EXTRA...

NStar destroys blueberry patch; Route 137 proposal concerns; Casino haters stay heated; Tip O'Neill's food pantry legacy; PD seargent busted for leaving accident scene; No signatures end Falmouth recall effort; Stabbing charge; Turbine sounds OKed

TODAY's quote: "The panel's multidisciplinary approach helped to fully explore the many published scientific reports related to the potential impact of wind turbines on people's health." - Dr. Robert J. McCunney.

The hawk is recuperating well and is expected to recover fully. Wild Care photo.

Injured Ptown Hawk recovering at Wild Care
Cracks crop doing what comes naturally

A wounded young male red-tailed hawk (pictured above) who was found in a bird coop on Sal and Josephine Del Deo's property off Atkins Mayo Road late Saturday afternoon is on the mend.

The hawk was rescued by Dennis Minsky and brought to Wild Care, Cape Cod's emergency wildlife clinic on the Eastham-Orleans border. The hawk had raided the bird coop, killing and eating a duck. When he attempted to escape, he flew into a wall and ruptured his crop, resulting in a three-inch wound to the skin and muscles of his neck. Feathered duck flesh was protruding from the rupture site... Banner.

Wild Care accepts wildlife regardless of a rescuer's ability to make a donation; Wild Care never compromises quality of care or the dignity of an animal's life for fundraising purposes. If you see a wild animal in distress, please call our Wildlife Emergency Hotline: 508-240-2255
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Barnstable suspends license in stolen property case
Cape Cod Precious Gems shuttered through holiday season

The Barnstable Licensing Authority suspended the junk dealer's license held by Cape Cod Precious Gems & Coins last week after police said they found stolen property on the premises on Route 28 in Hyannis. "They did execute a search warrant," manager Carl Marchetti said last week. "All they found out of a thousand items is a sterling stick and a Celtics picture that may or may not have been booked. The sterling stick was booked."

Marchetti was arraigned Dec. 4 on a charge of receiving stolen property and pleaded not guilty. He was released on bond. His attorney, Jack Atwood of Plymouth, said the Celtics picture "is worth between $25 and $50." Questioning the case, Atwood commented, "It's hard to understand how anyone would jeopardize their future over something like this"... Patriot.
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Concerns about Route 137 Shared Lane Proposal

Residents and business owners in the area got their first public viewing Thursday night of proposed improvements along the two-mile Route 137 corridor from the Brewster to Chatham town lines.

The meeting among project designers, state and town officials was identified as an informal setting in which to get comfortable with the project, Joseph Magni, P.E. , a principal with Vanasse Hangan Brustlin, Inc., the design engineers, told a group of about 30 people.

Magni said the road is considered an important regional road, serving as a connector for Brewster, Harwich and Chatham, and that is why the Massachusetts Department of Transportation has chosen to fund it... Chronicle.
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Investors change, casino views don't
The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe's decision to switch financial backers for their casino project in Middleborough is expected to have little impact on how things are proceeding in the town, local officials say.
   Supporters of the casino say they hope the change in investors will infuse new life into the $1 billion plan, which has shown little movement lately. But those who have opposed the gaming resort from the start maintain that obstacles to the project are just too great for the tribe to overcome, no matter who is backing the plan... Globe.

NStar contractor oversteps clearing scope
Treasured Wellfleet blueberry patch is lost

John Connors, whose property off Old Long Pond Road in Wellfleet includes some land within the NStar powerlines right-of-way, was appalled when he heard the noise of a huge Caterpillar tractor last Thursday afternoon. He went out and found the tractor operator had torn up the traditional sand road that runs along the powerlines, and had dug up a portion of the land he owns, about a quarter of an acre, on which blueberry bushes have grown for generations.

Connors went out and asked the driver to stop what he was doing and call for his supervisor to come to the site. The work stopped, and when Fred Slade, project manager for NStar arrived, he determined that the contractor doing the job for NStar had not complied with the specifications he'd been given for the job... Banner.
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Tip O'Neill's Lasting Legacy To Family Pantry

"My father taught us from the very beginning that we are our brother's keeper, and that to whom much is given, much is expected,"- Rosemary O'Neill.

