Dear Richland County Residents:
I am a grandmother who believes in freedom and science. I want to leave a better world behind for my children, grandchildren and generations to come. I have lived in Richland County my entire life as did my parents, grandparents and great grandparents.
My husband and I reared a family of three children in Mansfield, Ohio. We have seven grandchildren with another on the way. I spent 40 years working in healthcare administration in two large private practice settings.
When I first heard that the Richland County Commissioners were going to vote on whether to allow large wind and solar projects in Richland County, I thought OK, that could be a good thing.
We could help harness energy from the sun and the wind to help with the increasing energy demand. We could help lessen extreme heat, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and wildfires by utilizing clean energy. We could lower energy costs by converting what’s above us and readily available rather than dig for what’s below us where supply is diminishing.
When I started gathering more information to educate myself, I found that some farmers chose to lease their land for large solar projects to provide a steady income that enabled them to keep their farm and fund their retirement.
I found that good paying jobs could be created by building solar panels and installing and maintaining solar fields. I found that communities and schools near the leased land could receive much needed monetary benefits.
I found that there is experimentation with growing crops and grazing animals under and between solar panels. I found that there are ongoing technological advancements in solar science that includes returning farm land to farm land and recycling solar panels that have been in service for 20-30 years.
But, the Richland County Commissioners voted to BAN large wind and solar projects in 11 out of 18 townships in Richland County.
Landowners private property rights were taken away.
The door was closed before we even had a project proposed. Proposed projects would no longer be reviewed on a case by case basis. I left that meeting feeling that a nail had been hammered in the coffin.
I worked at Westinghouse in 1974-1975 when White Consolidated Industries bought the company. I was quickly laid off. I saw many layoffs and buyouts for early retirements.
White Consolidated finally closed the factory. The closures of Mansfield Tire, Tappan, Ohio Brass and General Motors followed. Many businesses closed that supported the local factories.
We became the rust belt factory, job loss town. White and blue collar job losses were enormous. Many friends and relatives moved away.
There have been some successes to create new jobs but many of our children had to move away or commute long distances to find good paying jobs.
The prospect of large solar projects creating new good paying jobs gives a glimmer of hope.
The potential of an influx of new revenue that could benefit our landowners, schools and residents gives a glimmer of hope. New jobs and revenue would help ongoing efforts to rejuvenate our communities.
I hope you will support private property rights and protect our freedom. I hope you will
support clean energy and promote science. I hope your support will create new jobs and
revenue for Richland County.
I hope you will VOTE NO BAN ON PROPERTY RIGHTS ON MAY 5.
Dorinda Strang
Mansfield, Ohio