The Littleton Courier
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Opinions
Letters
“It’s my venue and I’ll bounce if I want to...”
Northern Pass held its last “Open House” this past Wednesday in Sugar Hill. After attendees had spoken with representatives for an hour, a resident, who is also the chair of the Sugar Hill Selectboard, requested an open question and answer format so everyone could hear the questions asked by residents and the responses given by Northern Pass representatives. This request was a direct response to the frustration many attendees had felt at the isolating format of the “one-on-one” conversations they had encountered at other “Open Houses”.
I was quite taken aback by the level of anger this request elicited in many of the representatives. They found the dignified demand that they engage in real dialogue an offense. They seemed to feel that the opposition to their project and demand for honest dialogue were acts of aggression toward them and apparently completely missed the massive aggression and threat of the project itself.
The Northern Pass project representatives refused to engage in an open discussion. The majority of attendees did the sensible thing and left the room. Northern Pass’s Project blog entry about the meeting stated that no individuals were asked to leave. That’s untrue. One local resident was forcibly removed by local police; the third person evicted by police from a Northern Pass “Open House”. Many others have been turned away from “Open House” doors for simply indicating opposition to the project.
What is Northern Pass afraid of?
Kris Pastoriza
Easton