Well, summer is here and wanting to take a ride, my wife and I and three other couples from this area decided to look at a wind farm near Syracuse at a place called Fenner. Beautiful area, rolling hills, nice people who have about 30 turbines in their area.

We met a great couple and their grandson. They spent almost three hours explaining the many facts about wind farms. For instance, their school and property taxes went down 40 percent, many roads were paved, and the wind farm pays $150,000 into the town budget, which is one-quarter of the yearly budget.

It only took 28 weeks from start to finish, and when the construction was completed, the land was in better condition than it was before construction. Their setbacks from the town roads are, I think he said, 500 feet. We stood in the center of about 10 working turbines, and yes, we could hear them. Except when a car went by, that was much louder.

I asked if the company lived up to all the agreements. The couple said, "Yes, plus more was done." Construction crews were hired locally, and now six full-time employees work year-round on the project. They were so impressed with the whole situation, they donated a chunk of land and, working with the wind turbine company, have an information area set up. We had a great day and learned a lot. I encourage others to take a ride to Fenner and get the facts.

Gary King

Cape Vincent