It seems the billion-dollar industrial wind turbine industry is running scared. Knowing that turbines are extremely unpopular in the county and that the facts simply don’t support their construction, wind supporters have turned to a tactic of confusing the voters in our community. Recently they began telling Crawford County voters that our property rights would somehow be affected with the passage of Issue 4. This is a sick and desperate manipulation of the truth. One recent mailing by a pro-turbine political action committee makes an obvious attempt to scare residents with an ominous headline which reads “government wants control of your land”. Ridiculous!

Let’s be clear… Last year a state law was passed after years of growing concerns by Ohio residents about the devastating effects turbines are having on small towns. Prior to the new law, an unelected board of bureaucrats in Columbus made all decisions about where wind turbines could be built. The new law, known as Senate Bill 52, allows commissioners to declare their counties “restricted zones” prohibiting the construction of industrial wind projects. Many counties (including Seneca County, next door) quickly pounced on the opportunity to shield their residents from being forced to live in the shadows of a turbine facility. Earlier this year, our own county commissioners also declared this county a restricted zone. The wise move returns decisions about turbine placement to the local level.

Under the new rules, individual landowners are still free to erect turbines, install solar panels, and continue doing whatever they did on their land before the restricted zone was declared.

The declaration of a restricted zone is very specific: it limits the construction of large industrial turbine projects that connect to the power grid. Such enormous turbine facilities are neither residential nor agricultural, and they certainly do not belong sandwiched between the thousands of homes here in Crawford County.

It is critical that everyone support Issue 4 to protect their homes and their property rights from an invasion by mega corporations and government bureaucrats. If Issue 4 is not approved, we will return to the exact same point where the county found itself a year ago, meaning we will be at the mercy of state government (and all of its dysfunction) to approve turbine locations wherever it so chooses.

Stand for your property rights! Vote YES to approve Issue 4! Vote as if your family’s future depends on it—because it does!

Bob Sostakowski

Auburn Township

Crawford County