Having Power Over Others

As an avid reader of BusinessWeek I found the following article timely and relevant (and a bit sarcastic):

Are You Being A Jerk? Again?

In the article, the following seemed appropriate for this blog:

"A second, and equally reliable, force that makes people hard to stomach is having power over others. The belief that power turns people into selfish jerks has been around a long time. This isn't just a myth. A growing body of research—notably by professors Dachner Keltner at University of California, Berkeley, Deborah Gruenfeld at Stanford, and their students—documents that three things happen when people are put in positions of power:

1. They focus more on satisfying their own needs;
2. They focus less on the needs of their underlings;
3. They act like "the rules" others are expected to follow don't apply to them.

A particularly amusing study—undertaken by Keltner, Gruenfeld, and another colleague—shows that giving people just a little more power than their colleagues causes them to eat more cookies, chew with their mouths open, and leave more crumbs. Keltner also cites research showing that power leads people to process information in shallower ways and to make decisions that are less carefully reasoned."

In Rebuttal to point #4 of the Dev Authority Letter

The Upshur County Dev. Authority Letter stated in point #4 that the residents' argument regarding real concerns for health issues "was the most disappointing argument." The Dev. Authority letter is trying to tell us in this "response" that silica based proppant (which the PR spin of the article simply labels as sand) is not hazardous, inferring that for Weatherford it would be "economic suicide for a company to install an operation that would threaten the health of its workers and neighbors." It is a FACT, that the U.S. EPA and OSHA have determined silica based products to be a carcinogenic hazard. So it is dangerous. But what point #4 wants us to understand is that Weatherford will control and contain this carcinogen and for that reason, it is not a health threat to workers or nearby residents.


Evidence tells another story. For those of you who have kept tabs using this blog, you have seen the piles of proppant left unattented in the lot currently occupied beside Shop n' Save. You have seen the video of the transfer of proppant from one truck to another in an UNcontrolled and UNcontained manner. If you were to watch the rest of this video, you would see workers atop these trucks with billowing proppant all around them and no respiratory protection. The pictures and videos presented in this blog were taken August 1 of this year.

Also, on August 1, because of complaints issued by Buckhannon residents, the Department of Environmental Protection in Charleston visited the staging area in Tennerton and found that the conditions were to be reported as "total irresponsibility." The inspector, Andy Grim (304-926-0440) said that the report is on file in Charleston and can be obtained by visiting the DEP in Charleston but that fax copies were against policy. He said that you can call for information about the report.

If the transfer of proppant between a couple of 30-ton trucks is an issue, what would it be like if caravans of 30-ton trucks visit N. Buckhannon daily to transfer proppant from four differnet 80-foot silos each holding 1.2 million pounds of proppant (not to mention the transfer of proppant from the rail cars to the silos)?

Can you reason this for yourself?

Letter to the Editor in Rebuttal to Upshur Co. Development Authority "Response"

The following Letter to the Editor appeared in the August 27 edition of the Record-Delta. The text of the letter as submitted is as follows:

Dear Editor:

Forgive me if I take a moment to laugh. So, here the citizens of Buckhannon sit waiting for a response to this whole silica silo debacle since a cone of silence has been in place for the past four weeks, sitting and waiting to hear something from our city council or Weatherford to the tune of: “OK citizens. We respect you and your property and your families and your will to stick this out, so we are going to have the public meeting that we promised way back on July 9, the same public meeting that was scheduled for July 22 (because Weatherford threatened to pull everything out by August 7) and was cancelled at the last minute leaving the city attorney and Delegate Bill Hamilton standing alone outside the Church of God.” But no. The first response in four weeks doesn’t even come from the City. It comes from the Upshur County Development Authority Board of Directors. What? Huh? Forgive me if I have this wrong, but since when did our citizens start electing the Dev. Board of Directors. Oh, that’s right. We didn’t!

I also got a snicker when I read last Wednesday’s “Response” (Aug. 20) to my letter printed in the July 23 edition of the Record Delta when in it, the term “voice of reason” surfaces. This is certainly an oxymoron as there has never been anything close to reason in this whole ordeal. If you reason that people come second to industry, if you reason that the years residents labored at building family homesteads, spending money at local merchants to do so, and paying city taxes and levies to maintain their property right is insignificant to a “promise” by unknown entities that will pay nothing to the city for the existence of silos in North Buckhannon, then “reason” has evidently been purchased by the uncaring.

