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14 VOICES THE COMMONS • Wednesday, April 20, 2011 H ERE IS one response to Entergy Corporation’s April 18 press conference announcing its federal preemption lawsuit against the state of Vermont. • Entergy took several hundred words to say to Vermont what Maine’s governor could have taught them how to say in three. • Entergy went to lengths to describe the lengths to which the $14 billion corporation had gone to accommodate Vermont, including its application, accompanied by the testimony of ten witnesses, for a certificate of public good (CPG) from the Vermont Public Service Board (VPSB). What Entergy skipped was that two of those witnesses were found guilty of giving false testimony and that Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee was sanctioned a result by the VPSB. Those giving false testimony included Entergy’s lead witness, Jay Thayer, the senior corporate officer entrusted with pushing the CPG extension through the state of Vermont. The false testimony concerned the presence of underground piping that could carry radionuclides. • Entergy complained that Act 160 (requiring legislative approval) prior to the VPSB issuance of any decision on VY relicensing was not part of the original 2002 memorandum of understanding that accompanied state approval of the plant’s sale. I was present in the legislative meeting room when Entergy dropped all opposition to Act 160, thus giving tacit approval to its affirmative vote out of committee and to passage. I surmise that at the time, Entergy was confident that the legislature would never vote that VY would be a deal too good to refuse. VIEWPOINT Drop the lawsuit, cut the losses New England Coalition responds to Entergy’s efforts to sue the state of Vermont LETTERS FROM READERS to operate the Vermont Yankee plant beyond March 21, 2012, for unsupported or arbitrary reasons. This is not what we signed up for in 2002.” D ESPITE Entergy’s disagreement with the 2006 state law, the company has made considerable effort to achieve state approvals to allow the continued operation of Vermont Yankee without resorting to litigation. Those actions included: • Filing a petition in 2008 with the VPSB for a Certificate of Public Good to operate the plant beyond March 21, 2012; • Offering Vermont utilities a 20-year power purchase agreement at a fixed price of $49 per megawatt hour for the first contract year, followed by a market-adjusted pricing structure that ensured the utilities and their customers would benefit from low power market prices. This proposal was well below comparable offers from other electricity providers. It also included an inflationadjusted price cap starting at $61 per megawatt hour which would have ensured the utilities and their customers were protected from high power market prices. • Offering to negotiate with the Vermont Department of Public Service the National Service: win-win for youth, nation think there should be a I National Service Year (NSY), a program that would be a win-win situation for American youth and for our country. This training would settle youth down and give them needed self-confidence. It would give them experience in self control and in working within a group of other young people, who would be able to choose a work training program that would give them a head start on a future career. Young people who intend to go on to college would have a year of real-life experience that would help them see the importance of further education. The government could offer financial help. Most Americans today do not have any military experience and would be wary of RAY SHADIS serves as a technical advisor to the New England Coalition, a nonprofit antinuclear advocacy group based in Brattleboro. • Entergy argued that Act 160 moved the decision from a regulatory decision by the VPSB to a political one (by the legislature/politicians. However, the three-member VPSB is comprised of political appointees (two lawyers and a retail merchant). The Vermont Senate has within its membership comparable regulatory expertise and is appointed by the people. Entergy’s regulatory-decision-versus-politicaldecision distinction fails the straight-face test. • Entergy claimed that VY had “no” emissions. Simply not true. Tritiated water is an emission. The many radionuclides found in the soil are emissions. Routine stack releases of radioactive isotopes of Xenon, Krypton, Iodine, and the rest are emissions, the discharge of toxic biocides, solvents, cleaning agents, rust-proofers, and other chemicals in discharge waters and cooling tower spray or drift are emissions. And the greenhouse gases emitting during refinement, enrichment, and manufacturing of the uranium fuel are prodigious; all in highly electric, energy-intensive processes generated for the most part by high-sulfur, coal-burning plants. The deceptive thing about Vermont Yankee’s greenhouse and acid-rain emissions is that they arrive unseen on the wind and somewhat ahead of the trucks bringing in the nuclear fuel. • Lastly, although it is a small incremental addition, Vermont Yankee’s emergency diesel