To the Editor:

 

Show a 4-year old pictures of a wheat field, a farmhouse, the Highwoods and an industrial park with a coal-fired power plant and ask her which one doesn’t belong.  If changing one parcel of land located in a hundred square miles of farmland to heavy industrial isn’t spot zoning, what the hell is?  Thank-you Peggy Beltrone for showing common sense and courage in voting no.

 

This is not just about a coal plant.  Once that zone change goes through, it opens the door for all heavy industrial operations.  What a slap in the face to the land owners in that area.  How could the commissions say yes to a company that has no ties or history in this area and NO to families that have lived on and worked this land for generations?  What a slap in the face to Great Falls .  Lewis and Clark brings in millions of dollars in federal funding, grants, donations and tourist dollars.  We trusted you Lance Olson and Joe Briggs to listen to our voices and protect our children and our way of life.

 

You said you voted for the zone change because the planning board recommended it.  One of the members of the board, who stated he would have voted no, was not allowed to vote because he was in the hospital and couldn’t see the faces of the people testifying.  What a crock!  Can you imagine what would happen if a blind person was told they couldn’t sit on the board and vote because they couldn’t see people’s faces?

 

Carol Fisher