Dear friends, neighbors, and Crawford County Commissioners,
We are writing to you as lifelong members of the Crawford County community. Over the last few months, we have seen our community become a place that we do not recognize, and on behalf of our kids and grandkids, we are asking everyone to take a moment to remember who we are.
Growing up here, we remember this community as a place where people took care of each other, a place where folks took the time to listen to each other and took pride in our “live and let live” lifestyle. No matter whether we agreed with each other or not, when we saw each other at church or the high school football game, we were friends. But the community we see around us right now is unrecognizable. We see finger-pointing, demonization, aggression, and attacks. We see neighbors bullying neighbors, and we know several folks who have become too afraid to speak their minds. We ourselves have experienced unfair threats and accusations, and our family members are among those who are feeling bullied in their own community.
We, and the many other Honey Creek Wind landowners, clearly disagree with some folks here about whether a wind farm would be good for Crawford County. And we know many who disagree with us feel very strongly about this. But our community should be a place where we can talk about issues like these with civility and kindness and understanding. There are many of us who think this kind of project would bring good things to our schools and kids, our farmers and their families, and the county as a whole. Our support for this project comes from caring about this place and its future, and we believe those who oppose the project care about these things too.
So please. Let’s stop the bullying and attacks and name-calling. Let’s quit the petty rudeness and fearmongering. Let’s honor each other and make it our duty to make sure that all of our residents feel safe to share their thoughts and opinions. Our county commissioners can’t make good decisions for our communities if many of us feel too uncomfortable or afraid to share our thoughts.
And to our county commissioners: please know that there are many among us who don’t feel they can speak their minds about wind farms, because they fear for their comfort and safety in their own community. Please do not forget about us, and please do whatever you can to make us, and our families, feel safe and heard while participating in this conversation.
Please, let’s make Crawford County neighborly again.
David Crum
Bucyrus, OH
Nathan Brause
Sulpher Springs, OH