Letter 5/26/10

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

By JH Weekly User

Capt. Bob's platform
Ben wrote three columns on my candidacy without giving my platform.  It is as follows: The clustering along High School Road should be accomplished not by upzoning, but in accordance with the Plan of '94 – SO THAT  the southern 85 percent of Hereford Ranch and Lucas can be dedicated to perpetual open space.
­– Bob Morris, Teton Village

Sorry that part got nixed from the final copy, Capt. Bob, but it was such a colorful interview and I decided to preserve some of the other stuff. –BC

Look at the FLUP
I’ve read it, the new Comp Plan revision. It actually isn’t that time consuming considering that the planning commission has only gone through the introduction, themes and policies.

They have done a sensational job of listening to the public, trying to rein in the planning staff and not stepping on the toes of the elected officials.

 Months ago I told everyone it was all a FLUP (future land use plan) and that hasn’t changed. The planning commissioners have now gone as far as the elected officials (town council and county commissioners) will let them go.

The actual meat and potatoes of the comp plan is the FLUP. And it hasn’t even been looked at yet. The FLUP encompasses the maps of all the valley, its different districts (where we all live) and lets us know what the rules are and what we can or cannot expect.

The introduction, themes and policies of the Comp Plan are the fairy tale: i.e. “We believe this to be true and we hope this will happen.” That’s OK. It’s good to have dreams and hopefully be pointed in the right direction but it really helps if you have a map and a compass. My dad taught me to look for landmarks in case I got lost. I’d hate to think our landmarks are the Four Seasons, the parking garage and the golden arches.

The newspaper gave us some numbers on housing and population a week or so ago that the planning staff has come up with. If we don’t know the “future land use plan” how in the hell can those numbers be even hypothetically correct?   They can’t be. I passed Mr. Staehr’s algebra class.
Where do we go now?

 It’s an election year. A nice soft shoe isn’t really going to do it for me. I want answers to the hard questions with a little tap dancing.
- Cindy Hill Stone, South of Town
 
Safe distance
When my wife and I hike or backpack in your area, we know we go at our own risk.  Agency officials tell us to carry bear spray, make noise and keep a safe distance from animals. We do all this and have never found ourselves in a bad situation.

From your article, “Crying Wolf” [cover story, May 12], we learn that ironically, the very people who claim to know the backcountry best—the outfitters—seem unwilling to go at their own risk as we are expected to do.  If my dog was killed by a wolf or bear I’m pretty sure what I would hear if I complained about it.  Something like “What do you expect when you turn your dog loose out there?”  I might be told to stop whining. 

I don’t get why these guys think they should be exempt when they go into the backcountry and turn a pack of dogs loose.  Shouldn’t they, of all people know better?  Please explain.
- Matt Mulligan, Oakland, CA

Obstacle to treatment
“There’s a stigma in this area,” said Adam Williamson, a professional therapist
I am not trained to call it that. As one mental health specialist said in your article [“Teen suicides devastate Teton Valley,” May 19], it places, “an obstacle between help and desperate people.”

Your article placed that obstacle three times. That is a pretty powerful lesson. From you.

 The challenge may be to change a culture of reluctance to ask for help. And change a culture eager to assign a “stigma.”

- Harold A. Maio, retired Mental Health Editor, Ft. Myers, FL

Wind farm financing
I am not opposed to wind farms as long as I do not have to support them financially. And my taxes do support them. So I am opposed.

We live in Perrysburg, Ohio and have a house in the rental pool here in Wilson. Nearby Bowling Green, Ohio has had four wind turbines for about five years. They are visible in flat Ohio for about seven miles in any direction. Then four were built on a county solid waste dump site. Some users pay a premium for the electricity to support the effort.

As we drive out we encounter hundreds of wind turbines in Western Iowa. Iowa was ranked second in the number of wind turbines behind Texas. Some in Iowa are very close to I-80. This location supports the eyesore claim. The generation is close to users thus avoiding the losses of miles and miles of transmission lines.
We see many wind turbines east of Cheyenne and huge farm west of Laramie. I wonder where this power goes and where the back-up power comes from.
We also try to note how many are turning. On this last trip out every turbine in a huge array west of Laramie was dormant. My friend in Iowa says the dirty little secret there, is how many turbines are down for mechanical problems. These problems include blade failures and gear box failures. We do not hear much about the percent of time the turbine turns at the maximum power output.
I was fascinated that soon after Ted Kennedy passed the Nantucket Wind Farm was approved. The Bowling Green Ohio proponents want to expand but the NIMBYs object.

Finally, the lower the price of natural gas, the less favorable are wind turbines. Just ask Boone Pickens.

I am OK with proving the Wind Technology. Just do not do it on my nickel.
-Jon Lee Perrysburg OH/ Wilson
P.S. We enjoy your publication when we are in the area



Addendum
In our coverage of Laff Staff improve [“How Improv Can Save the World!,” May 19], we failed to include Staff member, and musician, Wryly Burbank, and that Laff Staff is presented in collaboration with Off Square Theatre.
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Letter 5/26/10 | Planet JH News Article: Letters To Editor

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