..........windmills and Super Bowl parties.

There has been quite the controversy going on here in our small nortwestern North Carolina community for the past few months surrounding the building of a windmill farm. It sounds like a great idea. The energy is renewable, green energy that we have plenty of here in the northwest mountains. Just the other day a 112 mph wind was recorded at our local radio station. The wind blows constantly here. The proposed wind farm would be situated in a very rural part of the community atop the ridgeline of the Blue Ridge mountains. It still sounds pretty good. Now for the kicker - this farm will consist of 28-35 windmills that are over 300 feet tall. When one of the local residents told me about the size, I was sure they were wrong and meant 30 feet. No, she was right. Now we have controversy. The realtors are in opposition due to the ability to sell property that has a view of the windmills. The wildlife conservationists claim that migrating birds (ducks and geese in our case) will fly into the windmills. Local residents who already own property near to, or in view of the proposed site will have property values drop by 20-80%. The energy created will not stay in our community. The energy will go via large power lines to the Raleigh area. No, we will still buy our energy from the local co-op. My opinion - I am in favor of any type of energy that makes us less dependant on fossil fuels. I love the views that our mountains provide, but I also love turning on the heat pump on those cold winter nights. It's a trade-off. We have to determine which is most necessary for us as a collective whole. I still believe in the old saying; "the needs of the many out-weigh the needs of the few." If I had to make the call for the wellbeing of the masses, I guess I'm in favor of windmill farms. I'm not looking forward to seeing the 300' towering giants on the ridgelines, but it is a move toward energy independence. Appalachian State University is very much in favor of the windmills. They want to study all the benefits and shortcomings. We have no zoning laws in our community; therefore, the residents shouldn't complain. If the locals wanted to block windmill farms and asphalt plants, they will pass a zoning restriction in our community.

Did you know that it is aganist the law for a group of 10 or more people to view an NFL game on a screen larger than 55 inches? There is currently several cases aganist churches specifically, stating that they are in violation of this law with their annual Super Bowl parties. Some churches have had these parties with the game projected onto a large screen in a meeting hall. The reasoning behind the law - the NFL says that this type of game viewing would inpact the number of people who would pay to come and see the Super Bowl live. Wow, I'm glad my TV screen is only 51". I guess I would have to turn myself in to the NFL if it were larger.

I hope everyone has an outstanding weekend. We have Pep Band and basketball here tonight - Go Huskies!!!!