As a reminder, those who signed this “voice of reason” and should be held accountable for its indoctrination are as follows. It should also be revealed the members of the Board whose names are not signed to the Response. Additionally, one name appears that was not a member of the Board on August 20. And, none of the Board members live in North Buckhannon.
The signatures were:

• Connie Tenney (President of Progressive Bank)
• Mark Harper (Owner of Harper Lumber)
• Creed Pletcher (Upshur County Commissioner)
• Dennis Klingensmith (President of First Central Bank)
• Glen Hawkins (Owner of Rock Cave IGA)
• Elaine Abel (Diana Hallmark)
• Andrew Duncan (Executive for Corhart: St. Gobain)
• Rosemary Wagner Ex-Officio (Region VII Planning & Development Director)
• Dennis Xander (Board of Directors at Independent Oil & Gas Association of WV)
• Don Nestor (Partner in Toothman and Rice; Board of Directors at Independent Oil & Gas Association of WV)
• Steve Foster (Exec. Dir. Upshur County Dev. Authority)
• Dave Thomas (City Councilman)
• Terry Reed (Attorney with Hymes & Coontz)
• Bill Wellings (Airport Authority)
• Terry Ware (Owner of Sears)
• Sharon McNemar (President of Chase Bank)
• Tony Atkins (St. Joseph’s Hospital)
• Bryson VanNostrand (owner of VanNostrand Architects and architect for the Weatherford Project in N. Buckhannon)
  

One name listed is not on the Board: Tony Atkins

The following are Board members but were not signed to the Response letter to the editor:

• Dr. Pamela Balch (President of WV Wesleyan College)
• Scott Lampinen (Superintendant of Schools)
• Kenny Davidson (Mayor of Buckhannon)
• Ex-Officio members: Bill Hamilton (WV State Delegate), Randy White (WV State Senator), Nancy Shobe (City of Buckhannon Recorder,) Willie Parker (Upshur County Commission), Dee Tomblyn (President of City Chamber of Commerce).

Because there is limited space in the newspaper to fully argue the individual items “selected” from my original letter, I will make the rest of my response available at the Protest Coalition’s blog site: http://silicasilos.blogspot.com/.

First, let’s reason some things that you may not be aware of and I make these observations from the point of view that there has always been a contention that there is some connection between jobs and the location of silica silos in North Buckhannon. One necessitates the other, the argument has been. If there are no silos in North Buckhannon, Weatherford will leave. You can read it in the Board’s Response. You can hear it every time you listen to pro-Weatherford activists. And the contention is that we (North Buckhannon) are against jobs. This is the PR spin that is a part of the pro-Weatherford campaign. NOT TRUE. That connection does not exist. And all residents want good jobs for their friends and families.

Weatherford threatened to pull out “Everything” if the City did not allow the silos to be located in North Buckhannon. That ultimatum ended on August 8. Instead of pulling everything out, Weatherford has already begun working in Upshur County. Their temporary staging ground is located next to Shop n’ Save in Tennerton where you will find a sign promoting “Now hiring”. So, did you catch that? Did you reason what is going on? Did you disconnect the silo-equals-jobs argument? Weatherford is hiring and there are no silos in North Buckhannon. Jobs are being created right now without the suffering of Buckhannon residents. Further, if Weatherford is hiring in Upshur County, anyone who tells you that “they could still pull everything out [and move to Washington, Pa.]” is either continuing the misinformation campaign or is assuming that Weatherford is such an irresponsible employer that they would hire local residents only to move their operation two hours north and leave those new hires hanging.

Reason takes time and effort and a willingness to look at and question everything. I feel that a great veil of mistrust has fallen upon Upshur County and those who claim to be a “voice of reason” may be allowing personal investment to cloud their judgments.

Thank you to those of the Coalition who have sacrificed much for the well-reasoned cause.

-Peter Galarneau, Jr.
Spokesperson for the COALITION AGAINST THE CONSTRUCTION OF
WEATHERFORD SAND SILOS IN RESIDENTIAL NORTH BUCKHANNON

Upshur Co. Development Authority Board: Letter to the Editor

For those who have not had a chance to review the August 20 Record Delta Letter to the Editor by the Board of Directors of the Upshur County Development Authority, I offer it HERE for your review. The Coalition's response to this will be available in Wednesday's Record Delta. Further information will be made available on this blog following the publication.

Yes...I Will be Responding

For those of you coming to this blog to find a response to the Letter to the Record-Delta Editor on Wed. Aug. 20 by the Upshur Co. Development Authority Board of Directors, you can be assured that the response is coming and should appear in next Wednesday's edition along with some new information on this blog.

And for those of you who wished that school would start back so that my time would be preooccupied with helping my students toward critical thinking, it has and I am. However, the students have only served to reinvigorate me. Plus, I have some great case study material now. I thank the Development Authority for bringing all of this back to the surface. The Coalition is re-energized.

