{"id":1896,"date":"2011-06-16T10:25:24","date_gmt":"2011-06-16T14:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/06\/im-obviously-here-on-one-issue-karen-noll-vlcia-14-june-2011.html"},"modified":"2011-06-16T10:25:24","modified_gmt":"2011-06-16T14:25:24","slug":"im-obviously-here-on-one-issue-karen-noll-vlcia-14-june-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/06\/im-obviously-here-on-one-issue-karen-noll-vlcia-14-june-2011.html","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;I&#8217;m obviously here on one issue.&#8221; &mdash;Karen Noll @ VLCIA 14 June 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zxdhPl_gtjU\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\"   src=\"http:\/\/i3.ytimg.com\/vi\/zxdhPl_gtjU\/default.jpg\"><\/a>\nKaren Noll asked the VLCIA board to put a no-biomass clause\nin any purchase agreement regarding the proposed biomass site.\n<p>\nShe began with these words:\n<blockquote>\nI&#8217;m Karen Noll.\nI hope some of you already have seen my writing and\nhave read my letters to you in the past.\nI&#8217;m obviously here on one issue.\nI hope that in the future I can be talking to you about other issues.\nBut right now I&#8217;m talking to you about biomass.\nAnd we celebrated that it was dead and it was gone and now it&#8217;s not.\nBecause we really don&#8217;t know &#8230; what the plan is.\n<\/blockquote>\nBy &#8220;we&#8221; I&#8217;m guessing she meant WACE.\nSome of us who are not members of WACE warned that\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/06\/biomass-down-for-now-next.html\">\nit ain&#8217;t over until it&#8217;s over<\/a>,\nand it only took a week to discover that\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/06\/sterling-planet-wants-to-buy-biomass-site.html\">\nVLCIA already knew Sterling Planet wanted to buy the proposed biomass site.<\/a>\n<p>\nKaren Noll made a pitch based partly on saving taxpayer money.\nIn addressing health concerns, she handed the board a letter from local doctor\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/05\/a-letter-from-a-local-physician-dr-noll.html\">Craig Bishop.<\/a>\nShe handed the board a petition with &#8220;at least 700 signatures&#8221;\nand she said for each signature there was probably at least one more\nthat didn&#8217;t sign.\nSome of what she said appeared to be drawn from a letter\nthat is appended in this post after the video.\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zxdhPl_gtjU\">\nPart 1 of 2:<\/a>\n\n<!--more-->\n<p align=\"center\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"480\" height=\"390\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zxdhPl_gtjU\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<br>\n<small>\n&#8220;I&#8217;m obviously here on one issue.&#8221; &mdash;Karen Noll @ VLCIA 14 June 2011 Part 1 of 2:\n<br>\nIrregular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),\n<br>Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,\n<br>J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Acting Executive Director,\n<br>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 June 2011.\n<br>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.\n<\/small>\n<p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KSY6pjjPdbw\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\"   src=\"http:\/\/i4.ytimg.com\/vi\/KSY6pjjPdbw\/default.jpg\"><\/a>\nThe video card filled up, so there&#8217;s a brief gap.\n<p>\nKaren Noll concluded with a specific request on behalf of WACE:\n<blockquote>\nWe ask for a no-biomass clause in the purchase agreement\nfor the health of the community,\neconomic and physical health.\n<\/blockquote>\nThat seems like a simple enough request. In the interests of transparency,\nI&#8217;d like to hear VLCIA answer it.\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KSY6pjjPdbw\">\nPart 2 of 2:<\/a>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"480\" height=\"390\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KSY6pjjPdbw\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<br>\n<small>\n&#8220;I&#8217;m obviously here on one issue.&#8221; &mdash;Karen Noll @ VLCIA 14 June 2011 Part 2 of 2:\n<br>\nIrregular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),\n<br>Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,\n<br>J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Acting Executive Director,\n<br>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 June 2011.\n<br>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.