Letter to the editor or whatever this has morphed into

Wynne (Wind) Turbine Blues April 16, 2016

Dear Editor,
This letter would make a good country song. There is a song playing on the radio
presently with the line: madder than a hornet in an old coke can . That line perfectly
describes what my neighbours and I feel on a daily basis as we attempt to carry out our
daily chores on Canborough Road in Wellandport.
Underground Transmission Line Notices from Niagara Wind Farm
For months we got notices about the up coming road closures due to the installation of
Underground Transmission Lines. Imagine our surprise when we came home one day
to what I call the Mega Poles on the street. The phone lines were working and buzzing
that night. Of all the neighbours that called only one knew anything about the poles. Im
not sure what memo the rest of us missed, but these ugly monstrosities now line our
street, ready for the multiple high voltage power lines that will soon be buzzing directly
over our heads.
Neighbours on the other side of the bend have been dealing with underground as well
as Mega pole transmission lines. One neighbour right on the bend is mired in mud and
heavy equipment is always running less than 50 metres from their home on Baldwin
Road which is a huge mud pit. The road as it was no longer exists. The field on the East
side of that home has been ravaged by the Niagara Wind Farms construction crews
putting in the underground lines, they took it upon themselves to use the hay field as their
own personal roadway causing great damage. They destroyed the tile drainage which has
caused water to pond in the field and they destroyed a little bridge down the road so that
the farmer no longer has access to his back field. Spring planting time is almost here.
This farmer and others on the street are going to be hard pressed to get their crops in with
all the disruptions on the road. It is not as if they can back up their farm equipment like
they have us turn our cars around. Other neighbours have had their driveway dug up. The
first time they were informed and made the arrangements necessary. They were not told
subsequent times. The construction crew just came and dug it up leaving them house
bound. They too have a flooded field because their ditches have been blocked, culverts
have been removed to install the mega poles and not replaced. Culverts are an integral
part of the drainage here. They allow water to drain away. At present numerous fields are
saturated and look more like ponds than fields. No planting can be done there.
Now, if you are lucky enough to have not seen one of these poles picture a shiny silver
pole large enough to place 5 ordinary telephone poles in the base and twice as high with 3
of the biggest pulleys you have ever seen.
Travel
We are SO tired of being late for everything we do. If you do not plan on leaving at least
30 minutes earlier than we used to, we are guaranteed a late arrival to our destinations. As
the Mega Poles are installed traffic stops as you are not allowed to drive past the crane

while it has a suspended load. Each pole has 2 parts so that even if the road is not closed
we have had lots of time to sit and think as these poles have been erected. Then we have
actual road closures, which are different. We have had our road closed at one or the other,
or at both ends for months now. Friday April 15 again- both ends were closed. This is
not the first time residents have been either locked in, or out of the street. We now get
notices in our mailboxes telling us where the road will be closed for the week. This helps
as this yo-yoing from one end to the other is maddening. Clearly however, no one gives
the crews the notices we get, I drove to the designated side for this week and was told it
was closed. I was then told the other end should be opened in an hour! Luckily the
closure this time was the west side of Krick Road and it was possible to get around. Often
we hit detours on our detours and a simple trip to a neighbour down the road requires a
minimum 18km trip, often more. We have taken to texting each other to keep updated so
we all dont end up at the wrong end of the street and have to go all the way around. The
most annoying of all of this is when we come across the road blocked with pylons, or
heavy equipment and no one working. Why? Our life is disrupted enough, if you are not
working and the road is passable why block it. Clearly we need to either get in or out of
the construction zone. No one goes anywhere at present if we dont have to. I hate to
think what we all have spent on the extra gasoline needed due to these closures and
detours. (Nothing green about our fuel consumption due to this project) As to the state of
the road: Canborough Road was bad before, now as you drive west on Canborough Rd
your passenger side tires are about a foot lower than your driver side tires.
( Lay persons take- Looks like they repaved over a trench without putting down gravel,)
It is an accident waiting to happen. Krick Road, Elcho and all the other side roads are
taking a great beating. They were never made for the heavy equipment , nor for all the
detoured traffic. These side roads are in poor shape.
If you are travelling our way this week dont- we are to be closed at both end yet
again.
Special thanks to our Canada Post mail lady Maureen Stapleton who can be
seen zigzagging through detour after detour to get us mail most days. We have likewise
been very blessed with our garbage and recycling trucks, not sure if they are starting
early to avoid the closures but we have had pick up each week. Thanks to those drivers
and to the school bus drivers who have done far more than could be expected during
all this. I doubt any of these dedicated drivers get paid extra for their trouble.
As to service vehicles and deliveries, after being told the street is closed on one end and
driving to the other end and being told it is closed there too they usually go back to home
base ( who can blame them) and we get a phone call saying we are not accessible.
We finally saw a local paper last week for the first time in months and there in its
pages were notices of closures on other streets we use as detours. Helpful information,
that we have sadly been missing.
Phone lines cut -Bell Canada
On the morning of Friday February 19th the Bell line was severed by the turbine
construction crew working for Niagara Wind Farm. It was reported to Bell
immediately. Bell did not come out to repair the line until late Monday February 23rd
leaving neighbours without phone and internet service for the duration. It has made us all
think. If Bell cant be bothered to send a crew out to fix our line for 3 days, they clearly

