Greely CO Residents Support Lots Of Drilling & Fracking, Until Wells Encroach On Fox Run Suburb
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In the depths of the recession, a new wave of drilling took hold across farm fields and the high plains, helping to revive the city’s straggling economy. Unemployment is still stuck at 7.5 percent, but is down from highs of more than 10 percent. And local officials estimate that one in nine jobs is somehow tied to the drilling boom. Homes are selling again, and hotels are nearly full. “We had better occupancy than Vail did during the ski season,” said Greeley’s mayor, Tom Norton.
But this spring, an energy company proposed sinking 16 wells next to a neighborhood of winding cul-de-sacs, pastel homes and the Family FunPlex recreation center. And in this energy-friendly town, an unlikely resistance was born.
“These wells are going to be here for a long time,” said Wendy Highby, a librarian at the University of Northern Colorado who joined a group of residents to oppose the project. “They’re what we’re leaving to our children.”
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Despite strong public objection, city officials unanimously approved the new wells. And now, inside the house that she and her husband built six years ago, Karen Janata is bracing for what comes next. The couple moved to Greeley from Illinois to be close to their children and grandchildren, and loved their home’s mountain views and sunny suburban charm. She wonders whether all that will survive after the drilling rigs arrive. “I’m just devastated by this,” Ms. Janata said. “I would move out of Greeley tomorrow if I could.”
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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/us/supporting-oil-and-gas-but-resisting-encroachment.html?_r=0
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