Tip O'Neill is well known for his political career, having served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years and as Speaker of the House for 10 years, making him the second longest-serving Speaker in U.S. history. Perhaps lesser known is his passion for the Family Pantry of Harwich, for whom he served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees from the pantry's early days until his death in 1994.

O'Neill's wife, Millie, took over the position in his place. When she passed away in 2003, daughter Rosemary took over. The O'Neill family's support and dedication to the organization over two decades underscores the ‘family' in Family Pantry... Chronicle.
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Historic move would regulate offshore areas

For the first time since the creation of the Cape Cod Commission two decades ago, the Barnstable County Commissioners exercised their right this week to nominate a District of Critical Planning Concern. The Ocean Management Planning DCPC was also the first Capewide district ever to be nominated.

As soon as notice of the nomination is published in Cape newspapers - the legal notice will be submitted this week - a full moratorium on certain activities in the proposed district is in effect until the Cape Cod Commission holds a public hearing Jan. 21 and decides whether to accept the nomination. If it does, a partial moratorium will be in effect while the Commission and Cape towns take up to a year to craft development standards for the district. The county Assembly of Delegates would then either accept the regulations or return them to the Commission for further review... Patriot.
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Quincy man charged in Cape stabbing
Altercation occurred in E. Falmouth parking lot

A Quincy man and four people wound up behind bars after a fight in the parking lot of a Cape Cod tavern. Police say a man was stabbed in the back in the fight. Police report having needed pepper spray to subdue Michael Toldness, 37, on Saturday. He pleaded innocent Monday in Falmouth District Court to two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and charges of affray and assault with intent to murder. He was released after posting $2,000 cash bail.

Toldness was among five people arrested shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday after a fight in the parking lot of J.R. Brody's Roadside Tavern on Route 28 in East Falmouth. A 25-year-old Mashpee man who had been stabbed in the lower left side of his back was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Falmouth Hospital. Three other people suffered minor injuries... Patriot Ledger.
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Barnstable Sergeant cited for leaving scene of car accident
   Barnstable Police Detective Sgt. John Murphy, a 20-year veteran of the force, was cited for leaving the scene of an accident following a Dec. 6 crash in which his unmarked police cruiser collided with an oncoming vehicle near the intersection of River Road and Rosa Lane in Marstons Mills.
   Murphy, 50, was driving home after a daylong shift at the police station and rounding a sharp curve near his house when his vehicle crossed the center line and collided with the approaching vehicle, according to Barnstable Police Chief Paul MacDonald... Herald.

Falmouth selectman recall fails
It will not take long to count the number of names on recall petitions to oust Selectman Melissa Freitag from office.
Not a single signature was turned in as of the Dec. 16 deadline, said Falmouth Town Clerk Michael Palmer... Herald.

Expert panel concludes wind turbine sounds are not harmful to human health

A multidisciplinary panel has concluded that the sounds generated by wind turbines are not harmful to human health, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced today.

Comprised of medical doctors, audiologists, and acoustical professionals from the United States, Canada, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, the panel undertook extensive review, analysis, and discussion of the large body of peer-reviewed literature, specifically with regard to sound produced by wind turbines. The expert panel was established by AWEA and the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) to review all current literature available on the issue of perceived health effects of wind turbines.

Top findings include:

• "The sounds emitted by wind turbines are not unique. There is no reason to believe, based on the levels and frequencies of the sounds, that they could plausibly have direct adverse physiological effects."
• "If sound levels from wind turbines were harmful, it would be impossible to live in a city given the sound levels normally present in urban environments."
• "Sub-audible, low frequency sound and infrasound from wind turbines do not present a risk to human health."
• "Some people may be annoyed at the presence of sound from wind turbines. Annoyance is not a pathological entity."

For more than thirty years, people have been living near the more than 50,000 wind turbines operating in Europe and the more than 30,000 in North America... AWEA.