Also, as the moderator of this blog, I have kept it a policy to let people make what remarks they wish public and available here. Both pros and cons. Even those who have stereotyped me and who don't even know me. The blog will rile some feathers, understood. But its purpose is a support mechanism for those who feel theatened by this calamity and do not have a say in it through "traditional" methods.

Recent posts are moving toward feedback name-calling between those who post (also known as Flaming). Please stick to the issues and don't use this blog as a means to call each other names. Future posts such as these will be deleted.

Still Watching, Still Waiting

The silence from the City Council has been deafening. Council or other official entities in Upshur County have been quite silent since the last council meeting. Not really sure what this means. If you talk to some people who are "in the know", this means that the silos are going to Century and Weatherford's central headquarters is staying on the CJ Martin hill (where it was always meant to be). But with all the lies and smoke & mirrors that have circulated over this issue, I am not holding my breath.

The City needs to tell us that "The Silos are not going to be in North Buckhannon". Yes, they rescinded the right-of-way across Harrison Avenue, but why won't they say..."There will be no Silos in North Buckhannon"? And make the commitment in an official statement. It would put this thing to rest.

One thing is certain. If any new vote concerning the right-of-way access to the proposed Silo site is in the future, Mayor Davidson promised in the last council meeting that he would hold a special meeting with the residents of Buckhannon before that happens.

Stay alert. Keep informed. Use this blog to relay info.

Thank you Elijah

I wanted to make Elijah Luthor's recent comment front and center. In a very thoughful, intelligent way, he has brought to the surface exactly what we are feeling. If the highest law in our country is the Supreme Court, and if the Supreme Court bases its decisions on our Constitution and Declaration of Independence then we know that the primary LAW is to protect the people. God Bless, Elijah.

- Elijah's Comment

Further Discussion Concerning The July 9 Meeting

In this blog entry I will bring up, once again, Point #3 (I want to keep jobs in West Virginia. If this cannot be resolved in 30 days we are pulling everything out) and Point #4 (But there’s no other place to put the silos). To re-review the points I discussed in my Letter to the Editor, go here. Keep in mind that these points are based on the information revealed in a non-confidential meeting on July 9, between me and Dave Thomas (councilman), Kenny Davidson (mayor), Steve Foster (Executive Dir. Upshur Co. Development Authority), Skeeter Queen (councilman), Dave Rexroad (owner of the property in question), and Rick Smith (Weatherford representative).



Point #3:

The conversation that preceded Rick Smith's "promise" to pull out Weatherford's interests was this:

• Davidson: "Your people in Houston said, 'get out of here'. What do we need to do and what's the time frame? What do we need to do to convince Houston we want you in this community?"
• Smith: "We're running out of time. We've already got $28,000 into this..."
• Thomas: "Answer Kenny's question."
• Smith: "You've got 30 days. Fifteen minutes before the meeting the Ops manager said the heck with Upshur County and get out. I said no."

It is evident, as I have said, that Weatherford's interests in Upshur County are profound and based on the gas-laden shale underground and competition. They have set up a staging area beside Shop n' Save, and as one of our blogger comments suggest (and what I've heard from others) is that they are hiring.

As of today, the 30-day "warning" "promise" "threat" (however you want to look at it) has passed. Weatherford is still here, is ramping up business and will continue to fracture the shale under Upshur County until the gas extraction is no longer feasible.

Point #4:
Those who are pushing to put these silos in N. Buckhannon have consistently made the claim that it is the ONLY place in Upshur County to put them. All Of Upshur County. Anyone with half a thought knows that the very statement is illogical. And now we have our mayor Davidson, revealing in the city council meeting of August 7, that he was told that Weatherford is looking at two other places, while also acknowledging that N. Buckhannon was still in play. He said he did not know of one of the other locations but said that the second one is in Barbour County. I have heard from those on the development board that this location is Century.

But what really is striking is that our mayor either does not know (????) or will not reveal what I have found out from State Senator Randy White. Randy White knew where the second location was: the Mike Ross owned land that has been with this argument since we first knew about the silos. Why would a state senator know something the local "leader" does not?

I want to say to Senator White, thank you for coming over to North Buckhannon, meeting with the citizens, listening to their concerns, going out to the proposed site and speaking with me at my home. These are the efforts that we, the people, expect of our elected officials and as far as I know, he's been the only one to personally visit. I do understand that Representative Hamilton is also supportive and he has our thanks as well.

I did want to direct those who wish to view it, to the Upshur County Development Authority's (the one responsible for bringing Weatherford to Buckhannon) web site. This link will take you to information on how the Authority describes the Industrial Park, a place built more than a decade ago for the purpose of bringing business like Weatherford here. You'll see that the web site says that the Park has everthing needed for a business like Weatherford available: Electric, Water, Gas, Sewer, Rail, an Airport, and a four-lane highway. Enough said.

