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Curwensville
denies request to sponsor more public meetings and local pollution
controls regarding ethanol plant. |
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Watch video from the meeting.
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Why would we want to
hold Sunnyside accountable in writing? Why would we want to hold
a REAL town hall meeting sponsored and run by the PEOPLE of
Curwensville that actually discusses openly ALL sides of this
contentious issue?
Geee.... why would we
want to do that? As the bumper sticker says...
"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
By Dianne Byers The Progress Staff Writer
CURWENSVILLE - Two proposals concerning an ethanol production
facility to be built in the Curwensville presented last month for
borough council members to consider did not receive sponsorship to
move them to the table for action at last night's meeting.
[read The Progress article]
Also....
Read Gant Daily's Report Here!
Watch Video Coverage from WTAJTV
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Sunnyside Ethanol, LLC comes to ask our
Planning Commission to push through their plans based on a
provisional agreement.
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Local Planning
official and contracted Borough engineer stick to their guns.
No local
permits for building or land use can be issued without final plans
approved by the Curwensville Planning Commission, Curwensville
Borough Council and the Curwensville Zoning and Hearing Board.
[more] |
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Citizens for a Clean Curwensville Looks to
Implement the Clearfield County Sunflower Capital Campaign in
2008 |
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An interview with Clearfield County Sunflower Capital
Campaign will air tomorrow night (Tuesday, May 6th) on
WPSU, Pennsylvania Inside Out at 5:30pm.
For more on this year's campaign, videos and
pictures from last year and to get involved, please visit:
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Sunnyside and Volunteer Economic
Development Rep Continue to Receive Open Platform to Promote
Their Agenda Through Local Press |
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Read the Letter NOW |
Citizens for a Clean
Curwensville responds to the latest piece and requests
equal time from The Progress. |
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Public comment at Curwensville Borough
Council..... |
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More Comment at
Curwensville Borough Council Regarding Sunnyside Ethanol
This video speaks for itself. The public comment section
at the beginning is most interesting as two concerned citizens
are talked over while a supporter of the plant is given due
respect and not interrupted. Also, please note the
very end of the meeting video which highlights the submission
of a local clean-air ordinance and a call for more public
meetings. This was done at the end of the meeting during
"new business".
[more] |
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 NEWS
REPORT: "County will strive to keep ethanol jobs local"
Question:
Why should we have to? Weren't we promised this benefit?
Jobs, jobs, jobs...
The mantra was repeated
over and over by Camille "Bud" George (left) and most every
local politician and community leader until almost
everyone bought it. That's almost everyone, mind
you. This recent story makes it a little more clear as
why it might be that Sunnyside isn't returning our emails and
calls for documentation that would detail the jobs they plan
to create here for Curwensville locals. It also
validates our concerns over other promises and steps up the
urgency for our calls for more public meetings on this subject
before we get too deep in like Clearfield is now.
We hate to
say, "I told you so", but....
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Excerpts From the "George Report" |
Bioenergy/Bionol:
Clearfield Technology
Park
Jobs:
250 Construction Jobs
60 full-time jobs
Up to 100 spin-off jobs
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Sunnyside Ethanol:
Former Howes Leather Co.
Tannery in Curwensville
Jobs:
300 Construction Jobs
70 full-time jobs
Up to 700 spin-off jobs |
Wow. Pretty impressive numbers,
eh? Or so we thought...
While we commend the
Commissioners for doing the right thing here, we have to take
a moment to point out what we've been saying all along and
that is we cannot place the well-being of our community in the
hands of outside corporations who are serving their interests
first and foremost.
This issue was raised directly to BioNol back in the fall of
2007 at their public meeting and attempts to hold them
accountable for a commitment at that time were brushed aside
by local government leadership. (video coming).
Also,
recent emails to and from Corrine Young of BioNol
confirmed that the grand promise of hundreds of jobs that
would
create hundreds of local construction jobs was more spin
at worse or misquotes at best. Sure, jobs were created,
for construction companies from outside Clearfield County.
We MUST hold these companies to account and demand that they
live up to the promises being made. Kudos to the
Clearfield County Commissioners for doing this, but the bigger
picture is that they shouldn't have HAD to take this step.
