Last week, the town of Stark joined the town of Warren and Herkimer County in officially embracing the controversial wind turbine program proposed for Jordanville. With this approval, the geographical landscape and history of the area will be forever changed. With this approval, officials have rewritten what could have been a bleak future for the area and for local farmers to one that now possesses hope. It is not known whether this will truly be the best thing for the area, but at least now, there is hope. And without hope, there is nothing. Officials took a chance on what the future could hold, as opposed to clinging to what they are familiar with from the past. We as humans are not comfortable with change. Change is something scary, something to be wary of, something to fight, if at all possible. Come to think of it, the same could be said for big business. Community Energy is pretty big, and so is the wind farm they’re proposing. Opponents were concerned from environmental, historical and aesthetic angles. They were worried that the ground water would be contaminated, wildlife endangered, rolling landscapes would be marred forever. They were worried about financial ramifications that could result from improper business decisions or legal actions. There were hundreds of other concerns, most of them probably real. Some of the fears may have been a bit over inflated as the severity of a problem often becomes overwhelmingly large the more it is dwelled upon. The fact remains, these are voting taxpayers with real concerns. On the other hand, we have the farmers, who are also taxpayers. They own the rolling landscapes the wildlife inhabit and that is nurtured by the groundwater environmentalists strive to protect. They are the small businesses, regardless of how much produce and livestock they grow or raise and sell. They represent the past and the future, the history of what made this community and country. They represent the failed farmers of the past and the future of farming to come. It’s a known fact that farmers have it rough. Weather, regulations, crop prices, farm hands, equipment, markets and so much more make being a farmer a very hard trade and an equally hard life. But if it’s in your blood, there’s no denying the call of the land. Many are generational farmers, working lands that have been in their families for decades and decades. People have started realizing the value of farmland and have been buying it up and saving it for a rainy day. Farmers have capitalized on this discovery and figured a way out of bankruptcy, financially hard times, a life of stress and fatigue – sell to developers. All over the United States, developers are paying big bucks for farm land. It’s only a matter of time before the farmers give in and sell the land to developers. Then the nice rolling hillsides will be spotted with homes and condominium complexes. The concept of “forever green” will belong to another part of the country. So the choice had to be made. Many of the older farmers can’t survive on farming alone. Many do not have offspring willing to take the farm over. Many are too tired. Wind turbines were a viable alternative for local farmers in a quandary over how to provide for their families and themselves as retirement looms on the horizon. They represent the future, a step toward green energy. They look futuristic and clean, create minimal pollution compared to oil, gas, wood, coal or electric energy. They bring tax relief and job opportunities. It is said that they bring business through tourism to the area. We applaud the town and county officials, not specifically for choosing to support the wind farm project in Jordanville, but to actually take a stand on this controversial issue that has torn apart their communities. They chose to go out on a limb and try something new, rather than sit back and watch another farm go bankrupt, or another farming family move out of the community because they could not afford to keep the farm operating. It was a tough decision we are sure, but in the end they made the right decision, to take a stand one way or another and end the five-year battle dividing their community. To the farmers who were visionaries, good luck. To the residents fighting to protect the land, your efforts are commendable. And to the Stark, Warren and Herkimer public officials, thank you for taking a stand.
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