Tell It To George is a collection of thoughts from here and away, from people who want to get their two cents worth in, without using their names.

Wiscasset selectman Duane Goud was asked recently why the "Public Comment" section was moved to the end of the agenda. He said it's been moved around a lot. Wow, that's a really responsive answer from our elected official isn't it. You can tell he was real concerned about it…

A few weeks later he was asked why it got taken off the agenda altogether, and he said it's at his discretion.

As Jolly John would say, "Wrongo!" The selectmen's rules and procedures say, "At each selectmen's meeting there will be time devoted to any resident taxpayer, or in the case of an organization, an authorized representative of a resident or taxpayer of the town of Wiscasset to address the selectmen regarding any item that is not on the agenda for that meeting. Comments will be limited to five minutes per person. There will be a 30-minute maximum for this section."

The selectmen spent a lot of time coming up with these rules and they should follow them!

The recent survey sent to Westport Island citizens asks the following question:.  "Are you fearful of a backlash from Wiscasset if we are too oppositional to this project?" (The Twin River gasification plant)

I can see the headline in the Wiscasset Newspaper on December 6: "Westport Island Invaded!! Troops Loyal to General Arthur Faucher Stream Across Bridge."

"Wiscasset Naval Forces Surround Island Under Command of Commodore Woody Levitan; Yacht Club a Hub of Activity."

"Air Marshall Jeff Henderfliter Reports 24/7 Leaflet Dropping From Municipal Airport."

"Veteran Reporter Charlotte Boynton Captured Covering Invasion. Uncertain Who Holds Her or Why, but Reported in Good Spirits Eating Red's Lobster Rolls."

"Unconfirmed Reports of Nuclear Weapons Storage at Mason Station."

• On the front,

somewhere on

Westport Island.

What a bunch of weasels. Has anyone else received a harassing phone call from the Back River Alliance? Some woman who said she was calling from Scarborough for the Back River Alliance called me trying to convince me how I should vote on a height ordinance amendment in my own town.

Do I call people in Scarborough and meddle in their business? No!

When I began to ask her specific questions about her position, it was obvious she had no idea what she was talking about. She knew little to nothing about the proposed power plant here in Wiscasset and become very rude and pushy. I immediately knew she was a paid telemarketer.

When I hung up the phone, I went out to get my mail to cool off. In the box was more trash from the Back River Alliance with phony pictures of smoke stacks of God knows what kind of plant, but nothing that's been proposed here from what I can tell. It's fine to debate the issues, but these people are playing dirty and spreading lies. 

It was all over the news last week in the Midwest that the natural gas industry is funding major anti-coal campaigns. Looks like they've hired some people in Scarborough. Sound far fetched? Think again. Twin River is obviously funding their own campaign. Who do you think is funding the anti-coal crusade here in little old Wiscasset?

Those coal plant boys from Connecticut are back in town with their big bucks buying votes and quotes. People I talk to are getting real upset and tired of them. I even got a pamphlet from them saying they won't burn coal. They must think we're fools.

It is time we learn the truth. I found out from a friend who is an engineer with the local electric company that the Dutch Company who developed the coal plant that these guys want to build in Wiscasset, have tabled plans for a similar plant because they cannot handle the pollution it will produce. He also told me that the coal plant would produce more waste in three months than Maine Yankee did in 30 years!

Wiscasset needs lower taxes and jobs, but we also need honest information on the coal plant. The editorial in last week's paper suggesting that Wiscasset be given some time and money to answer questions was right. Voting No on the ordinance change will give all concerned time to learn the truth. After all, if these Connecticut boys get the ordinance change they want without answering our concerns we may be very unhappy with the results...

Expect to see a very long nose on Scott Houldin.  His efforts to twist the truth of what happened at the Chewonki sponsored seminar on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) was stunning in its audacity. Far from looking favorably on the proposed coal plant, the scientists saw no viable opportunity to sequester carbon in Maine due to its geology. The Twin Rivers coal plant has no capability to capture, let alone sequester, 75 percent of the carbon dioxide pollution released.   Dr. Eric Larsen of Princeton University summarized the general consensus:  "Coal without CCS (carbon capture and sequestration) doesn't have a future."  Maybe Scott attended a different seminar!