generators are test run annually. Their importance is dramatically illustrated by what happened at the Fukashima Daiichi nuclear power plants such a plan. This is understandable, but shortsighted. Maybe NSY could be compared to teaching young people how to swim: nobody seems too interested in providing swimming lessons, but in an emergency, that skill is often life saving, not just for the swimmer, but for others in danger of drowning. After NSY training, every American would have a basic understanding of military procedure — a big advantage not just in everyday life, but also in possible encounters with other nations or terrorists. Some people are opposed to anything to do with the military and would put down the idea of NSY without even considering its merits. They would say that it was the government’s way of creating a militaristic citizenry. However, my in Japan. E NTERGY CLAIMS that VY is reliable and points to two “breaker-to-breaker” runs (refueling to refueling without stopping) in the last several years. This claim would be worth something more if the company could also claim that there were no significant equipment failures, human errors, or violations of state and federal regulation during this period (cooling tower collapse, transformer fire, insulator failure, feed-water piping leaks, condenser in-leakage, main steam isolation valve test failures, pump-seal failures, controlpanel failures, stuck turbine stop valves, cooling-tower header leaks, high-pressure coolant injection system failures, torus in-leakage, security breaches, steam-dryer cracking, tritium-to-groundwater leaks, and much more.) A better definition of a reliable plant is one that can produce electricity without violating regulations and without ignoring equipment failures; such a plant might be more reliable because it shuts down occasionally to properly address such failures, not because it keeps pushing its luck to keep running despite them. Entergy should drop the suit and cut its losses. Entergy would do well to consider that if VY has been only marginally profitable or not profitable over the last few years because of unanticipated maintenance costs and regulatory delays; the prospects for the proposed extended period of operation are realistically even more grim. We will do our best to make this picture clear to Entergy. Truly, the operative discussion should focus on the question of just how far apart we are or what course of action would best serve both Entergy shareholders and the state of Vermont. experience is that most people who have been in the military are happy to get out and are not eager to go back in, but they carry with them life lessons and improved character from all aspects of the military life, good and bad. The NSY program would seek to give these young people the better parts of the military experience and avoid the not-so-good parts. The absolute key to the NSY program is to have every young person, male and female, participate. This puts the program on a fair and equitable basis. Military service itself is a democratizing experience. Rich kids and poor kids alike would be required to do the same training, shoulder to shoulder. Sectarian and other prejudices would be lessened by living with people of different backgrounds. Certain differences would have to be taken into account, such as the overweight young people who would be put into their own special regimens. Would you want to bet that after the three months of basic training, they would be trimmed down, healthier, and happier? When this country was using the Selective Service (the draft), there was a lot of unfair picking and choosing of who went into service and who did not. This situation caused many of those who had to go to war to be bitter about the ones who were able to avoid service Got something on your mind? Send contributions (500 words or fewer strongly recommended) to editor@commonsnews.org; the deadline is Friday to be considered for next week’s paper. When space is an issue, we give priority to words that have not yet appeared elsewhere. The Vermont Yankee substation in a 2004 photo. Got an opinion? (Of course you do! You’re from Windham County!) establishment of a “date certain” for the commencement of decommissioning activities at Vermont Yankee earlier than the 60-year SAFSTOR period permitted by NRC regulations. • Exploring the potential sale of Vermont Yankee. Despite interest from some potential buyers, based largely on the superior operational record of the plant, Entergy was unable to reach commercial terms with any party due to the political uncertainty in Vermont; more specifically, due to the stated intent of Vermont officials to shut down the plant. I N A MEETING with Entergy representatives on March 30, the governor reiterated his firm opposition to the operation of Vermont Yankee after March 21, 2012. The lawsuit we filed is based in part on the following legal principles: • Atomic Energy Act Preemption. Under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court held in 1983 in a case involving Pacific Gas & Electric that a state has no authority over (1) nuclear power