\n<\/small>\n<p>\nThe appended text from Karen Noll came in as a comment yesterday on\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/06\/irregular-vlcia-meeting-tuesday-14-june-2011.html\">Irregular VLCIA meeting<\/a>.\nThe same text appeared as an LTE in the VDT that same day, signed\nby Susan Wehling.\n<p>\n-jsq\n<blockquote>\nNo Biomass Clause\n<p>\nAlthough we recently celebrated the death of the biomass project as\na major health concern was eliminated from our community, we now are\nfaced with the prospect of Wiregrass Power\/Sterling Planet buying the\nland for the proposed biomass site for a mere $200,000 dollars. We at\nWiregrass Activists for Clean Energy (WACE) are obviously opposed to a\nbiomass plant in our community for the stated health risks that it would\npose. For this reason, we ask that the purchase agreement contain a NO\nBIOMASS clause to prevent this ill from entering our community.\n<p>\nSince the VLCIA owns the land for the biomass plant, we the taxpayers\nessentially own the land and as the owners, our concerns should be upheld\nin the sale of this property. It is remarkable that the sale price is\nover $200,000 below the purchase price. At this reduced price, specific\ndemands on the part of the seller would be expected. Wiregrass Power\nhas made no improvements on the land to date. Yet VLCIA has spent over\n$115,000 in due diligence to promote this project. All in all, we the tax\npayer will loose money and demand that the purchase agreement include\na NO BIOMASS clause, which will more than compensate the community by\nvaluing our continued health and the benefits of clean air.\n<p>\nBecause we all value the economic health of this community and want\nto see that Valdosta-Lowndes County is seen in the best light by those\noutside our community in various capacities. We see a NO BIOMASS clause\nin the purchase agreement of the property by Wiregrass Power\/ Sterling\nPlanet as the very best option for ALL involved.\n<p>\nAs you are all aware the American Lung Association opposes biomass\nincineration because of the health consequences it causes for young\nchildren, for elderly and for individuals suffering from asthma &#038;\nCOPD. Our Georgia Chapter of the ALA clearly stated that this proposed\nplant would be detrimental to the health of the children in the nearby\nschools &#038; the residents of the area. The American Cancer Society\nindicates that the proposed biomass plant would increase cancer rates\nin our community by 3-7%. The American Heart Association has found\nthat Particulate Matter emitted from the plant would cause new cases of\nasthma in our community, affecting children &#038; those that participate in\nrecreation or work outdoors, especially.\n<p>\nBiomass is bad for the health of our community for many reasons and we\ncan avoid all the adverse consequences by including a simple NO BIOMASS\nclause in the purchase agreement with Wiregrass Power\/ Sterling Planet.\n<p>\nKaren Noll\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Karen Noll asked the VLCIA board to put a no-biomass clause in any purchase agreement regarding the proposed biomass site. She began with these words: I&#8217;m Karen Noll. I hope some of you already have seen my writing and have read my letters to you in the past. I&#8217;m obviously here on one issue. I [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[97,556,120,40,14,16,2,41,21,32,1794,3,178,1810,700],"tags":[1816,1815,8738,8701,876,1812,1814,1813,548,8702,12,7,185,181,183,182,6,180,8749,8796],"class_list":["post-1896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activism","category-air","category-biomass","category-community","category-economy","category-environment","category-government","category-health-care","category-planning","category-pollution","category-sterling-planet","category-transparency","category-vlcia","category-vlcia-14-june-2011","category-wace","tag-14-june-2011","tag-allan-ricketts-acting-executive-director","tag-biomass","tag-georgia","tag-health","tag-irregular-meeting","tag-j-stephen-gupton-attorney","tag-jerry-jennett-chairman","tag-john-s-quarterman","tag-lake","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-mary-gooding","tag-norman-bennett","tag-roy-copeland","tag-tom-call","tag-valdosta","tag-valdosta-lowndes-county-industrial-authority","tag-vlcia","tag-wace"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-uA","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1896\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}