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News Briefs: Wind Farm In Saline County's Future?
- DHS Alum Matt Carroll To Start For Peru State: According to the Nebraska City News Press, former DHS Longhorn is slated to start for Peru State College this year on the football team's offensive line. Peru State is coming off last year’s 6-5 team. According to the preview released as part of the school’s media guide, the key to the success of the Peru State offensive team will come down to the line. Carroll, a sophomore, will play at the right tackle position.
- Area Accident Claims Life Of Milford Teen: An auto accident on a gravel-road intersection near Dorchester took the life of one Milford teen and seriously injured another. According to the Lincoln Journal Star, killed in the crash was Zach Blowers, 15, of Milford. Two others, 15-year-old Richland Walker of Milford and 47-year-old Robert Haufle of Crete were hospitalized with serious injuries. The crash involving Blowers and Walker, sophomore members of Milford’s football squad, happened just before 5 p.m. Walker’s 1989 Chevrolet pickup collided with a 2002 Dodge pickup at an intersection two miles northwest of Dorchester. Haufle was driving the Dodge that also held his wife, Arlene, and two children. Friday evening in Milford, more than 100 students attended an impromptu prayer service for Blowers and Walker on the school’s football field. Blowers’ funeral will be Tuesday.
- Wind Energy Pitch Presented To Saline County Residents: Last Thursday evening at
Saline Center, a representative from the nation’s largest wind energy development company pitched the creation of a wind farm in central Saline County to a group of about 50 landowners, according to the Lincoln Journal Star. A development manager for Denver-based Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc., explained to his audience that his company has been looking at the development of wind energy resources in six Saline County townships for the past year. The Journal Star article reports that it would be feasible, company representatives said, to build an 80-turbine wind farm in central Saline County, altering the appearance and economy of the county and generating up to $12,000 per year per a wind turbine for landowners. Thursday night's pitch from RES, which also developed Nebraska's largest wind farm, near Ainsworth, was the second such proposal the county has heard in the past month, said Randy Pryor, a University Of Nebraska extension educator in Saline County, and also a local land owner. District 32 Sen. Russ Karpisek of Wilber said landowners need to make sure they know what they're getting into before they sign any contracts. A bill (LB629) passed in 2007 by the Nebraska Legislature, makes it easier for private companies to work with the Nebraska Public Power District to develop wind energy. Pryor doesn't deny the prospect of the wind farm is exciting."It would totally change the way the middle of Saline County would look," he said. "That would be the largest project in the state."
I would be interested in hearing from the Times and/or fellow bloggers as to their opinion regarding the proposed wind project for Saline County. I'll be reading this blog for all posts as I am trying to learn more about this project.
ReplyDeleteThank You
This is off topic, but will the Times have an analysis on the trickle down affect of Petersen's moving to China? (Sorry, it will always be Petersen's in my mind.)We do not live in a vacuum and the removal of the plant from the tax rolls of Saline County is not good news. In addition, my sympathies go out to those who have lost their jobs. I know some Dorchester residents were part of this group.
ReplyDeleteI'm lost! The article was about wind farms, are we off the subject or am I dense?
ReplyDeleteDon't buy into the wind hype. You can't store electricity. Even in Saline County, the wind blows sufficiently only 40% of the time to turn a wind turbine. I'd rather see the old Hallam plant go nuclear again. That would make much more sense if you want the lights to come on when you flip the switch.
ReplyDeleteI see where a 25-year-old woman was arrested yesterday after driving through a milo field and walking into a Crete area home without permission. The paper said she stumbled into the stranger's home and said she was going to go to sleep. She damaged 200 bushels of milo.
ReplyDeleteI hope the Crete News will cover the commotion I witnessed driving through Crete late Sunday night on my way back to Dorchester. Lots of drunks on the sidewalks being questioned by about half a dozen Crete police officers. That town has really changed and not for the better. It's too bad.
Dear Dorchester,
ReplyDeleteGive the wind plan a second look. At least it can't be shipped to China.
"From your friends in DeWitt"
I totally agree with the man's comments about Crete changing and not for the good, but I don't think Dorchester should take the holier than thou attitude, what about those "gang" fights a few weeks ago at the co-op parking lot etc. I think we are all having issues and shoud be supportive and not put down.
ReplyDeleteWe need to explore all options including a wind farm as the Journal/Star reports the assessed value of the Vise-Grip plant is $5.62 million. That plant will be removed from Saline County tax rolls unless another company comes in.
ReplyDeleteI hope they put up wind mills here................. I will enjoy shooting them as much as I enjoy knocking off the end guns on the pivots that flood my roads ............
ReplyDeleteHa! Wind power as an economic windfall? Save that hot air. I just heard that a $70 million business is looking at Grand Island and it would employ more than 300 workers. Let me tell you, wind power ain't gonna provide the electricity needed to power a real facility like that. Let's work on keeping the jobs we have (dorchester coop, farmland, etc.) and attracting more jobs by working off what we already have. The oil pipeline makes this area a great choice for a gas refinery or e-85 plant. Oh, and tell those welfare recipients that they aren't too good to work manufacturing jobs. We need more bodies, another reason, along with greedy unions, that Vise Grip is going to China.