plant licensing and operations or (2) the radiological safety of a nuclear power plant. In violation of these legal principles, Vermont has asserted that it can shut down a T hanks to the amazing support of the Windham County community, Bowl For Kids’ Sake grossed more than $60,000 on April 2 to support the Big Brothers Big Sisters program at Youth Services. More than 500 fundraisers came out to bowl, and gathered pledges of support from thousands around the county and beyond to make this 30th-year celebration the biggest success ever. As a Big Sister in the program, I can attest to the incredible growth in the selfesteem of my Little Sister over the four years that I’ve been meeting with her The Big Brothers Big Sisters program makes 150 relationships like mine possible throughout Windham County, and they couldn’t do it without the spirit-filled support of the community at Bowl For Kids’ Sake. Our top corporate sponsor was Brattleboro Subaru, NICOLE RICCIO/SPECIAL TO THE COMMONS ■ Entergy FROM PAGE 9 because their fathers had influence, because they lied about their family responsibilities, or because they used other evasions. The NSY program would not have the life-and-death aspect of wartime military service. It would go something like this: 1) Every young person in the United States, male and female, would be required to serve one year in the NSY program, some time between their 16th and 19th birthdays. Drop out of high school, and you would be in the program as soon as you reach 16. Graduate from high school, and you would be placed in the program immediately after graduation. 2) The first three months of NSY training would be very similar to the U.S. Army’s basic training, which stresses getting the recruits into good physical shape, and teaching the rules for obeying commands and for working together as a unit. Firearms use and safety would be useful knowledge, whether one has any interest in guns or not. Having a knowledge of firearms is an important part of growing up. 3) The second three months would be devoted to instruction in the recruit’s choice of a job, such as computer operator, helicopter mechanic, nurse, cook, motor pool driver, vehicle mechanic, police federally licensed and operating nuclear power plant, and that it can regulate the plant based upon Vermont’s safety concerns. • Federal Power Act Preemption and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Vermont is prohibited from conditioning post-March 2012 operation of the Vermont Yankee Station on the plant’s agreement to provide power to state utilities at preferential wholesale rates. The Federal Power Act preempts any state interference with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s exclusive regulation of rates in the wholesale power market. The Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution bars a state from discriminatory regulation of private markets that favors in-state over out-of-state residents. “Litigation is by far the least preferred approach,” said Smith. “But it is clear our disagreement with the state of Vermont on the scope of its authority over Vermont Yankee cannot be resolved between the two parties. Putting this dispute before a federal judge is the appropriate and responsible way to resolve this disagreement. Our filing today does just that.” Bowl for Kids’ Sake fundraiser generates amazing support officer, legal clerk, tank driver, supply clerk, heavy equipment operator, or radar operator. The recruits would be sent to a camp or training center, where they would receive training. 4) The final six months would find the recruits assigned to a military installation, where they would be involved in on-the-job training. They would work alongside Army, Navy, or Air Force members. Just ask employers whether they would want a high school graduate or someone who had an additional year of U.S. Army training, and I bet they’d opt for the NSYtrained person. NSY would give teens better citizenship skills, an improved understanding of democracy, and the educational benefit of working in an adult environment. Military training is recognized as having an effect on reducing crime. who has pledged $10,000 over three years to this event. People’s United Bank and Windham Southwest Teachers Association were joined this year by Integrated Solar as lead corporate sponsors. We’d like to thank these and the other corporate sponsors, prize donors, volunteers, bowlers, and those who sponsored a bowler. It really takes generous people from all five groups to make Bowl For Kids’ Sake such a success for kids in our community. Please call Youth Services at 802-257-0361 for more information about how you or your business can become involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters, or go to www.youthservicesinc.org/bbbs. Betsy Gentile Brattleboro The writer serves asthe co-chair of Bowl For Kids Sake. NSY would have an impact on the unemployment problem in our country. The large group of young people who get out of high school every year and are unable to find a job would be swept up and given something of importance to do. Some countries around the world have successful programs specifically for military training for their youth, notably Israel. Because of Israel’s situation, with enemies all around, that country’s young people understand the need for such a program and they participate in it. In the world we live in today, a training program like NSY could be viewed as an insurance policy providing a sense of security. “Be prepared” is the byword. Ted Schreyer Newfane
