Staying on the line

· Only a handful of residents turned out to the MacKenzie Elementary School and the Sullivan West High School to see and hear an informational presentation from Sullivan County planning commissioner Dr. Bill Pammer and county chairman Chris Cunningham. The program was staged at the media lab at BOCES in Liberty, NY and the three locations were connected by the internet. The program was also broadcast on the local public radio station, WJFF. Cunningham said the low turnout was probably due to the fact that most residents had already made up their minds on the power line and are against it.

· Another grassroots group is forming to fight the power lines. The group has not yet chosen a name, but includes members from a half-dozen grassroots groups including the Upper Delaware Preservation Coalition from the Upper Delaware Valley, Stop the Power Lines from Lordville, NY, Stop NYRI from Chenango County, NY, Say No 2 NYRI from Otisville, NY, and Stop NYRI.com from Cochecton, NY. The group also includes representatives from the Chenango County Farm Bureau and the Upper Delaware Council. Troy Bystrom, the chairman of the group, said its purpose is to support the efforts of Communities Against Regional Interconnection (CARI), which is made up of elected politicians and members of some of the same grassroots groups.

·New York senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer last week toughened their positions on the NYRI power line project. Clinton urged the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to reject the application of NYRI to be designated as a National Interest Electricity Transmission Corridor (NIETC), which might allow the company to bypass state regulations in building the proposed power lines. Addressing the same issue, Schumer said, “The DOE should slam the door shut on NYRI’s efforts to avoid the public and thorough state process.”