LETTERS
SEND YOUR VIEWS AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: DON@NANTUCKETINDEPENDENT.COM
A PRAYER AND A WISH, WITH LOVE

To the editor:

Just a note to say thank you to you all for the love and genererosity that you have shown Janie and me. These are my thoughts since it has now been a little over a year now since the death of my wife Jessica. It has been a very tumultuous period for us and we would be remiss if we were not to say how thankful we are that you are all part of our life.

I said before that the moment Jessica passed on, my heart was broken open. There is a saying that goes, "A beautiful woman can open your eyes, an intelligent woman can open your mind . . . then there is the one that opens your heart." Jessica was that to me. My life changed forever that day Jessica passed. It was the worst day of my life only because she brought the best days of my life.

I am a different person now. I smile and laugh a little more than before her death. I have slowed my life down, spending more time with my daughter Janie, family and friends, preparing meals, etc. I have learned to love the calm that these activities have brought in to my life.

Loss has been part of my journey but that journey has shown me a love for which I can be grateful. I was very lucky to experience a love very few people have and most spend their entire life looking for. And this is our prayer and our wish for you all.

Our life together has taught me so much and what I know of love I have Jessica to thank.

A close friend of ours explained to us true love never has a happy ending because true love never ends. Now the love Janie and I share with Jessica is unaffected by time and space. And in that deep love we include you all.

- Greg and Janie Mehringer

ON DRY LAND

To the editor:

I am all for wind power in it's right place. Put it on dry land. Anything waterborne raises the cost of maintenance 70 to 80 percent. Put it in America. Keep healthy.

- John McLaughlin

TURKINGTON BOWS OUT

To the editor:

At the end of my current term, in January 2009, it will have been my privilege to represent the people of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, the Elizabeth Islands and Falmouth (and, for a time, Barnstable and Yarmouth) in the state legislature for twenty years.

Getting to know you, the people of these special places, working with you, and for you, to make our communities better places, making your needs and interests known and heard on Beacon Hill, has been the most satisfying and rewarding occupation anyone could ask for.

I thank every one of you for your support, your help, and your friendship over those years. I am most grateful for the opportunity you have given me.

I recently read a quote from Thomas Jefferson: "There is a fullness of time when men should go, and not occupy too long the ground to which others have the right to advance."

For me, twenty years feels about right. So in the interest of giving others who might want to fill this seat time to consider it, I want to let it be known now that I will not be seeking re-election as the Barnstable Dukes and Nantucket state representative.

Instead, I will be a candidate for Register of Probate in Barnstable County. It offers the opportunity to use my legal education and experience in a new way, with the goal of helping to provide an easier experience for people who have to bring their family matters to the probate court.

But for the next 10 months, until January 7, 2009, I will still be your representative, available by mail (State House Room 195, Boston Mass. 02133-1054), email (Rep.Ericturkington@hou.state.ma.us), fax (617- 722-2160) or phone (617-722-2015) in Boston or in Falmouth (508-540-4854). As always, please feel free to contact me with your opinions and your concerns.

- Eric Turkington COMPUTING WIND COSTS

To the editor:

The opposition to the Cape Wind Energy Project is claiming that the project will increase our electric bills by up to 300 percent. This is just not true and here is why: over the last 10 years in Europe electricity production from wind has increased by an average of 30 percent per year. If wind turbines were uneconomical then this rate of growth could not have been sustained. Back here in the U.S.A. 30 percent of new electricity generating capacity installed in 2007 were wind turbines. If wind turbines were uneconomical this market share could not have been achieved.

Any merchant power plant, including Cape Wind, must sell its power into a competitive market. There are two ways to sell into this wholesale market. One is to make an often confidential and negotiated "power purchase agreement" with a retail distributor such as National Grid or NStar over a fixed period of time for some or all of its generated power. Retail distributors compete for retail customers like you and me, so they typically want to buy the lowest cost power. In New England about three-quarters of all wholesale power is sold through these PPAs.

The wholesale hourly spot market which is administered by the Independent System Operator allows the merchant plant to offer some or all of its generated power to it as an alternative. In this case the offer goes into a bid stack arranged from low to high. A "clearing price" is established when the cumulative offers meet the expected load. Those below the clearing price get their power dispatched (injected) into the grid, those above, do not (no sale). This scheme ensures the lowest cost wholesale power is available to the retail distributors, and hence to you.

Regardless of their offer all merchant plants that are dispatched are paid the clearing price. For example, if a plant offers its power at $35 per megawatthour and the clearing price is $65 per megawatt-hour, the plant will be paid $65. ISO rules allow renewables such as wind and hydro to be bid into the bottom of the stack with zero fuel cost. Therefore the clearing price is lowered and the most expensive wholesale offers are bumped off the top of the bid stack ultimately saving you money. Of course the wind and hydro providers will be paid the clearing price for their power, whatever it may be. Also of note is the fact that negotiated PPAs are always dispatched as if bid at zero cost. The prices in these PPAs therefore do not increase the ISO NE clearing prices and in fact can lower it. All of this means to you, the end customer, that wind power will compete with conventional sources on a wholesale level and it will always lower the market cost of generated electricity. New England electric customers can expect an annual savings of $25 million, according to the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board.

There are several ways for you to comment on the Cape Wind project before March 20 when the public comment period closes. You can mail or e-mail written comments to the Minerals Management Service. Further information is available at capewind.org or cleanpowernow. org. You can also attend a public hearing and read your comments into the record in person.

Sincerely yours,

- Carl Borchert NEW PARENT/TEACHER GROUP FORMED

To the editor:

This is to inform you of an exciting new group being formed called the Parent/Teacher/Community Partnership or the PTCP. This is a proactive group which will be comprised of parents, teachers and community members who will seek to enhance the teaching and learning both in and out of the schools for all children. This group will seek to help the schools address and fulfill the "island as a campus" portion of the Strategic Plan as set forth in 2004. We will additionally strive to increase parental involvement in the schools as over 30 years of research shows that getting parents and community involved is a very powerful mechanism to improve learning and development in a school.

Together we will plan and execute various projects both in and out of the schools which will promote educational experiences for students beyond the classroom in collaboration with the immediate community and beyond.

We are hoping that you will consider joining us in this important partnership.

Our first project is underway: Splash Nantucket! This initiative is to orchestrate a student development day which will be modeled after the Splash program held each fall at MIT. In the Nantucket version, we will invite teachers, fellow students and various community members who wish to instruct a class, workshop, craft or skill for a block or several blocks of time during a designated school day. Students in grades 9-12 will be required to sign up in advance for the courses which interest them and rather than attend classes on the set day, they will participate in their various workshops and activities. This is an event which will enhance the lives of students, faculty and community educators alike but will require much forethought and planning. We ask therefore that anyone interested in helping with Splash Nantucket reply to let us know you would like to become involved. Please reply also if you would like to be a member at large of the PTCP, Parent/Teacher/Community Partnership, to assist with a future event and receive updated emails regarding this newly formed group.

This group is open to any community member, parent or teacher who wishes to participate in current or future projects of the PTCP.

Although this first project focuses on involvement with high school students it is our goal to expand to accommodate community partnership projects in the middle and elementary schools in the future.

We hope you will join us.

- Nini Lafarge and Holly McGowan (parents)

- Page Martineau (teacher)

- Joan Ottinger