issues here not just your narrow biased view based on money. There is nothing wrong with wind turbine farms but they should be situated in areas that will not affect anything.

I worked in Danforth for the past week and had an opportunity for 8 - 9 hours a day to watch the wind turbines on Stetson Mountain. At no time were more than three or four of them turning at any one time. There was no wind. Cigarette smoke was going straight up. I guess the DEP Wind Map of Maine was true when it showed all of this area to be less than marginal in wind value for wind turbines. The ones that were turning were turning so slowlly that you could have read a newspaper as the blades went by. No way they were producing electricity. Even if they were where is it going to go? The New England power grid cannot handle anymore than is already being pumped into it. What a phony scam these things are. All they are doing is making money for the investors. I am all for green but not this way. What a shame that our Governor and legislators from local to Augusta and Washington have allowed themselves to be hoodwinked by these companies. Wait until the next elections.

cocochanel. Why don't you put your supporting data on so we can see where you got your information that the Lincoln Mill is causing cancer? Can you show us that there is a higher incidence of cancer in Lincoln than in non-mill towns, or are you simply using typical scare tactics?

At some point the people of this country will wake up and no longer tolerate our tax dollars being thrown away to corporations run by multi millionaires who cry poverty. Banks , insurance companies, and energy welfare scammers deserve closer scrutiny. The CEOs and CFOs should be locked up to send the message that the accepted business models they represent are driving our country into bankruptcy. Wind projects are the latest scams of the crooks and robber barons who seek to fill their offshore bank accounts at the taxpayers expense. "garysmom" is most likely a FirstWind flunky who is not a mom and has no kids named gary. Devious but amusing, possibly a Bangor lawyer mistakenly thinking they are smarter than everyone else. The wind weenies can blow away. Maine does not need our lakes and ridges ruined for posterity for electricity to be sent to Mass and Conn. The DEP hopefully will set them straight but they are beholding to Gov Baldacci and may kiss his butt to save their jobs. No wonder America has so many lawsuits. The criminal element is expanding and doing their dirty work dressed in 3 piece suits.

I will be staying at the Briarwood Motor Inn in Lincoln for 10 days starting 02/26/09. For those of you that would like to meet me please call 773-2828.

I remember driving through West Texas for the first time with my parents nearly 30 years ago. I was amazed, for mile after mile there was nothing but flat land and Texas Windmills, (aka Oil Jack Pumps) as far as the eye could see.

I suspect many of you Mainers think there is some cool factor in these 30 story windmills, that woosh along at a slow rotation 24/7 but let me tell you the charm of the Texas Windmill has long since rusted away. Throught the state of Texas most are just rusting piles of metal, a blight upon pristine landscape.

And so Maine may also go.

Maine deserves better!

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