think we can do without their services. Perhaps we all need to rethink. We all managed
without our landline phones and I am sure we could get internet from another provider.
Hydro, Niagara Peninsula Energy
On Saturday March 5th our power was turned off. We were to later discover we were
switched to another line as the Niagara Wind Farm requested. On that day my
neighbours microwave and my generator stopped working. (We live across the road
from each other and appear to share a hydro line.) We then had a period of time when the
voltage was at least as low as 104 volts and we were unable to use microwaves, hair
driersas they just whined as they tried to get enough power. We had hydro trucks out in
the night, lights flashing and lighting up the neighourhood. Late night neighbourhood get
togethers to discuss our hydro problems with the work crew under the light show. The
crews could do nothing for us. Bottom line of all this was we were switched to the end of
a different line and there was not enough power for us. We were in constant brown outs
for days. We were told to let hydro know of any problems we were having because of this
issue and it would be dealt with, keep your bills. My neighbour and I got letters back
from a Claim Adjuster from The Mearie Group re Niagara Peninsula Energy. This
woman never contacted us to discuss our claim. My letter was clearly a form letter that
was used and it was not completely copied as part of a sentence at least is missing.
Without speaking to me she writes that It would therefore appear that the failure of your
equipment was only coincidental with the interruption and restoration of power rather
than being caused by it. Some coincidence, my neighbour across the street has her
microwave stop working the same time my back up generator stopped working. So far I
have had to replace the voltage regulator and control panel on the generator as well as the
battery, the electrician was here for an hour April 6th working on the electrical panel in
the house. It would be interesting to find out how many more coincidences hydro is
dealing with from this line switch. I have since learned another neighbour has been
unable to use the all cycles on her washing machine since this low voltage period.
Another neighbour writes: Now for the hydro being shut off. We operate a dairy farm
and poultry farm. Without any notice the power went off which screwed up, our
computers in both barns. They go on to say that thankfully no real damage was done this
time.
We currently have 120 volts so on one of the subsequent frequent power outages we
have clearly either been switched back to our original line or been switched to yet another
line. Notice of power outages or disruptions would be helpful.

Trees
Where is the Lorax when you need him. This project is anything but green. I was told
that 6000 trees were cut down in West Lincoln to accommodate these Mega poles
That number seems very low to me. I travelled the roads looking at all the green tape
marking trees to be cut. At least one of these trees was not marked. The neighbour was
very upset when they called me to tell me they came home to find the Niagara Wind
Farm had the 100 year old chestnut tree on their sons property, not road allowance, cut

down. The tree had been planted by their grandfather. This historic tree had been
documented by a local historian as several others were planted in the area at the same
time. What a loss. One hundred year old trees can not be replaced no matter how many
sapling they give you.

Conclusion,
Although we are heart broken over this whole issue, we know we can not change what
is happening around us. The discourtesy and lack of respect shown to residents from all
sides is appalling. Niagara Wind Farms letters in the mail boxes to inform us of road
closures is a huge step forward, but please make sure your crew have read the memos too.
Niagara Peninsula Energy, my neighbour and I are still waiting to be contacted. A
poorly cut and pasted form letter does not constitute someone getting in touch with us.
At least have the courtesy to have someone call to get facts before ignoring our claim.
When you are going to turn off our power, please let us know. Someone has to know this
is going to happen. It would be helpful information for us to have. Bell, if your lines are
out- come fix them , no one else waits days for you to reconnect them. We do not ask
for much, just some respect.
Canborough Road Association of Neighbours (CAN) April17, 2016
as in madder than a hornet in an old coke CAN
Norrie Franko 905 386 1490
Jennifer and Harold Bethlehem 905 386 0233
Bernie and Margaret Cheynowski 905 386 6409
Gail and Alan Gouk 647 692 5607
Archie and Nancy Huizinga 905 386 6772
Ann and Dave Larocque 905 386 6850
Stan and Lyn Niewiadomski 905 719 0068
Sue and Doug Tallon 905 386 7401
Willie and Laura Tallon 905 386 1923
Catharine and Norm Vaughan 905 386 6878
Scott and Ria Bos 905 386 1656
Norrie Franko 5882 Canborough Rd nfranko@vaxxine.com
905 386 1490