If it Concerned You, You Would Do the Same

Discussions promoted by the recent comments on this blog go right to the heart of a troubling trend in the U.S. that, seemingly, will never have answers. Until an issue surfaces that affects you, personally, citizens will maintain a do nothing approach. I have been as guilty of this as anyone.

BUT...this issue affects me, my loved ones and my neighbors. I did not want to become involved. The City of Buckhannon and Upshur County (and the long history of events that have led to the current debacle) has forced someone to take a lead. I don't ask for your or anyone else's sympathy. I only ask that those in power do what is right. It is their responsibility to first, protect the citizens that voted them into office.

Our neighborhood has congealed in a way that makes me quite proud. My neighbors have demonstrated effort that has renewed my hope in the U.S. democratic right to assemble and protest against what is seen as unjust.

The local government has failed in its promise for transparency. This blog is the result of that neglect.

It isn't burning smoke, or rain, or water vapor, or anything else but proppant

This FIGHT has nothing to do with the value of jobs and everything to do with the lives of innocent residents in North Buckhannon. We are irrelevant ???


This video was captured on August 1, 2008 (approx. 2:30 PM). Location: Tennerton, WV.

?? But the silica sand will be controlled and contained ??

OK. It's now time to begin further discussion concerning some of the points I made in my Letter to the Editor (Record Delta - July 23, 2008).

Point Number 5: "The silica sand will be controlled and contained"

First and foremost, there IS DANGER from the silica contained in the proppant used by Weatherford (and the drilling industry in general). If you are an employer that uses such carcinogens, you are required by OSHA to warn your employees of their use of it. Then you, as an employee, can decide whether to place yourself in jeopardy. But the people in North Buckhannon (residents) would not have this choice. So Weatherford, in their persuasive attempt to get the residents to agree to the silo construction, said that "the silica sand will be controlled and contained." I have argued that this is not possible even for a responsible company.

• OSHA's Official Instruction on Silicosis

Many residents may not know this, but Weatherford is currently conducting business in the Tennerton area, in a small lot located next to Shop n' Save. This area is directly adjacent to the townhouse complex . PLEASE, take a quick trip out there and take a look at the "controlled and contained" conditions located there. They are not. The conditions are anything but contained.

In Weatherford's "Environmental Manual for Global Operations" which you can look through by visiting City Hall, it is stated, in bold, on page 14, under the subtitle "Responding to a Spill"...

All spills, regardless of size must be cleaned up immediately.

Considering that this manual is meant for the "environment" of the employee (not the environment of the Earth), the conditions in Tennerton do not follow Weatherford's own manual standards.

And the following pictures, taken on August 1, 2008 (around 1:00 PM) will attest to the fact that proppant, (silica sand) is not being contained or controlled. When you begin to think about the 1.2 MILLION POUNDS of proppant that is scheduled to be stored in each silo, such lax containment standards as shown in this much smaller scale operation is a recipe for disaster.

• PICTURES TAKEN AUG 1, 2008

Controlled and Contained ????????

Get Involved

Stay informed and get involved; it is your civic duty and one of our greatest U.S. freedoms. Citizens are the watchdogs of policies and positions. It is our responsibility, particularly when the issue, such as proppant silos located in residential areas, hit close to home.

Following is a list of ways that you can voice your opinion about this issue (and most issues that arise in the future).

• Download, print and sign the petition created by the COALITION AGAINST THE CONSTRUCTION OF WEATHERFORD SAND SILOS IN RESIDENTIAL NORTH BUCKHANNON. Take your signed position and submit it to City Hall. (download the petition)
  
• Contact your local city officials and voice your opinion against the silos. Here are some some contact numbers:
  - City Hall: 472-1651
  - Mayor Kenny Davidson: (cell) 642-1651
  - Councilman Keith Queen: (cell) 642-6525
  - Councilman David Thomas: 472-7007
  
• Contact your state Legislatures. A list of those representing our area can be found here. Remember, it is an election year!
  
• Go to City Council meetings. Engage the council in discussion. Council meets every first and third Thursday of each month, at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
  
• If you can't make the meetings, you can watch recordings on the Friday following the meeting. They can be viewed on local access channel 3 between the hours of 6-7 p.m. (time may vary).
  
• Send a Letter to the Editor to one of the local papers, including The Record Delta, The Intermountain and the Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram.
  
• And you can add a comment to this blog. Do you have a story to tell. Has your life been affected by silica or the drilling industry or the Buckhannon city council or perhaps you want to add to this discussion.

RETURN TO THIS BLOG often during the next few weeks as I will be adding some very interesting information regarding Weatherford's business conduct.