Sunday, August 24, 2008
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.
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6 comments:
There is a bigger picture to this whole community versus corporation epic. So, listen carefully to what I articulate about the Letter to the Editor article.
Notice how the Development Authority accuses local residents for making the Weatherford silos project "an emotionally charged situation." This has never been about our feelings; we are not that shallow. And it's not about hating or opposing good business. Our position against this entire SCHEME is about people's lives and their property. Now the D.A. comes off as being so superior and intelligent thinking they are the "voice of reason" over it all. Sounds as if they will be speaking on behalf of the people from now on. Like Buckhannonians can't think for themselves. First of all, they don't have authority over us. Second, has there not been enough residents making their case known, petitioning about this dangerous "outsider" corporation. How much longer do we have to prove to the people of the U.C.D.A., the City Council, and Weatherford that this form of business is not suitable for a place within a residential area. Let them find another site; an industrial park for goodness sake!!
Besides, has there not been mitigations and claims against entities like M.S.H.A. been filed and fought? Yes, their standards are very strict "sometimes," but there is no utmost guarantee that all of those safety techniques, even updated ones, will be performed as they should. We shouldn't have to take such a risk. You can't always trust that big companies will honor their word.
All of the threats from a silica sand plant are very real. How could the D.A. say that all of our concerns and thorough research are disappointing. All of the facts and evidence of silica exposure has been seen before in other places in the United States. The results, immediate or long-term are so overwhelming that you would have to be stupid to want such silos so close to people's homes. Heck, even employees of said plants are at an even greater risk of silica exposure themselves because they are walking amongst it. Most of the tasks worked in these plants require some form of protective apparel.
If Weatherford is placed here, the City Council may "feel" the need to welcome other similar big corporations to Upshur County. I believe that if there is some plot to industrialize North Buckhannon, it will purposefully uproot the residents and make the city's entryway a clone of Anmoore. If so, then damn the Council. Damn the people too if they are not awake. These jobs are not worth people's health - short or long term. Relocate the silos to an industrial site no where near inhabitants!!!
Visit these sites-
http://www.rense.com/general32/americ.htm
http://www.guncite.com/gc2ndpur.html
http://www.libertystickers.com/
category/founding-fathers/
The development authority cites “very demanding” agencies such as MSHA, OSHA and DEP to suggest that silica dust won’t be a problem. It feels like we’re being told to pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
Ask Sago residents if they feel like DEP’s been “very demanding” when it comes to regulating the coal trucks that spew choking dust of all sorts and make life miserable for folks there. Ask the families of the Sago miners if they feel like MSHA was “very demanding.”
By the way, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends that miners’ silica exposure be half of what MSHA allows. “Very demanding” of MSHA? I think not.
To the Upshur County Development Authority Board:
In your letter, I think you mean “residents” of Upshur County, not “residence” of Upshur County.
You insinuate that West Virginia’s economic climate is poor, in part, because of outcry like we’ve seen over the proposed silos in North Buckhannon. However, maybe it’s just because of our leaders’ lack of attention to detail of the sort highlighted above.
(Or maybe it’s because of generations-old exploitation by polluting and extractive industries that drives our kids out-of-state and makes cleaner, vibrant, and sustainable industry turn its nose at us. Outrage by a community to extractive industry, such as that which North Buckhannon has shown, is a rare development in this climate. Therefore, don’t pin economic hard times on people finally (and all-too-rarely) finding their voices and speaking out. To do so is simply unfair and is a stunning downplay of our region’s history and socioeconomics.)
Anyway, this kind of mistake in a public communication by our development professionals only reinforces outsiders’ misconception that we’re a bunch of illiterates.
Do you not know that .com sites are completely irrelevant in your research. Only .org sites are to be trusted. You should know this, if you really researched and contacted the people you say you have. That was the first thing that I was told. SHAME ON YOU!!!
