On Friday, Mr. Todd Cammarata’s TAHS tenth grade U.S. Civics classes and other invited students heard a presentation from Juniata Valley Audubon Society Conservation Chairperson Dr. Stan Kotala on the cons of wind power development on Ice Mountain. Earlier in the week, the students heard a presentation from Gamesa Project Developer Josh Framel on the pros of wind power. The speeches are part of a class project Cammarata’s students are participating in to offer their opinion on whether or not a wind farm would be beneficial to Tyrone Borough, Ice Mountain, and its surrounding residents. The borough’s proposed 10 to 15 turbine wind farm is on its watershed property and is a part of the proposed Sandy Ridge Wind Farm project. Tyrone’s project could generate the borough between $3 to $5 million over the 30-year life of the project, but some people are concerned that the industrial sized turbines and the wind farm’s construction could have negative environmental effects on the watershed property. The actual amount of electricity that would be generated from a wind farm at the location has also been questioned. (The Daily Herald/Kris Yaniello)
