Sold Out

I fear West Virginia has finally been sold out. The plan to build an enormous high voltage power line thru our area seems to be rapidly approaching completion. The WVPSC approved the proposal (Did we expect any different? Former Prosecutor Matt Minney is on the PSC now…), and George Bush, the criminal, gave away your land while you weren’t looking. He seems to be going for broke. Having already done plenty of damage to the USA to the point of actual talk of impeachment, apparently he has nothing left to lose, and plans for continuing the rape of our beautiful state are being formalized. It’s enough to make you just want to give up and say “whatever”, change channels, and grab another beer from the icebox.

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Bush says coal part of his “sprint to the finish”

By NEDRA PICKLER – 2 days ago

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (AP) — President Bush says he’s using his last six months in office to push new energy plans that include electricity from coal.

Reliable sources of electricity must be part of a strong economy, and “there is no more reliable source of electricity than coal,” Bush said in a speech Thursday to the West Virginia Coal Association gathered at The Greenbrier Resort.

He said promoting a variety of energy sources will be part of the “sprint to the finish” he plans for his presidency.

Coal should be part of the solution to reduce dependance on foreign oil, he said, adding that the United States has 250 years of coal reserves that leave the country “in good shape.”

After the speech, Bush went to Kennebunkport, Maine, for a long weekend with his family.
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Well, apathy is most likely what they are hoping for and maybe even expecting, but I have just a bit more faith in most Calhoun County natives than that. I figure that if people actually KNEW what was in the works, those who grew up here and still feel that old Calhoun Pride running thru their veins, they would get mighty fired up. You know the type. The guy down the road, born and raised here, probably hauls scrap metal every week to sell. Your uncle who moved to Ohio to find work and who desperately misses the WV hills and wants to retire here. Granny who would pick up her frying pan and tar the daylights out of those pesky “yes men” who would attempt to convince her it was in the common good for them to mar the view from her kitchen window. IF she only knew that the place of her heritage could be permanently scarred and polluted for the benefit of a bunch of “city slickers” from “up north”.

West Virginia has always been looked down upon by those who would TRY to keep us down. Labeling us as “illiterate hillbillies” or “inbred rednecks” and PUSHING that image to the outside world does nothing for our SELF image. We can be taken advantage of because we are “poor”, “uneducated”, and of course, money is EVERYTHING. We are lied to and terrorized with the idea that we could have “blackouts” or lose jobs, without actually admitting that their mountaintop removal method of extracting coal caused something like 10,000 coal mining jobs to go bye-bye. And the power company is ALREADY so unreliable that we lose our power regularly, so to us it would be ” just another power outage, go get the lamps Mildred”…

Most folks will say “as long as it’s not in my back yard…” But the problem is, it has to be in SOMEONE’S back yard, and if nobody wants it, what then? Can we afford to keep passing the buck and hiding our heads in the sand while our neighbors and friends lose their land and privacy and peace, and maybe even their health too? What happened to the big “global warming” scare, and the “green” revolution? I thought everything was supposed to revolve around that now… But instead, it appears that our wonderful Governor has been doing the usual “bubba rubbing elbows” thing with the other big-wigs, just like always. Unless I miss my guess, “someone” has been doing some dealings under the table to free up a tremendous amount of potential new coal fields just recently. This big power line they want to force upon us will be able to transfer far more electricity than John Amos can produce, so guess what? They will build ANOTHER, bigger plant for a couple more BILLION bucks, and of course then they will have to behead even MORE mountains in the process. I figure it’s already a done deal. Bush assumes he can just do anything he wants with your land, giving “imminent domain in 41 of West Virginia’s 55 counties in support of the Amos project”, and ultimately you have no say-so in the matter. No matter HOW many generations of your family has “owned” it, no matter how much land taxes you’ve paid, you must sacrifice what is yours for the “common good”. Isn’t that kind of like COMMUNISM? Isn’t that sort of like living under a dictatorship?

Calhoun County has plenty of troubles. All we REALLY have to show for ourselves is the oil and gas industry which has done little to nothing to alleviate our problems. We have TERRIBLE local government, rotten schools, criminal cops, no jobs, bad roads. But we have ONE thing that anyone can see if they look. We have our incredible natural beauty which SHOULD be able to attract lots of tourists if only we would promote ourselves. We have a full and interesting heritage which includes generations of life in a relatively UNSPOILED area. Now, they want to take that away from us as well.

Don’t get fooled, get angry. They are above NOTHING in order to get what they want. As usual, it’s all about money. Money that we will see NONE of. They will lie, and *bribe, and apparently others are finding out they will trespass on your property too if they can get away with it.

We are definitely not alone. Groups are popping up all over the state as well as thru Pennsylvania, NY, MD, etc. in an attempt to fight against this desecration. In PA they have the attention of senators and attorneys. The fight is heating up across the board. In this area we have some folks who are determined to not allow this to happen without a HECK of a fight. But, the biggest fighters that I have spoken with or encountered so far tend to be TRANSPLANTS from other states, drawn here years ago by the peace, beauty, laid back lifestyle, and friendly folks. Surely it’s not just the “outsiders” who realize what we have here? Perhaps the rest have just lived here too long and can’t see what is right in front of them? I really want to be proved wrong. This could be the biggest issue to ever hit Calhoun County in present times. No one can afford to sleep thru it. If we do, we are just as criminal as those who would rob us.

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W.Va. panel OKs $1.3B power line from Pa. to Va.
8/1/2008, 9:40 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s Public Service Commission approved Allegheny Energy’s proposal to construct a 240-mile high voltage power line to increase electrical supplies to 13 eastern states.

The PSC faced a 12:01 a.m. Saturday deadline to reach a decision on the 500-kilovolt line dubbed TrAIL: short for Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line. As proposed, the line would run from southwestern Pennsylvania across West Virginia to northern Virginia.

Allegheny has said the line is needed to prevent blackouts, rolling blackouts and brownouts. PJM Interconnection, the organization responsible for the transmission grid for a 13-state area, said reliable flow of electricity within the Mid-Atlantic region could not be guaranteed past 2011.

Opponents questioned that claim and argued the line would mar scenic views, lower property values and continue an environmentally damaging reliance on coal-fired electricity.

*To ease opposition to the $1.3 billion line, Greensburg, Pa.-based Allegheny agreed to give West Virginia customers a seven-year reprieve from costs associated with building the line.*(Is this bribery or what?)

The proposed settlement was reached with the PSC’s Consumer Advocate Division and staff, and the West Virginia Energy Users Group, a coalition of large energy-consuming companies that includes DuPont and PPG Industries. (Big corporations deciding our fate…)

The Consumer Advocate Division *also agreed not to oppose the line after Allegheny modified the route through northern West Virginia. Allegheny agreed to supply free electricity to about 500 residential landowners. The deal is worth about $70 a month and only applies to residential customers. (But they keep saying the route is not etched in stone yet?…)

“Decisions concerning projects of this magnitude are never easy,” said PSC Commissioner Jon W. McKinney. However, he said commissioners believe the utility “proved the need for this project as an active part of the solution to regional electricity supply issues, and also showed a good faith effort to minimize environmental and cultural impacts.”

State law required the PSC to issue a decision on the power line by May 3, but in April the agency extended the deadline to Saturday, saying it needed more time to review the proposed settlement and other issues.

A Virginia State Corporation Commission hearing examiner recommended earlier this week that regulators approve the application for Virginia’s portion of a proposed line.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has yet to issue its decision.

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