Neighbors say wind farms aren't so bad

FOWLER, Ind. (WLFI) - As Tippecanoe County residents raise concerns about bringing wind farms to their area, News Channel 18 turned to those who have had wind turbines in their backyards for months.

Overall, complaints were minimal, and many residents in Benton and White Counties seem to like the presence of wind farms.

But not everyone loves seeing these wind turbines every day. Elmira Deckard, of White County, said she misses the feel of living in the country.

"I can't say they bother me," she said. "I just don't care for the, what would I say, the look on the horizon."

But Deckard said she thinks she's in the minority when it comes to wind farms.

"I think most people are really impressed with them and really like them," she said. "I would just as soon not be sitting in my living room, looking out my only living room window, and that's the only thing I see right now."

Just down the street, Elmira's sister-in-law Charlene Deckard takes a different view.

"I think they're attractive," she said. "Some people think they're ugly."

She only has one slight complaint.

"Just early morning, as the sun rises, you'll have blade shadow," Charlene Deckard said. "And I have it on a couple of walls inside the house. It's annoying but it doesn't last that many minutes."

Despite their proximity to several wind turbines, neither woman has one on her property. But they still get some compensation for signing a good neighbor policy.

"It's not as much as having a turbine, but it'll pay your taxes," Charlene Deckard said. "It'll pay your property taxes. Well for the house, not for the farm."

Over in Benton County, the situation is a little different. Only people with a turbine on their land get any money. And for Don Clute, the pay isn't bad.

"On these, we're guaranteed $5,000 a year," he said. "Then if they generate over $5000 we get that too."

And when it comes to noise, nobody seems to take issue.

"I don't hear them at all," said Charlene Deckard.

"In the house I hear nothing," Elmira Deckard said.

And from Don Clute: "If a train goes by a mile away it makes more noise than I've ever heard from a wind tower."

Clute said one of his turbines doesn't run during the day because it's so close to the Prairie Crossing Elementary School.

But Benton Central High School principal Destin Haas said he has not received a single parent complaint. He said his biggest concern was traffic safety when the nearby turbines were being built.