{"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":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zxdhPl_gtjU\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\"   src=\"http:\/\/i3.ytimg.com\/vi\/zxdhPl_gtjU\/default.jpg\"><\/a><br \/>\nKaren Noll asked the VLCIA board to put a no-biomass clause<br \/>\nin any purchase agreement regarding the proposed biomass site.<\/p>\n<p>\nShe began with these words:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\nI&#8217;m Karen Noll.<br \/>\nI hope some of you already have seen my writing and<br \/>\nhave read my letters to you in the past.<br \/>\nI&#8217;m obviously here on one issue.<br \/>\nI hope that in the future I can be talking to you about other issues.<br \/>\nBut right now I&#8217;m talking to you about biomass.<br \/>\nAnd we celebrated that it was dead and it was gone and now it&#8217;s not.<br \/>\nBecause we really don&#8217;t know &#8230; what the plan is.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>By &#8220;we&#8221; I&#8217;m guessing she meant WACE.<br \/>\nSome of us who are not members of WACE warned that<br \/>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/06\/biomass-down-for-now-next.html\"><br \/>\nit ain&#8217;t over until it&#8217;s over<\/a>,<br \/>\nand it only took a week to discover that<br \/>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/06\/sterling-planet-wants-to-buy-biomass-site.html\"><br \/>\nVLCIA already knew Sterling Planet wanted to buy the proposed biomass site.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\nKaren Noll made a pitch based partly on saving taxpayer money.<br \/>\nIn addressing health concerns, she handed the board a letter from local doctor<br \/>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/05\/a-letter-from-a-local-physician-dr-noll.html\">Craig Bishop.<\/a><br \/>\nShe handed the board a petition with &#8220;at least 700 signatures&#8221;<br \/>\nand she said for each signature there was probably at least one more<br \/>\nthat didn&#8217;t sign.<br \/>\nSome of what she said appeared to be drawn from a letter<br \/>\nthat is appended in this post after the video.<\/p>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zxdhPl_gtjU\"><br \/>\nPart 1 of 2:<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\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><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<small><br \/>\n&#8220;I&#8217;m obviously here on one issue.&#8221; &mdash;Karen Noll @ VLCIA 14 June 2011 Part 1 of 2:<br \/>\n<br \/>\nIrregular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),<br \/>\n<br \/>Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,<br \/>\n<br \/>J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Acting Executive Director,<br \/>\n<br \/>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 June 2011.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.<br \/>\n<\/small><\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KSY6pjjPdbw\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\"   src=\"http:\/\/i4.ytimg.com\/vi\/KSY6pjjPdbw\/default.jpg\"><\/a><br \/>\nThe video card filled up, so there&#8217;s a brief gap.<\/p>\n<p>\nKaren Noll concluded with a specific request on behalf of WACE:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\nWe ask for a no-biomass clause in the purchase agreement<br \/>\nfor the health of the community,<br \/>\neconomic and physical health.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>That seems like a simple enough request. In the interests of transparency,<br \/>\nI&#8217;d like to hear VLCIA answer it.<\/p>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KSY6pjjPdbw\"><br \/>\nPart 2 of 2:<\/a><\/p>\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><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<small><br \/>\n&#8220;I&#8217;m obviously here on one issue.&#8221; &mdash;Karen Noll @ VLCIA 14 June 2011 Part 2 of 2:<br \/>\n<br \/>\nIrregular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),<br \/>\n<br \/>Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,<br \/>\n<br \/>J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Acting Executive Director,<br \/>\n<br \/>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 June 2011.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nVideos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.<br \/>\n<\/small><\/p>\n<p>\nThe appended text from Karen Noll came in as a comment yesterday on<br \/>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/06\/irregular-vlcia-meeting-tuesday-14-june-2011.html\">Irregular VLCIA meeting<\/a>.<br \/>\nThe same text appeared as an LTE in the VDT that same day, signed<br \/>\nby Susan Wehling.<\/p>\n<p>\n-jsq<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\nNo Biomass Clause<\/p>\n<p>\nAlthough we recently celebrated the death of the biomass project as<br \/>\na major health concern was eliminated from our community, we now are<br \/>\nfaced with the prospect of Wiregrass Power\/Sterling Planet buying the<br \/>\nland for the proposed biomass site for a mere $200,000 dollars. We at<br \/>\nWiregrass Activists for Clean Energy (WACE) are obviously opposed to a<br \/>\nbiomass plant in our community for the stated health risks that it would<br \/>\npose. For this reason, we ask that the purchase agreement contain a NO<br \/>\nBIOMASS clause to prevent this ill from entering our community.<\/p>\n<p>\nSince the VLCIA owns the land for the biomass plant, we the taxpayers<br \/>\nessentially own the land and as the owners, our concerns should be upheld<br \/>\nin the sale of this property. It is remarkable that the sale price is<br \/>\nover $200,000 below the purchase price. At this reduced price, specific<br \/>\ndemands on the part of the seller would be expected. Wiregrass Power<br \/>\nhas made no improvements on the land to date. Yet VLCIA has spent over<br \/>\n$115,000 in due diligence to promote this project. All in all, we the tax<br \/>\npayer will loose money and demand that the purchase agreement include<br \/>\na NO BIOMASS clause, which will more than compensate the community by<br \/>\nvaluing our continued health and the benefits of clean air.<\/p>\n<p>\nBecause we all value the economic health of this community and want<br \/>\nto see that Valdosta-Lowndes County is seen in the best light by those<br \/>\noutside our community in various capacities. We see a NO BIOMASS clause<br \/>\nin the purchase agreement of the property by Wiregrass Power\/ Sterling<br \/>\nPlanet as the very best option for ALL involved.<\/p>\n<p>\nAs you are all aware the American Lung Association opposes biomass<br \/>\nincineration because of the health consequences it causes for young<br \/>\nchildren, for elderly and for individuals suffering from asthma &#038;<br \/>\nCOPD. Our Georgia Chapter of the ALA clearly stated that this proposed<br \/>\nplant would be detrimental to the health of the children in the nearby<br \/>\nschools &#038; the residents of the area. The American Cancer Society<br \/>\nindicates that the proposed biomass plant would increase cancer rates<br \/>\nin our community by 3-7%. The American Heart Association has found<br \/>\nthat Particulate Matter emitted from the plant would cause new cases of<br \/>\nasthma in our community, affecting children &#038; those that participate in<br \/>\nrecreation or work outdoors, especially.<\/p>\n<p>\nBiomass is bad for the health of our community for many reasons and we<br \/>\ncan avoid all the adverse consequences by including a simple NO BIOMASS<br \/>\nclause in the purchase agreement with Wiregrass Power\/ Sterling Planet.<\/p>\n<p>\nKaren Noll\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"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"],"_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}]}}