Wind turbine breaks in Wyoming County ~ Video report

Cape Vincent Ballot disputeOne of the Republicans named in the suit, said the party is being represented by James Walsh an Albany attorney

One of the Republicans named in the suit, Mr. Hirschey, said the party is being represented by James Walsh, an Albany attorney. He said he and his Republican colleagues will see the court action through to its conclusion.  Link to source~Watertown Times

Mr. Walsh's practice focuses on government relations and regulatory compliance matters in the areas of environmental regulation, government contracting, energy, labor, economic development, consumer protection, higher education and lobbying compliance.

Mr. Walsh is a former Senior Assistant Counsel to the Governor of New York State and was responsible for advising the Governor and Senior Staff on legal issues and legislation related to the environment, energy, local government, procurement, and consumer protection. Among many accomplishments, Mr. Walsh helped negotiate the landmark 2003 State Superfund/Brownfield law and laws establishing fiscal oversight boards for the City of Buffalo and Erie County.

Link here to read more about James Walsh

Cape Vincent ballot dispute goes to Supreme Court

The Watertown Times
CAPE VINCENT — State Supreme Court Judge James P. McClusky has ordered all ballots from the Nov. 5 election for town offices preserved and ordered that the Jefferson County Board of Elections determine the validity of about 100 absentee votes cast in the election.
Democratic candidates Dennis W. Pearson and Paul F. Aubertine, who are running for seats on the town council, and Alan N. Wood, who is running for supervisor, filed a legal challenge to the ballots Monday at the county clerk’s office against Board of Elections Commissioners Jerry O. Eaton and Babette M. Hall, as well as Town Council candidates Brooks J. Bragdon and Michelle T. Oswald and supervisor candidate Urban C. Hirschey. 
Continue...

Fox News WNYF channel 7

Cape Vincent Vote Count Still On Hold

Absentee ballot counting for Cape Vincent town supervisor is still on hold.

Officials at the Jefferson County Board of Elections started counting absentee ballots November 13, but locked the ballots away because both sides questioned the legality of many of the ballots.

Elections officials said Tuesday they're waiting for a judge to give them the go-ahead to resume the count.

There's no word on when that might be Continue...

Democratic Court Challange of Cape Vincent NY Absentee Ballots ~ Legal Document

Cape Vincent Election Complaint 11-119-13

Cape Vincent Democratic leadership will be taking the Absentee Ballot Challenge to Court

Republican Board of Elections Deputy Commissioner Jerry Eaton estimated one-third of the ballots were being challenged.

The challenges were to the ballots themselves as well as the envelopes in which they were mailed, Eaton said.

Eaton called the challenges "unprecedented." 7 Fox News WWNYTV

Word on the street is that the Democrats will be taking their challenge of the absentee ballots to court. The Democrats will be represented by the Wladis law firm of Albany.

This case could result in a Landmark court decision that may set 
 a precedent that establishes a significant new legal principle
  that could curtail or restrain voter rights in New York
 State.
 This is not just about voters in Cape Vincent this has the 
potential to affect every  resident in New York State.

Wind turbine breaks in Wyoming County

Hunters in Orangeville heard a loud boom when blade from a wind turbine at the Orangeville Wind Farm in Wyoming County broke off around 7 a.m. Sunday.

“It sounded like a cannon going off. A loud cannon. I mean, I could hear it a half a mile away and it was loud,” said Gary Paone from Cheektowaga.

The blade weighs approximately 20,000 lbs and is approximately 160 feet long. No one was injured when it dropped to the ground. Continue...

Watertown Daily Times reports ~ BP project all but dead:There is a high likelihood that the proposed wind project in Cape Vincent will die a slow and quiet death

 11/17/13 In his Outside looking in column in the Watertown Daily Times  Perry White wrote:

"Unless something changes on a number of fronts, there is a high likelihood that the proposed wind project in Cape Vincent will die a slow and quiet death, starved by a doomed federal subsidy, a steep increase in the availability of natural gas and a regional electrical distribution system that is not prepared to accept generation from far-flung places like Galloo Island and Cape Vincent.

 Continue reading..

Three Grey-Simcoe wind turbine projects scrapped

Owen Sound Sun
Two wind turbine projects in southeast Grey County and another one straddling the boundary between Grey and Simcoe counties near Singhampton are now off the table. Officials of Windrush Energy Inc. confirmed on Thursday that Skyway 125 Energy Inc. a five turbine project near Maxwell and Flesherton Wind Energy also known as Silver Springs Wind Farm with four turbines proposed for east of Lake Eugenia have been terminated by mutual agreement with the OPA.

Company spokesperson Derek Tennant also confirmed that Skyway 124 Energy Inc., a proposal to build wind turbines from Singhampton to Dunedin in Clearview Township, has also been scrapped. All three projects, which  had been working their way through the provincial approval process for several years, were terminated on Nov. 1.

 Continue...

