Behind the Times

Tomorrow’s Times today

Posted on July 11, 2007 by Michael Ballway
Filed Under Mike's posts, Tomorrow's Times |

Don’t ask me to explain it — I’m new around here — but those of you who buy the Times & Courier on newsstands know it: by mid-afternoon Wednesday, our Thursday newspaper is already on the streets.

Here’s a tour of what’s available at your local drugstore (or what you’ll be getting in the mail tomorrow):

One of our top stories looks at the possibility of installing a wind turbine in Clinton. The state says there might be strong enough gusts off the Wachusett Reservoir to warrant a windmill at the middle-high school complex, and the School Department is eager to reduce its electricity bill.

Then there’s a story out of Lancaster about the requirement that you own five acres of land before you can be allowed to raise livestock. Nobody at Monday’s Planning Board meeting seemed to want to restrict, say, a person on two acres from raising a couple pigs as pets, but former Animal Inspector Shawn Corbett will come to Town Meeting later this year with a more radical proposal — no restrictions at all, for any size house lot.

Also on the front page: Members of the Current Topics Club in Lancaster have put the Wilder Memorial building up for sale; and Congressman Jim McGovern says the federal government may help Clinton pay for the Rauscher Farm.

So what do you think? Leave a reply to this blog or write us a letter at times-courier@cnc.com.

Comments

One Response to “Tomorrow’s Times today”

Winn D. Ceeti on July 13th, 2007 7:50 pm

A real idea? Or just blowing smoke?

If a small part of this new ‘open space’ on Rauscher Farm could be used to facilitate a ‘wind farm’ it may help defray the costs for all the land itself.

Clinton’s new ‘open space’ is placed strategically down the Wachusett River Valley, almost directly in line with the Valley, it naturally funnels the wind up and over the Clinton District Courthouse.

A couple of independent feasibility studies to help decide if a ‘wind farm’ would be the best way to use the open land would be the next logical step. It would take some time but the ‘farm’ should eventually become profitable for the Town. At the least it will help control the price of electricity

Wachusett Mountain, the Mass. Pike, Rte. 2 and ‘the hills’ of Worcester County all dictate an almost constant source of wind activity found over the Wachusett Reservoir, usually flowing up and over the dam and down Green St. It could possibly supply the needed amount of airflow that a small (5-25) ‘wind farm’ would require.

Clinton should put in for as much Grant monies available for the alternative energy field. Additionally, 30-year, low interest loans may also help cut costs associated with the ’start-up’ of such a venture.

Ask them to submit request(s) for Local, County, State and Federal government Grants,/or Low Interest Loans and Private Investors. These monies could end up using a small area of the ‘open space’ to eventually pay for all of it.

Another way for the ‘farm’ to expand could be to add turbines as the money becomes available. In other words, as each turbine eventually pays for itself, another would be added. Ideally the ‘wind farm’ may eventually become a low maintenance, clean, reliable, independent & profitable source of energy.

It would also help the town become less dependant on oil, natural gas and nuclear energy.

Regards.

F.Y.I. Clinton’s local, County and State Rep.’s. email addresses are as follows:

Senator Edward Kennedy
http://www.senate.gov/~kennedy/

Senator John Kerry
http://kerry.senate.gov/

Representative Harold Naughton
Rep.HaroldNaughton@hou.state.ma.us

Congressman Jim McGovern
http://www.house.gov/mcgovern/

Mass. State Senator Harriette Chandler
Harriette.Chandler@state.ma.us

Mass. State Senator Robert.Antonioni
Robert.Antonioni@state.ma.us