AEHI spokesman insists project will be jobs to area

Dear editor:

Maybe Conrad Thomas doesn't have the smarts to work in a nuclear plant, but should he really be saying that Elmore County people aren't cut out for that work? As far as I know, Elmore County is full of people who work in technically demanding, high-security jobs, and these people should have a shot at working at the power plant Alternate Energy Holdings Inc. is proposing.

Everything Thomas said in his letter about the proposed power plant could also be said about the Air Force base, or any large employer trying to set up in Elmore County. It wouldn't surprise me that if the air base were proposed today, Thomas would be writing letters against it, too, for all the same reasons.

I would like to know why Thomas says Elmore "will need to secure a large tax increase." Where did he get that information? Our economic study shows our plant will pay much more than most in property taxes, wages and infrastructure and then some. Maybe Thomas hasn't been reading the articles about the school district and local governments cutting back services. Agriculture alone isn't keeping the county funded.

AEHI has paid over ten times the normal fees to Elmore County thus far for processing our land rezone application, more than anyone has to date for a simple rezone.

Thomas lives in Hammett, where he should know there is a much higher-than-average poverty rate (see Don Gillispie's blog at http://tinyurl.elmorepoverty). In addition to direct employment constructing and running the plant, there are the spin-off jobs and industries that will be attracted to a county with abundant, low-cost power.

If Thomas has some ideas for bringing new jobs and industry to Elmore County, we would like to read about them. It would be interesting to hear what kind of work he thinks Elmore County residents can do. We think they would do very well working at a nuclear power plant.

In any case, Thomas should make it clear that he speaks only for himself when he says Elmore County residents aren't cut out to work at a power plant. We have collected more than a thousand signature petitions and resumes from people who support us and are eager to get to work.

Martin Johncox,

Alternate Energy Holdings, Inc.