News
Release
For Immediate Release
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Contact: Guillermo Martinez – [email protected], Kim Strosahl - [email protected]
Parents to Bethlehem Town Board:
What Part of We Don’t Want Cell Towers Near Our Schools
Don’t You Understand, Warn of Political Fallout
Proposal to build cell tower near two district schools with over 2,200 children, teachers and staff continues to move forward even though town officials have seen the strong opposition to such plans by parents and homeowners
DELMAR, NEW YORK (02/13/11) – A coalition of parents, students, educators and university researchers gathered today in front of Eagle Elementary school and called on the Bethlehem Town Board to take ownership of the Town’s Planning Board actions and force it to deny plans to build a microwave cellular tower that will be located adjacent to two town schools. The group cited a range of concerns on the impact of such construction on the health of students and teachers, as well as the negative impact on property values to surrounding communities.
The group held dozens of “Red Warning” balloons they distributed throughout Delmar to raise awareness to the town’s disregard for their concerns. Recent moves by the Town’s Zoning Board and the Planning Board have angered town residents because the tower would expose almost 2,000 students at Eagle Elementary and the Bethlehem High School to daily radiation by the microwave antennas.
In the fall of 2009, Parents Against Cell Towers (www.parentsact.weebly.com) forced the Bethlehem Central School District to abandon plans to build towers on school property, with a combination of demonstrations, letter writing, and meetings. Yet elected officials who control the Zoning and Planning Boards are moving forward with a plan to build a cell tower on private land near town schools. The Planning Board will discuss the issue at their meeting on February 15.
“What we have here is the $100,000 question,” stated Guillermo Martinez, chair of Parents Against Cell Towers (ParentsACT), “Town residents should be concerned by the fact that the Town of Bethlehem is facing financial hardships, yet the Town Planning Board is about to allow a private landowner to earn almost $100,000 per year from leasing rights to cell phone companies from the tower being planned at 75 Van Dyke Road.” He continued, “This is amount paid to town for its leasing of the Kenwood Avenue water tank to cell phone companies. The same companies will lease the proposed tower and that potential revenue will be lost to the town. Why is the town passing the opportunity to raise that revenue for town services?”
According to Kim Strosahl, a parent and concerned resident of Delmar, “One thing is for sure. If the tower is voted in, elected officials will be voted out. Our children should be protected from technology that has not been proven to be safe. Eagle Elementary students would go from Kindergarten through 12th grade with cell towers hovering over their schools.” Currently there are 20 microwave towers affixed to a water tank 300 feet from the Bethlehem Middle School and its 1,400 students.
Dr. David O. Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany, stated, “There is increasingly strong evidence that prolonged exposure to radiofrequency radiation, such as that from radio and cell towers, increases the risk of leukemia, and that prolonged use of a cell phone held against the head increases the risk of brain cancer. It is foolish and dangerous to put a cell tower near a school where children will be exposed constantly to radiofrequency radiation.”
Anton Konev, president of the Delmar Kiwanis, stated, "This is not an issue isolated to Delmar, its a regional and national issue with dangerous consequences." He added, "Seventeen months ago, an international working group of scientists, researchers and public health policy professionals (The BioInitiative Working Group) released its report on electromagnetic fields (EMF) and health. It raises serious concern about the safety of existing public limits (set by the federal government), that regulate how much EMF is allowable from power lines, cell phones, cellular towers and many other sources of EMF exposure in daily life."
For Immediate Release
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Contact: Guillermo Martinez – [email protected], Kim Strosahl - [email protected]
Parents to Bethlehem Town Board:
What Part of We Don’t Want Cell Towers Near Our Schools
Don’t You Understand, Warn of Political Fallout
Proposal to build cell tower near two district schools with over 2,200 children, teachers and staff continues to move forward even though town officials have seen the strong opposition to such plans by parents and homeowners
DELMAR, NEW YORK (02/13/11) – A coalition of parents, students, educators and university researchers gathered today in front of Eagle Elementary school and called on the Bethlehem Town Board to take ownership of the Town’s Planning Board actions and force it to deny plans to build a microwave cellular tower that will be located adjacent to two town schools. The group cited a range of concerns on the impact of such construction on the health of students and teachers, as well as the negative impact on property values to surrounding communities.
The group held dozens of “Red Warning” balloons they distributed throughout Delmar to raise awareness to the town’s disregard for their concerns. Recent moves by the Town’s Zoning Board and the Planning Board have angered town residents because the tower would expose almost 2,000 students at Eagle Elementary and the Bethlehem High School to daily radiation by the microwave antennas.
In the fall of 2009, Parents Against Cell Towers (www.parentsact.weebly.com) forced the Bethlehem Central School District to abandon plans to build towers on school property, with a combination of demonstrations, letter writing, and meetings. Yet elected officials who control the Zoning and Planning Boards are moving forward with a plan to build a cell tower on private land near town schools. The Planning Board will discuss the issue at their meeting on February 15.
“What we have here is the $100,000 question,” stated Guillermo Martinez, chair of Parents Against Cell Towers (ParentsACT), “Town residents should be concerned by the fact that the Town of Bethlehem is facing financial hardships, yet the Town Planning Board is about to allow a private landowner to earn almost $100,000 per year from leasing rights to cell phone companies from the tower being planned at 75 Van Dyke Road.” He continued, “This is amount paid to town for its leasing of the Kenwood Avenue water tank to cell phone companies. The same companies will lease the proposed tower and that potential revenue will be lost to the town. Why is the town passing the opportunity to raise that revenue for town services?”
According to Kim Strosahl, a parent and concerned resident of Delmar, “One thing is for sure. If the tower is voted in, elected officials will be voted out. Our children should be protected from technology that has not been proven to be safe. Eagle Elementary students would go from Kindergarten through 12th grade with cell towers hovering over their schools.” Currently there are 20 microwave towers affixed to a water tank 300 feet from the Bethlehem Middle School and its 1,400 students.
Dr. David O. Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany, stated, “There is increasingly strong evidence that prolonged exposure to radiofrequency radiation, such as that from radio and cell towers, increases the risk of leukemia, and that prolonged use of a cell phone held against the head increases the risk of brain cancer. It is foolish and dangerous to put a cell tower near a school where children will be exposed constantly to radiofrequency radiation.”
Anton Konev, president of the Delmar Kiwanis, stated, "This is not an issue isolated to Delmar, its a regional and national issue with dangerous consequences." He added, "Seventeen months ago, an international working group of scientists, researchers and public health policy professionals (The BioInitiative Working Group) released its report on electromagnetic fields (EMF) and health. It raises serious concern about the safety of existing public limits (set by the federal government), that regulate how much EMF is allowable from power lines, cell phones, cellular towers and many other sources of EMF exposure in daily life."