Peaceful veteran stand down will begin at 7 a.m.

 

BELVIDERE-In less than 24 hours a Facebook post has been shared over 300 times and still counting.  What kind of post would draw this much attention and support?

Bryce Trevino is a Belvidere High School graduate Class of 2008.  He served four years in the United States Marine Corps finishing his service as a Corporal.  Bryce is the younger brother of Branden Ramey who was a Belvidere High School graduate Class of 2001 and also a Marine.  Three days before Veterans Day Lance Corporal Branden Ramey was killed on Monday, Nov. 8, 2004 while serving his country in Iraq.

On Oct. 30 Bryce Trevino posted the following on his Facebook page.

“CALLING ON ALL VETERANS!! PLEASE LIKE AND SHARE …

To all veterans and all supporters:

District 100 of Belvidere Illinois has decided to be disgraceful and disrespectful by NOT allowing the students Veterans Day off for the first time in decades. This now means that the Veterans Day parade is cancelled, the parade in which we HONOR all veterans. This is a day where we should be showing students to put all differences aside and come together as a community.
We cannot allow this type of action to continue in our community! TAKE A STAND and show your support against this decision! On the date of Wednesday November 11th we can take stand outside of the Belvidere High School along East Avenue. We will show the kids that we are here for them and proudly stand for the men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice and those continuing to serve! PEACEFUL VETERAN STAND DOWN WILL BEGIN AT 0700
Show that you are proud of your veterans and proud of your country!

We cannot allow this kind of action to continue in our community.  TAKE A STAND and show your support against this decision.  On the date of Wednesday Nov. 11 we can take stand outside of the Belvidere High School along East Avenue.  We will show the kids we are here for them and proudly stand for the men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice and those continuing to serve!  PEACEFUL VETERAN STAND DOWN WILL BEGIN AT 0700.  Show that you are proud of your veterans and proud of your country.”

Ryan H. Curry is friends with Bryce Trevino.  Ryan served 12 years in the United States Marine Corps and reached the rank of Sergeant.  He became disabled after being injured in 2006 while serving his country in Iraq.  Ryan is a Belvidere High School graduate Class of 1998 and has been friends with Branden Ramey and his family for many years.

“Semperfi-‘Always Faithful’.  That’s what we are in the Marines,” Curry said.  “The ‘Peaceful Veteran Stand Down’ and I want to emphasize ‘peaceful’ is not just about Branden, but for all our Veterans here locally and across this nation.  I don’t want our community and my hometown where I grew up fading away from remembering our Veterans. I give Bryce all the credit.  It was his idea.”

“It’s crazy how fast it took off and so much support has already been given,” Bryce Trevino said.  “I disapprove of the decision for Belvidere Schools to be in session on Veterans Day.  As a result, the Veterans Day Parade has been cancelled and will have only a minimal amount of students from the high school bands in attendance.  I served and had a brother who served and was killed in action in Iraq.  We are also Belvidere High School Alumni.  His funeral was held in the Belvidere High School gym.  I find the decision by Belvidere School District 100 and the Belvidere Educators Association to be offensive.”

“This is not a gathering to protest or run a picket line.  Instead, we want to show the students that we are standing in honor, holding flags in support of them as students and also for our Veterans.  I would like to see our Belvidere/Boone County Community defend their Veterans as we have defended them by joining us Nov. 11 at Belvidere High School at 0700 or 7:00 a.m.,” Trevino added.

“I want Belvidere School District 100 and the Belvidere Educators Association (BEA) to see how much the community disapproves of their decision to be in session come November 11^th rather than honoring a Federal Holiday set purposely aside for our veterans,” Trevino said.

“It is an embarrassment to say the least that we even have to go through this. Veterans Day should be the top priority day that students have off! They should be able to observe those men and women walk down State Street in their parade in Belvidere.  The parade is to not only honoring the living but honoring those who are no longer with us.  Together, as only a community should.”

Belvidere High School is located at 1500 East Ave. in Belvidere.

Peaceful veteran stand down will begin at 7 a.m.