THE COMMONS • Wednesday, April 20, 2011 VOICES 15 The next day From behind the yellow police tape, uncertainty and sadness Brattleboro O N THE DAY after the night that the Brooks House was destroyed by fire, I went downtown to see it for myself. I parked up near Union Street, where I could smell the acrid smoke, and walked toward the corner of Main and High. The Brooks House came into view, a devastating sight. This historic red brick Victorian pile has anchored Main Street since it was built in 1871. It was the heart of Main Street. Now it looked fragile, torn, and tattered. The beams let the light play through. I wondered at how we had kept it for so long. The beautiful Mansard roof was melted, and the cupola where Rudyard Kipling and his cronies had once played poker was tilted to the West. It had become Brattleboro’s Brattleboro D ECEMBER 6, 2010: Driving south on Interstate 91 this morning as I crossed the border into Massachusetts, I saw a blue sky with patches of pink clouds shaped in a huge cross whose vertical part touched the earth. Long lines of evergreens stretched on either side of gray asphalt, reminding me of childhood drives to Bayport, Long Island, to catch the ferry for Fair Harbor, Fire Island — vacations I took for granted. How much of this country consists of long stretches of gray asphalt that run through forests and housing developments, past cities like Springfield and Hartford, past shopping malls that contain Barnes & Nobles, Best Buys, Bed, Bath & Beyonds? It is hard to imagine what the Eastern seaboard looked like before the Industrial Revolution. It is harder to imagine that Americans will give up their addiction to gasoline in spite of its increasing price, not to mention global warming, extreme weather, and food shortages. E VERYTHING seems to be moving faster. I am reminded of the Weimar Republic, when men dragged carts full of paper bills to the grocery store to exchange for milk. My food budget was $49 a week six months ago and now is $75. I love the co-op but can no longer afford the high price for local food and find myself standing in the aisle at Hannaford. There, I notice that the price of canned fruits and vegetables has risen, too. I look for bargains at Dottie’s Discount Foods and go to the own version of the Twin Towers — a tourist attraction, but not for tourists. P EOPLE FROM all over the county were gathering at pulse points — in front of A Candle in the Night, outside the parking lot of Brown & Roberts, in the Harmony Lot — anywhere they could see what was left of Brooks House from behind yellow police tape. Someone who had watched the fire in the night said they could see it going from room to room until it hit the firewall. No one who lived there was hurt. No one died. That was the miracle of the place. TONI ORTNER, a poet and writer, teaches at the University of Connecticut in West Hartford, Conn. She serves on the board of directors of Write Action, a regional consortium of writers. Dollar Store. Instead of purchasing brand new bestsellers for the readers in my family, I go to the book sale at the Brooks Memorial Library and find four used books in good condition, pay 13 bucks, wrap each in festive paper, and mail them off to Miami. I’m reminded that I want to visit my brother, and I found the round-trip airfare to Miami has risen to over $500. The price of gasoline fluctuates wildly day by day and the public receives no rational reason. If the price of gas keeps on rising, I will have to find a place in West Hartford so I can sleep near my job. T HE POLITICIANS are discussing. This is what they are good at. They are discussing whether or not to extend unemployment benefits for Americans who are out of work for two years. The unemployment rate is around 10 percent and not getting lower. I am not interested in supporting tax cuts for those who earn $200,000 or more a year. People are lucky to find a job. I know people with Ph.D.s working in Walmart. I read in the AARP Magazine this week that people who are retired are declaring bankruptcy in record numbers. Affluence is defined as earning $75,000 dollars per year. With this high income, you would barely be able to pay bills if you lived in New York or Los Angeles, although that is not my worry. ESSAY But 59 apartments gone. Approximately 80 people homeless. Local personality Alfred Hughes Jr., who lived in the building, posted on Facebook: “Mon cher amis I am very touched by your outpouring friendship and love. Brattleboro is the beaming light dimmed for a flash. I’m alive!" Main Street, with its fragile economy, was closed off. “No lunch at Amy’s,” I overheard someone say. Important businesses are under water — Brilliance, Wasteland, Adagio, Dragonfly, The