No Doubt About It

“'Tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than open one's mouth and remove all doubt”. - Samuel Johnson

Just when you thought Erie County Councilman and Congressional Candidate wannabe Kyle Foust couldn’t sound any more stupid, he goes out a raises, or is it lowers the bar.

Foust recently tried to get his Council cohorts to support his public stand against the tire derived fuel to energy plant slated for the former International Paper site on Erie’s east side. Unlike Foust, his peers chose to wait to review the environmental filings from Erie Renewable Energy before taking a stand on the plant.

Now, on the same day the Erie Times News recounts those environmental applications being filed with the state, Foust attempts to spell out his reasons for being against the ERE project.
I say “attempts” because quiet frankly I think the only thing Foust has done successfully is to prove just how clueless he really is!

His concerns about the plant boil down to “potential pollution that could be emitted into the air,” and the fact that ERE hasn’t provided information in what he deems is a timely manner.

“If nothing harmful will be emitted from the process of turning tires into energy -- as ERE indicates to the public -- then the information stating such should be provided immediately,” said Foust. “The public, especially the neighbors in the surrounding residential area and the children who attend school nearby, should not have to wait until after the application has been filed. The people who will have to live with the environmental consequences of the facility deserve that information now.”

That comment confirms the simple fact that Foust has made up his small mind based on only half of the story, in this case provided by environmentalists with a clear cut agenda.

I, for one, have not made up my mind about the plant, but unlike Foust, I’m intelligent enough to wait for the full story before deciding where I stand.

If you’re interested, copies of ERE’s air-quality permit application are available at: The City Clerk’s Office in Erie City Hall, the DEP’s Northwest Regional Office of Records in Meadville, or at the Reference Desk at the Blasco Library.