(1) Mainstream: New setbacks would prohibit wind... - Belvidere Daily Republican

 

March 6 at 5:12pm ·

Mainstream: New setbacks would prohibit wind farms here
By Bob Balgemann
Reporter

BOONE COUNTY - As public hearings continue on new setback requirements for wind turbines, Mainstream Renewable Power is continuing its opposition, saying the proposed rules would keep such projects out of Boone County.

The second hearing will be held March 24, with the possibility of a third in April.

The zoning board of appeals' (ZBA) recommendation will be considered by the planning, zoning and building committee meeting, which is held the first Wednesday of each month. That is a standing committee of the county board consisting of five board members.

Last stop for the proposed text amendment to the Boone County Zoning Ordinance will be the county board, which meets the third Wednesday of each month.

The Chicago law firm of Schain, Banks, Kenny and Schwartz Ltd. has written letters to the ZBA, concerning the text amendment.

Here are some excerpts from the second letter, dated Feb. 20, which addressed the revised application submitted by David Cleverdon of Caledonia and Karen Kenney of Capron.

"The new language in the proposed text amendment does not cure the constitutional invalidity of the prior language, and the new provisions will prohibit development of wind energy projects in Boone County. Accordingly, the objections previously raised in my Jan. 27, 2015, correspondence applies to the new proposal, and Mainstream therefore opposes the new amendment for the same reasons.

"The new text amendment again includes a minimum property line setback of one-half mile, or 2,640 feet. As Mainstream previously demonstrated, this setback precludes development of wind energy projects in Boone County, since the setback from the property line alone requires the host parcel to be more than one mile by one mile in size."

Attorney John R. Griffin, who wrote the letter, included a map showing that if a 2,640-foot setback was applied from every property boundary in the county, no land area would be eligible for a wind turbine.

While the revised text amendment includes a provision allowing a "participating landowner" to partially waive the setback requirement, Griffin wrote that it would not make any difference.

"Land use rights cannot be contingent upon receiving special permission from a neighboring property owner," he stated. "...therefore, the county's ordinances must allow for wind energy projects without making the use contingent upon special permission."

STAFF RECOMMENDATION

The city-county planning staff does not support increasing the existing setback, which is 1,000 feet, or 1.1 times the height of the tower, from the property line.

Planners agreed with Mainstream that a 2,640-foot setback or 5.5 times the height of the tower, whichever is greater, "would not allow towers to be constructed in Boone County."

Further, that would be in contradiction with Section 4.8.1.3 of the county zoning ordinance, whose purpose is "to promote the supply of wind energy in support of Illinois' statutory goal of increasing energy production from renewable energy sources."

"There is no submitted evidence to support the need for the greater setback," planners stated. "If the Illinois Tollway Authority, the Illinois Department of Transportation, local municipalities or other utility providers felt that such a setback was required, it would currently be written in their guidelines."

While the county health department and highway department has no comments on the text amendment, there were mixed responses from North Boone Fire District 4 and from Bonus Township.

The 8,000-acre wind farm being proposed by Mainstream is in Manchester and Leroy townships. Bonus Township voted 4-0 against the text amendment, viewing it as "excessive," with no facts "to substantiate the safety and health concerns specifically referred to in the application."

Planners inform each of the nine townships about cases before the ZBA. Bonus was the only one to respond.

Manchester earlier wanted to establish its own setback requirements, but ultimately was told it could not contradict what was in the county zoning ordinance.

Fire District 4 voted 2-0 with one abstention to recommend accepting the amendment.

"The biggest problem with wind turbine fires is that, because of the turbine height, the fire department can do little but rope off the area and watch the fire burn itself out," wrote the board president, Kerry B. Kenney, in an undated letter.

"While this may be acceptable in reasonably still conditions, in a storm setting it means burning debris being scattered over a wide area, with obvious consequences. From a first responder's viewpoint, with further setbacks from roads, houses and property lines, we feel this gives greater safety to the community we serve."

(1) Mainstream: New setbacks would prohibit wind... - Belvidere Daily Republican