Untitled Document

THEY WILL IMPACT OUR LIVES

“We’re going to impact your lives.” *

• How will it impact your life to have up to 10,000 temporary transient construction workers in Union County?
• How many new school children will come with the temporary workers?
• How will it impact your child when half the students in their class turn over every six months?
• Will your child get a quality education or will the classes be dumbed down to accommodate all the new students that are flowing in on a weekly basis?

“We know there’s going to be problems with our workers… good red-blooded American men are going to want a beer sometime and they are going to go to a tavern and they may over drink and do some things that you wouldn’t like them to do.” *

• What are some of the things that we wouldn’t want them to do?
• Will there be more drunk drivers on the road?
• Is it possible that violent crimes in the area will go up?
• Is it possible that burglaries will increase?

“We’re going to make sure that the roads, that the lights, that the jails-that whatever is needed for the period of time that we have this construction-is there.” *

• Hyperion plans on importing the criminals and the jail space to hold them. Where will the victims come from?
• Will you benefit personally from the refinery?
• Is it worth risking what we have for the promises of some out of state oil interests?

* Dick White, Hyperion Executive - September 21, 2007 (Vermillion Plain Talk, September 27, 2007)

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I want to thank you for the strong showing that our first mailer received. Without your help and donations it would not be possible to bring you more good information. You will hear some say that C.O.O.P. is nothing but a bunch of people who are opposed to any development in the area. Nothing could be further from the truth. We just want to make sure that development in this area is compatible with what we currently have.

If you will take the time to research the facts, you will see that oil refineries do not bring prosperity to an area. This is what we are trying to point out with our case studies and comparisons. Small rural counties that have refineries are generally in much worse economic shape than Union County, South Dakota. It is hard to say if the refineries caused the economic troubles in these counties, but one thing is certain, there is no significant statistical data that indicates Union County will be a better place if a refinery is built here. This statement is based on careful examination of historical census data.

Save us from what? You hear supporters of the refinery saying that it will save our area. This is an insult to your intelligence and your hard work and perseverance. Union County has the second highest median household income in the state, ahead of Minnehaha County. But still there are those that say if you take Dakota Dunes out of Union County you will have nothing. First of all, you can not take Dakota Dunes out of the county. That is like saying if you take Sioux Falls out of Minnehaha County you will have nothing, it just does not work that way. Secondly, the other areas in Union County are doing pretty well too. It will come as a shock to many people to find out that Elk Point has a higher median household income than Sioux Falls. In Union County you can be proud to say “we are doing better.” How can it be that a $10 billion project would not bring prosperity to a county? It appears that the reason is found in the nature of the project. The economy of Union County is primarily a mix of agriculture and small business. A heavy industrial project of this size will certainly change that dynamic. It is possible that the people who can afford to leave will choose to do so and the people who can afford nothing else will move in to fill the gap. This will decrease property values in all the surrounding communities as the more affluent leave.

If you have children or grandchildren in the public schools, they will be affected as well. There will be many thousands of temporary construction workers for this projectwho will likely bring thousands of school aged kids with them. Imagine how your child’s education will suffer if the enrollment is changing every few weeks as workers come and go. Will we short change our children so the only thing they can look forward to is a refinery job after graduation? I am not asking for you to decide about this project right now. All I ask is that you keep an open mind about everything and do some research. Do not take my word for this, do not take the governor’s word for this, and do not take Hyperion’s word for this. Examine all the data yourself and then determine what is best for you and your family.

Sincerely,
Jason Quam - President, C.O.O.P.

STOP the Gorilla!
					C.O.O.P. Citizens Opposed to Oil Pollution
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Home Contact Us Register Donate View the latest mailer (pdf) THEY WILL IMPACT OUR LIVES “We’re going to impact your lives.” * • How will it impact your life to have up to 10,000 temporary transient construction workers in Union County? • How many new school children will come with the temporary workers? • How will it impact your child when half the students in their class turn over every six months? • Will your child get a quality education or will the classes be dumbed down to accommodate all the new students that are flowing in on a weekly basis? “We know there’s going to be problems with our workers… good red-blooded American men are going to want a beer sometime and they are going to go to a tavern and they may over drink and do some things that you wouldn’t like them to do.” * • What are some of the things that we wouldn’t want them to do? • Will there be more drunk drivers on the road? • Is it possible that violent crimes in the area will go up? • Is it possible that burglaries will increase? “We’re going to make sure that the roads, that the lights, that the jails-that whatever is needed for the period of time that we have this construction-is there.” * • Hyperion plans on importing the criminals and the jail space to hold them. Where will the victims come from? • Will you benefit personally from the refinery? • Is it worth risking what we have for the promises of some out of state oil interests? * Dick White, Hyperion Executive - September 21, 2007 (Vermillion Plain Talk, September 27, 2007) Dear Friends and Neighbors, I want to thank you for the strong showing that our first mailer received. Without your help and donations it would not be possible to bring you more good information. You will hear some say that C.O.O.P. is nothing but a bunch of people who are opposed to any development in the area. Nothing could be further from the truth. We just want to make sure that development in this area is compatible with what we currently have. If you will take the time to research the facts, you will see that oil refineries do not bring prosperity to an area. This is what we are trying to point out with our case studies and comparisons. Small rural counties that have refineries are generally in much worse economic shape than Union County, South Dakota. It is hard to say if the refineries caused the economic troubles in these counties, but one thing is certain, there is no significant statistical data that indicates Union County will be a better place if a refinery is built here. This statement is based on careful examination of historical census data. Save us from what? You hear supporters of the refinery saying that it will save our area. This is an insult to your intelligence and your hard work and perseverance. Union County has the second highest median household income in the state, ahead of Minnehaha County. But still there are those that say if you take Dakota Dunes out of Union County you will have nothing. First of all, you can not take Dakota Dunes out of the county. That is like saying if you take Sioux Falls out of Minnehaha County you will have nothing, it just does not work that way. Secondly, the other areas in Union County are doing pretty well too. It will come as a shock to many people to find out that Elk Point has a higher median household income than Sioux Falls. In Union County you can be proud to say “we are doing better.” How can it be that a $10 billion project would not bring prosperity to a county? It appears that the reason is found in the nature of the project. The economy of Union County is primarily a mix of agriculture and small business. A heavy industrial project of this size will certainly change that dynamic. It is possible that the people who can afford to leave will choose to do so and the people who can afford nothing else will move in to fill the gap. This will decrease property values in all the surrounding communities as the more affluent leave. If you have children or grandchildren in the public schools, they will be affected as well. There will be many thousands of temporary construction workers for this projectwho will likely bring thousands of school aged kids with them. Imagine how your child’s education will suffer if the enrollment is changing every few weeks as workers come and go. Will we short change our children so the only thing they can look forward to is a refinery job after graduation? I am not asking for you to decide about this project right now. All I ask is that you keep an open mind about everything and do some research. Do not take my word for this, do not take the governor’s word for this, and do not take Hyperion’s word for this. Examine all the data yourself and then determine what is best for you and your family. Sincerely, Jason Quam - President, C.O.O.P.