There are no winners in the Cape Vincent battle

As the final vote count nears in the hotly contested Cape Vincent town election, it looks more and more like the wind has gone out of the sails, if you will, of the political faction that has staunchly opposed the development of commercial wind power. It isn’t so much that those against the plans by BP Wind Energy to put a wind farm in the town have changed their minds. It’s more likely that the fight has been long and arduous and bitter, and it’s hard to keep that kind of effort up over time. Continue...

Tibbetts Point needs access to fresh water

Since I am blind, I am unable to get in my car and go to the village and get fresh water should we run out.

For the past several years on Tibbetts Point, we have struggled to get water legally by buying shore wells, chlorinators and filters. We are continually threatened by drought and low water. We need legal fresh water and hydrants and are willing to pay our share. 

Edith Wise Burtee

Cape Vincent

Wind energy firms could be sued easier under bill up for hearing

MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - A new bill up for a hearing next week could make it easier for Wisconsinites to sue energy developers of wind turbines for “physical and emotional harm”.

The bill is sponsored by De Pere State Senator Frank Lasse, a Republican and an outspoken opponent of wind energy.

Under the bill, people living within a mile-and-a-half of a wind turbine would be allowed to sue for reimbursement on medical expenses, relocation costs and drops in property value.

Continue...

‘Free as the Wind’: The True Cost of Wind Energy

Green activists preach about renewable energy sources, using words like ‘holistic’ and ‘sustainable’. Wind energy is one of their favorites; nothing is as free as the wind, n’est-ce pas?

If we truly consider the holistic environmental impact of wind turbines on the environment and the economy, it’s not a pretty picture. Nor is it sustainable. Continue...

Cape Vincent ~ Dems strike out ~ Hoare not going to bat over absentee votes .

In an unprecedented move Top Gun lawyer Frank Hoare was brought in to contest absentee votes in a small sleepy town in northern NY ,once characterized as little Appalachia by BP's community outreach consultant Trieste Associates.

Frank Hoare is considered the premier election law attorney in New York Sate, he has impeccable credentials and is a heavy hitter when it comes to important major elections at both the state and federal level.

According to the Watertown Times Frank Hoare was brought in to represent the interests of Paul Aubertine.

After election day the democrats had a substantial lead however, if all the absentee votes were counted theoretically all of the incumbents could very well be returned to office.

At the end of the first days count there were enough uncontested absentee votes to ensure Supervisor Hirschey's return to office and confirm an unassailable lead for Paul Aubertine.

It is likely that Hoare's involvement in the contesting of absentee votes ended because at this point the numbers boiled down to a contest between Dennis Pearson and councilman Brooks Bragdon.

On election day Pearson walked away with 497 votes a 91 vote lead over incumbent candidate Bragdon who ended up with 406 votes .

At the end of the first days count of the absentee ballots Pearson's lead over Bragdon had shrunk to 15 votes . Subsequently, for Pearson to prevail would have required Hoare to make a case in court to toss more than half of the contested absentee ballots out.

The chances of success would be nil and it may have been decided that going to bat for Pearson would not be worth the effort or cost.

Political parties, elections officials quibble over Cape Vincent absentee count details

In the race to control the Cape Vincent Town Council, every ballot, every detail, counts.
Candidate representative authorization forms show that Mr. Radley, Mr. White and Mr. Hoare all swore to be representatives of Mr. Aubertine.

Cape Vincent Republican Councilman John L. Byrne III maintains that Democratic candidate Paul F. Aubertine had too many people representing him during a canvass of absentee ballots at the Jefferson County Board of Elections office Wednesday. As the saga unfolds and ballot counting continues, Republican Town Supervisor Urban Hirschey now leads Democratic challenger Alan N. Wood.

Continue...

A letter to send to your neighbouring wind turbine lease holder

First Last

AddressCityPostal Code

Re: Information Regarding Industrial Wind Turbine Lease

Dear Sir/Madam

As a lease holder for Industrial Wind Turbines you will likely have signed a contract with a wind developer that may include language similar to the following:

“Lessor grants to lessee a non-exclusive license for audio, visual, view, light, flicker, noise, shadow, vibration, air turbulence, wake, electromagnetic, electrical and radio frequency interference, and any other effects attributable to the wind power facilities or activity located on the leased lands or on adjacent properties.”

Having signed said lease(s) with this or similar language included in your lease for Industrial Wind Turbines, you are fully aware that any or all the above mentioned effects may occur on your own or on ‘adjacent properties’.

In the event I or any member of my family suffers from any or all of the above mentioned effects after Industrial Wind Turbines are installed on your property, I will be exploring further legal options.

Regards
Your Name

Top Gun lawyer representing Cape Vincent Democratic leadership has withdrawn from absentee ballot challenge

 The Cape Vincent Democratic leadership is challenging a large number of absentee ballots based on residency issues. 
Apparently they believe that a certain segment of the tax paying population of Cape Vincent should not be allowed to vote .

The Democrats went so far as to bring in a TOP GUN lawyer (Frank Hoare) from Albany with the appointed task of killing seasonal  absentee votes.   Sources have confirmed that Mr. Hoare has withdrawn from the process of challenging the absentee ballots. It remains to be seen if the Democratic leadership will continue down this futile path.