Book Cellar, and Jumi Shop, which has been destroyed by fire for the second time. “Water was pouring into Brilliance like a waterfall,” someone said. “And they have all their rugs in the basement." No one knows what kind of insurance people have. “So many businesses work on the edge, just to do business Politicians fiddle, America burns A commuter meditates on an economy that’s veering wildly t the successful close of A Leland & Gray’s production of Footloose , the Players thank all those who made the experience possible. At every show played to a packed — or overflowing — house, the crowds were treated to lively acting, singing, and dancing on stage. It is the efforts of those behind the scenes, however, that truly deserve recognition. Distracting as all the passing neon and drastic hairstyles must have been, the set was yet another artistic success, combining the deeply Southern feel of exposed wood with the memory of eighties tiling on the dance floor. This gigantic set stretched across the entire length of the main Dutton building, an impressive feat that would have been made impossible were it not for the help of able-bodied painters and carpenters, students, crew, and volunteers alike. In those many rehearsals where the beat of steps and pop songs rang out, one often heard the scream of a circular saw JOYCE MARCEL With the economy veering wildly, financial seers are as numerous as locusts. Every day I go on the Internet, I get 20 e-mails from them, and believe me, I wish one of them were a prophet. People print instructions from FEMA, and store cans of food and two gallons of water per person per day, just in case. I ask myself which “just in case” might happen first. Some citizens have purchased guns and taken lessons at shooting ranges in case riots break out in major cities. Rumors thick as bats fly through the air. It is rumored that when the head of the Treasury Department tells the American public it will never default on FDIC, a bank takeover is likely in the near future. The Feds keep printing money, and the government goes more and more into debt. One financial maven advises people to take out checks of no more than $10,000 at a time from any of their remaining savings and quickly turn those checks into gold American Eagles and gold Canadian Maples in order to have something to exchange for necessities when the dollar becomes worthless. Letters on the Internet advise citizens to store gardening equipment and extra cans of gasoline to get through the panic of the first few days of what is starting to look like a forecast of the Apocalypse. D URING G ALLERY W ALK on Friday night, a smiling man approached me. ”Excuse me, miss, but may I ask you something. Do you think you will get to heaven? Here, better read this.” He thrust a postcard with fine print into my hand and moved on to the next LETTERS FROM READERS Stage presentation of Footloose — or any other production — is the tip of the iceberg in the background and a slew of willing parents constructing a place for their children to dance. During the show, concealed behind a deceptively uninteresting black drape, a veritable hive thrummed with nerves, sweat, and hair spray. For weeks prior, the “Drama Mamas,” as they called themselves, had slaved in the depths of the costume room with assistant director Abby Hadden, hunting for the perfect pieces of wonderfully, colorfully horrible eighties clothing. Now, they waited backstage, armed with makeup brushes, bobby pins, and hair gel. Flying from cast member to cast member, they fought costume wrinkles and flat hair far and wide, proving themselves the unsung heroes of the production. Not only that, but they also kept the cast healthy. During breaks between shows and intermissions, these dedicated moms constantly fed tired students and bombarded exhausted vocal cords with cough drops and tea. In between our doubleheader on Saturday, we were provided an astonishing feast for dinner, and for a bone-tired dancing teenager, there is absolutely nothing more wondrous than a table laden with food. Thanks also go to the many volunteers who publicized the show through posters, and assuredly to those who graciously greeted, took tickets, and sold baked goods and coffee at the door, while at the same time desperately looking for director Ann Landenberger to tell her that we would yet again need to sell standing-room positions. We are also grateful for the support of the ever-supportive local press who helped us publicize the production. Finally, thanks go to the parents of the amazing group of kids who took on this show. Whether volunteering, donating baked goods, driving to innumerable rehearsals, or just raising some really talented children, you all were an essential aspect of this production, and we are so grateful for your help. In sum, the stage RANDOLPH T. HOLHUT/THE COMMONS Fire crews were still on the scene early Monday evening at the Brooks House. The rear of the building was heavily damaged by a fire that broke out Sunday night. on Main Street,” said a woman who once owned a store on Main Street. She didn’t want me to quote her by name. “Even