EDITOR:

I would like to address the recent comment that was in the Editor part of the Aug. 27, 2019, paper. Where do they get their facts from?

Contaminated drinking water — we already have acid rain without any solar panels. Farmers have been putting fertilizer and pesticides on their fields for years and no one ever complained about the drinking water and now some of the farmers can’t even afford to put fertilizer on their fields.

The solar company has already offered to reduce the noise level from 60 decibels to 45 decibels- Again the people never complained when our farmers had to combine the corn, till the fields, or plant their crops with their huge tractors all hours of the day and into the night. After awhile you get use to hearing those sounds and tune them out. But my dog will let me know when the tractors are around.

Fire Hazards — how about old barns full of old hay that the farmers could not sell because of everyone else growing the same thing to try and make ends meet? Maybe Orion can train our own fire department on how to respond to a fire within the panels. Being better prepared.

Wildlife — We all know that no matter what you do to keep them out, they find a way in or they change their path. Most of the wildlife that live in Flat Rock are adaptable.

Most of our local farmers are getting up there in age and there is no one to pass the family farm down to.

Then along came Orion Energy and gave the farmers hope. If you look around, the so called landscape has become weed-filled fields because the farmers don’t have the income to keep them going.

Let’s show some support for our farmers and let them use, their land for promoting clean and reusable energy.

Please educate yourselves before making a decision and please educate yourself prior to writing to the editor. The comments made were full of what could possibly happen and that plans were happening behind close doors. The meetings were and still are being posted on the website and at the town hall. The best thing to do is get involved, be informed, keep an open mind.

I would like to end with no one mentioned any of the positive issues that would be created by having this company put a solar farm in our area. It will create 200 jobs while it’s being installed, tax revenue, the local businesses (hotels, motels, restaurants, gas stations, and our own little grocery stores). While other towns in Upper Peninsula are slowly dying, we have an opportunity to help our environment with clean and reusable energy.

Patty Lancour

Gladstone