So we see this happening in Clearfield, why is Curwensville's
leadership buying Sunnyside's promises hook, line, sinker and
rod? |
FROM THE PROGRESS
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
By Jeff Corcino Staff Writer
At their meeting yesterday, the Clearfield County
Commissioners voted to send a letter to Gov. Ed Rendell
stating that local workers should be given preferential
treatment for jobs at the new ethanol plant.
Commissioner Mark McCracken said he has some concerns that
although there are local union employees working at the site,
local workers won't be given enough positions when
construction begins in earnest in a few weeks.
Herbert, Rowland and Grubic of State College is the contractor
currently performing the site work, but much of the actual
construction of the plant will be done by Fagen Inc. of
Granite Falls Minn.
"We have
a terrific work force in this area, and it would be a terrible
mistake if it wasn't tapped into," Mr. McCracken said.
Mr.
McCracken made the motion to send a letter to the governor
stating that when local residents are qualified to fill open
positions, they should be given preference over bringing in
someone from outside the area.
All three commissioners voted
in favor of sending the letter.
[read
the local news report]
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How often have you heard "Sure there will
be pollution, but the DEP says it's safe and that's good
enough for me!" |
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Please watch this
video recorded at a public meeting in Clearfield last fall and
listen as the gentleman who permitted both the Clearfield
Plant and the Proposed Curwensville Plant as he explains how
these published "allowable" pollution numbers are NOT based on
"human health standards" directly and that DEP does not
consider "cumulative pollution" effects on projects like this.
Don't stick your head in the sand and wish for the best.
Dig in and find out more so you can fully protect the health
of your family.
[watch video and
read the breakdown] |
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New
Business, Labor Jobs and Without Heavy Pollution. It's
possible... |
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Starting a resource recovery park or a reuse/salvage industry
is a viable option for many communities looking to attract
investment and create jobs in their areas. ReCycle North
started in 1991 with a budget of just $1,000 and a staff of
one paid employee. The first year, they netted $77,000 in
sales of reused materials. Since their inception, they have
grown by over 25% each year. In 2007, they have a budget of
roughly $2.5 million and employ 46 people.
Learn More About This
Innovative Project and About the Deconstruction Industry >>>>
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Locals Address Curwensville Borough
Council-Curwensville Development Corporation VP Given Floor
Over Waiting Concerned Citizen
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Another clear
illustration as to why we need to have a fair, honest, open
debate that fully represents all sides of this contentious
issue. This video shows what we face in regards to
public discourse here in Curwensville and how it is slanted
toward those who are pro-plant and have been entrenched in
local development and government for decades. It further
illustrates the need for new leadership and fresh, new ideas...
Please
watch this video to the right recorded at the March 10th, 2008
Curwensville Borough Council Meeting. There are several
interesting things to take note of here as you watch...
WATCH VIDEO
IN BIGGER FORMAT HERE
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Curwensville
Borough Council Member asks School Board to Reconsider Their
Position on the Sunnyside Ethanol Project |
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Spring 2006 The Curwensville Area School Board Listened to
Sunnyside Ethanol's 2 Hour Presentation Regarding Their
Project.... Local Concerned Parent/Councilman Given
5 Minutes.
Please
watch this video recorded at the March 17th, 2008 at
the Curwensville
School Board Meeting for a short presentation by a concerned
local.
WATCH VIDEO
IN BIGGER FORMAT HERE |
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So we don't
have any other options, do we? |
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Pick
your future, Curwensville.
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We can respect our past
and our future at the same time. In today's day and age,
technologies are available to small rural communities that
allow us to build economies based on entire new models.
Cleaner models. Combining this sort of focus with some old
fashioned community-centered initiatives can be bring people
out from behind their TVs and into their communities to work
together to build business and opportunity. We don't
have to settle for dirty industry. It's time we think
better of ourselves and raise our standards and get leadership
in place that will do the same.
Learn more about what other communities are doing to build
economy and community while protecting their environment and
health.