if your store isn’t damaged, do you have non-fire passerby. That same night, I heard a loud knocking on my front door. Not knowing who it might be, I did not open the door. The knocking grew louder. Finally, I opened it to see two firemen who offered me a free radio for emergency broadcasts. They said that FEMA had given them enough radios for 12,000 residents in and around Brattleboro. All I had to do was plug it into my wall, as it was already programmed. That way, in case a train derailed or there was a blizzard, I would receive fair warning. I called a close friend and said how nice it was to open the door and get something for free. “Don’t kid yourself. They’re doing that because of Vermont Yankee and possible radiation leaks to prevent lawsuits. The plant doesn’t close for two years and they don’t want to take a chance,” she said. A S I DRIVE , my mind turns to Brooks Memorial Library. I hear two volunteers discussing how much they count on Social Security benefits. One asks the other why there is no cost-of-living increase for the second year in a row. My refrigerator holds six containers of yogurt, blueberries and raspberries I froze last summer, one carton of milk, and a broiled chicken. Restaurants are off the list, as are subscriptions. I buy five loaves of Italian bread and bring them over to the Baptist church, where homeless people are having dinner. Maybe before things get worse, we should learn how to make soap from lard and shear a sheep. presentation of Footloose — or any other production — is only the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface lies an intricate network of families and volunteers, amateur PR representatives, and excellent cooks. Within this web, we have cast and crew, students and teachers, both onstage and in the incredible audience beyond. We have a director who sends us e-mails at 4:30 a.m., and a disturbing number of parents who reply promptly at 6:00. We invent a stage, capture a story, and disappear mysteriously to leave the space a gym once more. We are dedicated, creative, determined to entertain, and at the close of a show we are a family. Thank you, Leland & Gray Players; we’ve done it again! Melissa Soule Wardsboro The writer, a Leland & Gray senior, performed in Footloose. Her essay on the experience appeared in the March 23 issue. insurance for the business you lose when they close down Main Street?" I overheard a woman on her cell phone: “The biggest disaster in this part of the state! The building is condemned! They’re talking about leveling it! Basically, they’re going to have to rebuild Brattleboro!" I asked her how she knew all this, and she said she was “in the loop” because she was an insurance adjuster. She wouldn’t give me her name, either. I HEARD there was six feet of water in the Mole’s Eye. When I first came to Brattleboro in the late 1980s, I was afraid to go into the Mole’s Eye. I was shy. I was a stranger here. It took some courage to start hanging out there. It was riddled with town characters and as close to a singles bar as Brattleboro had back then. People met their mates there. And then settled down and stopped coming. I got my start as a columnist at the Mole’s Eye. It was more than 21 years ago, and they had great blues bands coming in from Boston every weekend for $4 at the door, with $1 Bud on tap. It was heaven, and I was allowed to write about it for the Brattleboro Reformer . It turned out I had opinions about everything, not just music. The column became a fixture on the pages of the Reformer . Now it’s in this paper. On Monday, I ran into Norman, the famous Mole’s Eye bartender, and Brenda, the famous Mole’s Eye waitress, coming around the corner from the Shriner’s to see the damage. Their eyes were big. They were holding hands. “They built it in 1871, and it cost $150,000,” Norman said. “I have a great sense of tragedy and loss. Such a devastating loss. I put in 30 years of my life in the Mole’s Eye. I lived in the Brooks House for a few years. Out of the ashes rises a new phoenix, but right now, I feel consumed with sadness." Norman reminded me of a column I had written about a blues guy from Northampton, “Vast” Ed Vadas, who had basically torn me a new one when I tried to interview him. He still remembered the piece I’d written about my experience. It was maybe the second column I’d ever written, and he still remembered it. One way or another, the Brooks House has played a part in the lives of almost everyone in the Brattleboro orbit. We shopped there, or had our jewelry repaired there, or bought books there, or drank there, or had a radio program there, or lived there, or pointed it out proudly when people came to visit. Even though it is a privately owned building, we all have a sense of ownership about it. The Brooks House has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. We are hungry to see it restored. can think of no more stirring I symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine. —KURT VONNEGUT ~ Residential and Commercial ~ Our Own In-house Installation Team BEST KEPT SECRET IN THE AREA
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