ReplyDeleteI think at this stage, residents need to be open to ALL potential opportunities and ask lots of questions. Also, the Vise-Grip plant was not unionized. White-collar jobs are being offshored and they definitely are not unionized. Nebraska needs to diversify its economy by becoming less dependent on agriculture and farm subsidies.
ReplyDeleteDoes the last anonymous poster have a clue? Does this person realize how much electricity a single wind turbine produces???? It is not your grampa's windmill.
ReplyDeleteAlso, to see what unions can do, look at the pay differential between Frisky's and Farmland. You will see why anyone would prefer to work at Frisky's (with a strong union). From one who has worked manufacturing jobs, I can attest to you that it is very hard work and deserving of the pay that unions can assist to get.
It isn't unions that caused the demise of manufacturing in the US, but rather the beneficial trade aggreements that our government has given other countries. So maybe anonymous should become a little more educated before they continue to spout the same old fallacies.
I agree with Mr. Wrench above. Nebraska's economy definitely needs more diversification. Agriculture will always be our state's backbone, but it doesn't offer many opportunities to retain our young people nowadays.
ReplyDeleteThe writer above needs some education instead of touting the union talking points. I think unions have served their role in the past (the 20s and 30s were terrible for workers' rights), but unionization has helped expedite the outsourcing of American manufacturing. A modern plant in China with more mechanization will be able to produce those Vise Grips at 25% the cost they were made in DeWitt, with U.S. steel (which is unionized).
I found this week's Crete News editorial laughable as it was cheerleading for wind energy. I'm not staunchly opposed to wind power, but it's another ethanol in the making. Wind isn't going to "replace foreign oil" like the Crete News editorial stated. OIL DOESN'T POWER NEBRASKA'S ELECTRICITY PLANTS. (Nebraska electricity plants are about 55% coal; 30% nuclear; 10% natural gas; 5% hydro.) OIL POWERS OUR CARS & TRUCKS. So until you can put a wind turbine atop your auto, we'll still be reliant on foreign oil. Our leaders in Washington need to quit playing populist and start letting us drill, otherwise we're going to be on our knees in a few years.
Mr. Goodsense full of Nonsense,
ReplyDeleteYou really need to take the time to educate yourself on world oil reserves. We are basically (within the next 10 yrs) at the point in oil production where it will be all downhill. I'm sure it is hard to grasp for you that even with increased drilling in the US, we will not come close to meeting US oil demands. So even if you do drill more, it will offer little relief from our reliance on foreign oil.
You also need to do some reading on how wind power could indeed lower oil demand. The idea is to use the energy produced by wind to heat houses/buildings and then use natural gas (which we do have large supplies of) to fuel vehicles, thus greatly reducing oil demand in the US. More drilling is simply the most short sighted baloney that someone can spout. Do you have children or grandchildren? If so, you should encourage a permanant solution to US energy needs. I do actually agree with you that if we don't address our energy issues, then this country will be in a bad spot, and we better do it with something other than oil (particularly since our domestic supply is very limited). Wind power is not experimental - it has been proven to work for many decades. The biggest problem with wind energy is the aesthetics that go along with being located near these turbines. In addition, they can play havoc with some native species of birds.
As far as unions go, they continue to benefit workers. It is unfortunate that you have bought into the propaganda that large companies have barraged the media with. Unions aren't popular because they demand an equitable wage congruent with a companies profit. It is rediculus to think that so many people in this country seem to want to blame unions for the loss of manufacturing jobs. It is much more complex than that. The beginning of the end for manufacturing in this country began with stricter pollution standards (a good thing). In countries like China, they generally ignore pollution concerns and thus make it much easier for companies without a conscience to do business. You tout that vice-grips can be made in china at 25% of the cost. Do you know how much a worker makes in China? It isn't a reasonable wage (in 2006 the average Chinese worker made $2025). Would you have worked at the wrench factory for that wage? I doubt it. No doubt you would of been crying and complaining and wishing for a union.
So please take the time to do some reading and quit repeating the conservative part line. Try and move beyond listening to people with an obvious agenda and think for yourself. You obviously know how to use the internet, so learn to work the google button on your internet machine and learn some stuff. It would serve you well.
Anonymous, you are a fanatic.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous September 6, 2008 9:01 PM, You are a prophet!
ReplyDeleteAnd you wonder why we can't all just get along. Strident views make for bad blood.
ReplyDeleteI'm scared by some of the radicals in this country, especially those in the environmental movement. They are probably the reason John McCain will win this fall.
Go John McCain! We can only pray he will win!
ReplyDeleteCouldn't we just state the facts instead of including sarcasm in our remarks? It would make for much more pleasant reading, yet get the point across without negativism and personal "putdowns".
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying the debate taking place on this blog. Strident views make for great "conversation" and possibly a more enlightened citizenry. I have a feeling that we will all be energized to vote this fall.
ReplyDeleteBack to the article, congrats Matt Carroll!
ReplyDeleteI, also, enjoy the conversation and different points of view, but find sarcasm and personal "put downs" very disrespectful.Disrespect seems to be taking over the nation and does nothing to unite people.Opinions and points of view can be offered in a positive, more receptive manner than some of those I am reading on the different blog sites including this one. Plus, we are completely off the focus of this particular blog which is about Wind Farm, myself included.
ReplyDeleteI like the chutzpah on this blog. A little pizzazz never hurt anyone. Don’t let the babicka's get you down!
ReplyDelete