Oh, and did you know that the same silica sand that you are having a fit over is used in the manufacturing of fiberglass. Which I am sure each of you have in your homes. I will probably see all of you living outside in boxes now.
As for you saying, "If Weatherford is placed here, the City Council may "feel" the need to welcome other similar big corporations to Upshur County." What may I ask is wrong with other big corporations coming to Upshur County. It would be a welcome thing for the people. Maybe then people could afford to live decent lives. You can't support a family on a minimum wage job. There isn't much to choose from in Upshur County. If you are willing to travel a great distance then you have more options. We need these big corporations.
What I was saying was, is that if the Council gets too comfortable with Weatherford being here, "'similar' big corporations" could come to Upshur County. I really meant North Buckhannon. The residents there already suffer with a lumber mill being in their midst; there is no need for another industry. In fact, the neighborhood existed decades before Coastal Lumber showed up.
If you think I'm against viable corporations from finding a place in Upshur County, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I think it would be awesome if Whirlpool was here. The whole subject of Weatherford is to place it on an industrial site. Put the business out of city limits so it's not so close to where human beings inhabit.
I am all for businesses being here to stimulate and improve our local economy. I am a Capitalist, just so you know. But, the method used to re-zone the lot(s) in North Buckhannon was a shady behind-the-scenes scheme. It can now allow an industry to be placed so close to people's homes. I know the story on that. It all began in 2005. Heck, the re-zoning of that land from "residential" to "commercial" should have been printed in the newspaper. I have researched diligently and I cannot find an article on that particular zoning. The city "annexations" to Brushy Fork and to present-day Lowe's were no secret. The evidence can be seen on the City's zoning map. But, the re-zoning for the land behind the Suddenlink cable building was through covert means.
The people are entitled to be well-informed of the government's decisions and whatever they pass or approve. That is the purpose for parliamentary procedures and a free press. Informing the public is the American thing to do. People don't want their taxes to skyrocket or for their land to depreciate. And they certainly don't want their representatives and leaders to be dishonest.
By the way, I am not ignorant of how things can be made from sand. But, fiberglass in its final state when people purchase it is not so horribly dangerous. Maybe the procedure to get it there was and at some factory, but it doesn't pose a threat to life to humans. It will if people misuse it. Some forms of "completed" fiberglass do need to be handled with care.
But, God didn't ordain humanity dominion over the climate. Man cannot control the wind. Natural sand from a beach not contaminated or polluted in any way is very safe. But, sand that is mixed with other substances to change its physiology to make it more potent, is a different story. Some compositions of natural sand are finer; in especially, crystalline or quartz sand. But, beach sand can't be inhaled unless there is some sort of sandstorm. Common everyday wind blowing beach sand will not cause people to acquire lung cancer, or any other respiratory inflammation. Silica sand, when used through industrial means, will become airborne. If the silica is structured as "crystalline," as opposed to "amorphous," inhaling it in even "small quantities" will cause Silicosis. This will happen over time, but the dust will lodge itself onto the lungs causing irritation while breathing. The time it takes to attain Silicosis is not long, especially if you are not well-insulated when working.
Here are some sites for
Her Excellency-
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/
npg/npgd0553.html
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/
protection/safework/cis/products/
icsc/dtasht/_icsc08/icsc0808.htm
http://www.breader.com/articles/
silicosis-coal-workers-
pneumoconiosis-article.htm
All we want is to have the silos located on an industrial site. Why is that so difficult for people to understand? I mean it's common sense. Does Thomas Paine need to arise from the grave and re-articulate the people's rights in another "Common Sense" pamphlet or book?
By the way, Anonymous, did you visit the sites I gave in my previous blog? Reading that material should awaken you to how much this nation has changed from its Founding, to the 1960's, to present day. Shocking material! Dot-com sites have valuable information too, not just dot-org or dot-gov.
I have stressed that there is a bigger picture to it all. That's why my back-up plan is firmly in place.
...Disolveré el Ayuntamiento de La Ciudad de Buckhannonia...
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