In Debate Over Wind Energy Development Coalition: Reps Need To Take Position

The co-chairman of the Coalition for the Preservation of the Golden Crescent and the 1000 Islands Region says its time for county, state, and federal representatives to step forward and take a position on the growing debate over wind energy and its development here in the North Country.

"Many of our elected officials are burying their heads in the sand," said Robert E. Aliasso Jr., of Henderson. "They think this is all going to boil over and that they won't have to get their hands dirty."

Naming Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, Assemblywoman Addie Jenne Russell, and Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava as three of those above-mentioned elected officials, Mr. Aliasso added, "We're looking for transparency and trying to get them to represent us as people. They show up on TV saying they are fighting the good fight, but, I think people are waking up and saying, 'Why are you taking our most valuable resources from us?'"

With the ongoing wind issues in the town of Hammond, St. Lawrence County is getting a taste of what Mr. Aliasso is talking about.

He says his group, the Coalition for the Preservation of the Golden Crescent and the 1000 Islands Region, is working together to unify its voice, the information they have and can present to the public, and "to generally strengthen ourselves to put the education out there."

Mr. Aliasso says the goal of the coalition is to "continue to educate the general public on fact versus myth," and that the focus is not only on health, aesthetic, and environmental concerns, but the business aspect of it all, as well.

"This isn't isolated, it's not just Hammond. Wind issues are dividing communities all along the St. Lawrence. From Hammond, Morristown, and the town of Oswegatchie, right there, and along bordering communities, like Orleans and Clayton. All the way down the St. Lawrence and on into Lake Ontario.

"Our focus is, let's say, St. Lawrence and northern Jefferson counties, as well as our Canadian neighbors. People need to be fully aware that we are boxed in by wind energy development along the New York State shoreline," he said.

On wind-related developments in Hammond, Mr. Aliasso says the coalition has found another ally in Concerned Residents of Hammond.

"I hate calling it pro-wind versus anti-wind, but in Hammond, that's about what it boils down to," he said.

"The pro-wind people there are trying to make it a regional thing, saying, 'We don't need Cape Vincent or Henderson people telling us what to do,' while the anti-wind people are saying, 'Your decisions are impacting all of us.'"

He says it has basically resulted in class warfare.

"We're united in a way we've never been able to before," said CROH President Mary E. Hamilton of her groups alliance with the Coalition.

Rather than engaging in a discussion about the positives and negatives of wind energy development, Mr. Aliasso instead explained the concept of what he called "pro-placement."

"There are sparsely populated areas where no economic development is occurring and not much else is happening," he said.

"There are host communities, like Tug Hill for instance, that are overwhelmingly looking for sources of revenue, and I can appreciate that wind energy development can be a positive for such a community. A godsend.

"In Tug Hill, though it did help the school system, it never reduced taxes or energy costs. That's another common fallacy," he added.

According to Mr. Aliasso, the coalition holds "roving meetings" in different communities to get the word out. Visit the coalition Web site at www.preservethegoldencrescent.com, for more information on upcoming events and conferences.

The Web site says the coalition covers the St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Oswego, Cayuga, and Wayne counties region, as well as towns along the Golden Crescent shoreline and lower St. Lawrence River.

Strategic goals of the coalition, according to Mr. Aliasso, include:

* Raise political awareness through contact and education of elected officials

* Raise public awareness through town hall meetings and media outlets

* Assist all groups in coalition at local level to achieve goals

* Cause transparency to the public through the above

* Endorse and promote political candidates strategically aligned with coalition

Mr. Aliasso can be contacted via e-mail at raliasso@twcny.rr.com .