Now he is showing an "artist's rendition" of the proposed coal plant that looks like a college campus.  Get real.  The 230-foot tall gasification towers, which are actually four times the height of nearby trees, is shown as if they are below the height of the 50-60 foot pines. 

Who does he think he is kidding? Coal gasification power plants really look like refineries.  They even have burning flair towers to burn off excess gases.  How about giving Wiscasset the unvarnished truth for a change?

When you have a little extra time, go over to Point East (the so-called Maritime Village) and tour the $1 million model home. Who in their right mind would spend $1million for that??? Could it be that the model (and the one under construction) is to be used for project manager housing related to the coal plant??

Speaking of housing - why hasn't Joe Cotter started to build his house there??? Could it be (even though Scott Houldin said, "We are not considering unloading coal at the Mason Station AT THIS TIME") that Mason Station is the obvious choice given the existing rail line right to the area of the coal plant?

A monster worse than a dragon

Wiscasset voters were smart enough to overwhelmingly reject the conversion of Mason Station into a Dragon Cement plant with river barges, endless train loads of dirty cement dust and unsightly outdoor stockpiles of other products.

Now we have a similar insatiable coal-eating, excessive water dependent, carbon dioxide-polluting monster to replace Dragon Cement's supposed tax relief project.

Do you really feel comfortable accepting the risk of a carbon monoxide leak, pushing pressurized CO2 into our porous unstable geological substrata and trusting that an underground fault shift won't release it back to the surface?

Many say "trust the permitting process." Right, the same way we trusted permitting process for controlling DDT and other subsequently-determined toxins! What a shame to trade promises for doubtful tax relief.

Better that we spend more time filling the 400-acre technology park with quality uses that don't require a dangerous leap of fate.

With the barrage of information and opinion about all the phases of the Twin River project, it's easy to lose sight of the part a voter is to play in the scheme of things… and especially the vote to be cast next week. Here's a way to stay on focus, or as my uncle used to say K.I.S.S.:

The Environment:  Maine's DEP is one of the strongest in the US.  They're experts.  I'm not.  I know they'll watch out for our environment, so I think I'll let them do their job.

What will I see, hear, and smell?  The selectmen are protecting us here with Contract Zoning.  This means they'll take a hard look at each one of these factors and submit their recommendations to the voters.  In other words, as the "permitting" process unfolds, the voters can decide what they will and will not "permit" in terms of noise, light, and odor.  

Economy considerations:

The Back River Alarmists want us to believe that creating jobs in Wiscasset and increasing demand for homes will devastate home values and tourism. These are smoke screens. Bringing jobs to Wiscasset will pump up our economy and bring back a thriving Route 1, not to mention the favorable effect it will have on our property taxes.  Only the few tourists who stumble on Birch Point Road will even know the new power plant is there.   

Height of the buildings .  This is what the voters need to consider now.  Can I live with a 230-foot tall building peeking out of the tops of the trees as I travel on Birch Point Road?  

The upcoming vote is only about the first dance. We'll get married only after we've looked each other over for a long time and made little decisions to keep dancing.

Send "Tell It To George" entries clearly marked (this way, we won't use your name) for the "Tell It To George" column, by mail at P.O. Box 429, Wiscasset, ME 04578.

Or hand carry them to our office on at 47 Gardiner Road (don't mail them to Gardiner Road, because they will be sent back to you by the post office); just put them in our mailbox right next to the front door.

Or, walk right in and give them to us.

Or, send them to us by E-mail, at wiscassetnewspaper@verizon.net.

Or, fax them to us at 882-4280;

Or, if you're not good at writing, leave us a voice mail on our answering machine after hours, at 207-882-6355 (speak slowly and distinctly). Please make sure your entries a r rive by noon on Tuesday for publ i cation in Thursday's issue.