As a recent visitor to Kincardine, I was appalled at the turbine cancer cells that infest every delightful hill and dale. This is an outrage against civilization. Everywhere I looked my eyes were agitated by, and fixated on, those huge money making machines.

They produce energy that we do not need, and that we cannot afford. The Samsung venture to invest $6-billion in building wind farms is the greatest financial hoax of the century. Samsung will want that money back sometime, plus significant profit. The Ontario taxpayer will, eventually, pay about $9-billion to create an energy excess which we then give away to any non-Ontarian.

I would like to communicate to my community what happened earlier this month with respect to electricity and pricing. The WCO (Wind Concerns Ontario) reported on May 13 that Ontario’s electricity ratepayers had a $10-million hangover caused by first-to-the-grid rights for wind power under the Green Energy and Economy Act.

There media release included figures from the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) recording wind power generation in Ontario from 7 p.m. on Friday May 10 (off-peak rates kick in for the weekend) through to midnight Sunday, May 12 show that wind produced 58,165 megawatt hours (MWh) and beat their old hourly production record several times.

My comments today are about a tourist booth on the main street.

We moved here in 1964 - 49 years ago - and the tourist booth has been moved many times: the main street, out between Esso and McDonalds, then it was to be a $2-million Taj Mahal out on the highway! If this had gone through, the taxpayers would have been on the hook for six million dollars.

The one on the highway now is convenient for trailers, etcetera that are driving through. We have been in every U.S. state but five, and across Canada from Newfoundland to B.C. We never go into a town unless it is to eat, and we always look for a tourist booth along the main highways that is convenient.

I think every Canadian should have to go through the process of becoming a Canadian; basically a rite of passage for all of us. In the process of becoming a Canadian citizen an immigrant learns that it is the “responsibility of every Canadian citizen to play a part in avoiding waste and pollution while protecting Canada's natural, cultural and architectural heritage for future generations.”

I wonder how many born Canadians know about this very important responsibility every Canadian has? I also wonder how many Canadians know how undemocratic our political system is; certainly when we look at power generation. The first very important step is that we, the people, have to demand (not ask but demand) full disclosure for all electricity generation sources in the province. We have that for renewable, but not for nuclear and gas.

To the person who regularly travels along the south side of Concession 5, between the municipal offices and Highway 21:

The Knights of Columbus regularly clean and pick up debris on this concession. On Sunday, the team collected 35 Smirnoff bottles that were discarded along the ditch. If you find it necessary to consume this beverage, please consider the environment and others and dispose of your empties at the Beer Store or the recycling depot.

Sincerely,

Grace & Peter Morris

In recent news stories in Kincardine and Hanover complaints are arising around power interruptions, outages, brownouts and general concerns around maintenance and response times.

Taxpayers may not be aware that the line staff at Westario Power Inc. has been cut by 50 per cent, which I’m sure is not reflected on your monthly billing statements. Ms. Milne, the president and CEO, is more concerned about billing and monitoring staff than she is about service and maintenance of the hydro electric system.

Taxpayers and owners of the system should be asking about the minimal line staff that has to cover a significant geographical area with 50 per cent less staff. Profit over customer service is the priority at Westario Power Inc.

Yes, I made a mistake.

The road improvements mentioned in the April 3 edition,  which I stated as County Road 1 and Highway 21 should have read Highway 9. County Road 1 is the road that runs between Paisley, Glammis and Lucknow.

I am sorry for the confusion to some of your readers. As for the reconstruction, as some would say, who cares, it is only money!

Glenn Hedley

I was surprised to see the warning to keep letters to the editor brief and to the point! Three hundred words or less is best apparently. I personally buy the paper to see local issues and public opinion and go directly to the letters to the editor to see who is taking issue with whom or what.

I heard the town council once note that in order for them to know the needs and concerns of the community, they rely on the letters in the local paper. I have put several letters in the paper on local issues of concern to me and I don’t think I ramble. I hope I don’t; I think if I rambled, someone would tell me?