Here is the incident du jour: Natural gas fire under control
Here is latest entry to About: I live in the Frances Slocum State Park area, but have been to Moon Lake many times. Anyplace where people can run, play, hike, swim, camp, learn, bike, and socialize reverberates through life like an endless smile. The gas it will be sacrificed for, will give but a few people its’ neon pleasure and leave the rest of us in debt and diminished. As far as the County is concerned, mismanagement begets mismanagement. It is like a lie.
At Gort42: Gort is a respected area blogger . (I suspect his real identity is 24 Torg.) Today/yesterday he wrote a post which was titled and about Moon Lake. A commenter on the post suggested that “the Commissioners consider selling the naming rights to the Park just as was done with the Arena.” Whether he was serious or tongue-in -cheek, his proposal got me to thinking…
Perhaps EnCanaLand or CabotPatch. There could be rides like the Drill Rigger,the Thumper Truck Junior, the Endocrine Disruptor, and the Radioactive Mud Slide. Kids could buy Candy Apple Hardhats. The pool would have special undisclosed chemicals. The grounds crew would pick up spills only if they were in plain sight. And of course, no venue would be complete without the fire breathing water fountains…
Public Meeting a Success!:
One hundred and ten people attended the education and awareness meeting sponsored by the GDAC (Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition). The Citizen’s Voice, Times Leader, and WNEP were there. State Senator Lisa Baker and State Representative Karen Boback were in attendance throughout the two hour meeting and spoke impromptu to the audience. (they both seem to be earnest and open but since I was the MC, I was unable to pay full attention to their remarks since I was in and out of the forum.) Also present was David Madiera who is the Republican primary candidate in the 10th Congressional District (Democrat Chris Carney’s seat). We spent a lively time afterward, in the parking lot with several others, debating and getting to know one another.
Vera Scroggins of Kingsley, PA spoke in front of a backdrop of original footage from Dimock shot by Audrey Simpson. She has been an outspoken champion of a saner humanscale approach by calling for an environmental impact study and a moratorium until said study is complete. She stirred the audience into resounding applause.
The evening began with a welcome by Pastor Earl Roberts who opened his facility to the public. The United Methodists are called to take environmental stewardship very seriously. Then Leanne Mazurick of GDAC presented the film Rural Impact . This film covered it all: increased crime, decreased property values, trashed unsafe roads, sick air, carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, environmental degradation, noise, corporate irresponsibility, on and on…
Also speaking was John Nowak of Sweet Valley, an owner of thirty acres refusing to sign. He presented his research on the actual employment impact of the “Gas Play”. Most jobs will be, and already are, for outsiders and extrapolated over time will net a pittance of actual full time jobs to locals.
Then Tom Jiunta (founder of Luzerne County Citizens for Clean Water) spoke about the various legislative, ordinance, and petition initiatives in progress. He then fielded questions from the audience. (Tom knows his stuff.) There was lively, honest, and spirited discussion and testimony.
Afterward there was coffee, more discussion, and petition signing/recruitment in the adjacent reception area. I spoke to an eighty-five year young man who was intending to move to his daughter’s home in Bethlehem. His local home was under contract to be sold but the offer was dropped once the prospective buyer found out the neighboring property was large and under lease. It was the first this man had known of it. Now he is stuck.
The realities are beginning to emerge.
Muchas Gracias to Cindy, Jeanette, Karen, and Leanne for organizing this meeting.
Later, standing in the evening air gazing at the big orange moon, I wondered about the naming rights to it…
Here is a more detailed coverage:
Citizen’s Voice – Natural Gas Meeting Draws Big Crowd
Here is television coverage:
WNEP – Residents in Luzerne County React to Gas Drilling
Posted by qazse 
Frack Mountain 