[more] |
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Why We Need A New Round of Open,
Honest and Truly Balanced Public Meetings on Sunnyside and Our
Officials Should Support It |
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Sunnyside's side reported on by the local TV news, concerned
citizen opposition not.
Please
watch this video recorded at the March 10th, 2008 Curwensville
Borough Council Meeting. This is the first portion of
the meeting and features Rick DeCesar and Eric Wallace of
Sunnyside Ethanol, LLC (mother company Consus) discussing
their project and offering updates to Council. The
meeting then continues into public comment wherein retired
chemistry teacher Malcom Barnes expresses his concerns over
this proposed project.
Please take note of how the reporter from a local TV station
filmed Sunyside's reps speaking then followed them into the
hall where he interviewed them. (off camera) At no time
afterward did the reporter come back into the room to report
on the concerned citizen's comments or to learn more about
opposing viewpoints from concerned Council Member Ettaro who
actually called the station to let them know of the meeting in
the first place. A lengthy debate ensued and the
reporter caught none of it.
Why was only Sunnyside's side presented to the public by this
station and an informed concerned citizen not? This
situation illustrates the need for a truly-balanced open
public debate which offers both sides of the issue.
Borough Council should sponsor and support such an effort to
encourage honest, open and well-balanced information to the
public on this and all issues of great public concern.
WATCH VIDEO NOW |
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Breaking it Down... Computer
Deconstruction is a Valid Direction... |
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To
lessen the eco-impact of e-waste, computers are being taken
apart bit by bit and their parts shipped around the globe to
buyers. What's left, circuit boards, housings,
clips, screws and small metal parts are eventually rendered
into fiberglass, metal, gold and mixed resins among other
products.
This budding new industry, heavily reliant on manual labor, works like an assembly line in
reverse and would be a great fit for Curwensville!
WATCH
THIS DYNAMIC INTERACTIVE REPORT FROM FLYP MEDIA IN NEW YORK
CITY! Flip through the e-magazine's March Issue
to Page 25 to see how it's done!
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Okay, okay so you took a bullet in the war and survived.
Does that mean you would welcome getting shot again? |
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As you listen to people tell you that we
shouldn't be concerned about the
pollution that the proposed
Sunnyside Ethanol Plant will bring
because "It can't be
any worse than the tannery..." just remember this quote from one of
mankind's greatest thinkers:
[more] |
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We've only truly just begun to tap
the potential of our greatest natural resource... the
clean outdoors! Let's not go backwards now... |
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Why should we as a community pursue dirty industries that will
undo the investment we've put into a clean economic base that
builds on our natural resources and beauty? We don't have
to, we're not that desperate.
We can continue down the
path we're currently on and succeed. How do we take
full advantage of our clean resources and continue to promote clean
economic development such as tourism? Simple... we
tell the stories of success! Read this wonderful article
written by a runner who took in the incredible
Clearfield-Grampian Rails to Tails and told the world about
it! [more] |
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A 300 foot smokestack,
pollutants including heavy metals, dioxin and much more along
with over 3 million gallons of stored gasoline, ethanol and
chemicals right smack in the middle of town & next to our
school... |
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Sure, let's
put a pollution-belching waste-coal-burning powerplant and
ethanol facility that stores millions of gallons of gasoline,
ethanol and chemicals right next to our school.
Why not?
Well, can think of more than a few reasons...
Why we even should
have to debate this is a story in and of itself but for now, please
read the fact sheet on the biofuels industry and
some things to think about regarding the proposed
Sunnyside plant.
The information posted here is a little less warm and fuzzy
by nature, but let's
face the facts, it's reality and if our leadership continues to
steer our community toward this type of industry, this is what we
better understand to be welcoming right into our homes. We
will be exploring this topic in much more detail in the coming
weeks but this is a good starting point.
[more]
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We've already invested enormous sums of money to promote
Clearfield County Tourism and our crown jewel, Cuwensville
Lake. In order to see the fruits of our investment, we
must stay committed and not take on projects that will undo
what has been done. |
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Tourism can play a major role in
our building a cleaner tomorrow and an economy that is vibrant
and healthy. Want
to learn more about the reasons why we should continue to
develop Curwensville into a thriving tourism economy?
[more] |
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