Letters: Noise in Ferguson Township is more than a nuisance
Noise in Ferguson Township is more than a nuisance
GE HealthCare at 401 Science Park Road is currently conducting a project that is destroying peace and quiet for residents in Ferguson Township. While switching their supplier of electricity, they are running extremely loud backup generators 24/7 for weeks at a time. As a result, residents of nearby neighborhoods have their homes shaken and rattled at all hours of the day and night, making sleep, work and enjoyment of everyday life extremely difficult. Ferguson Township has approved this project and has granted GE HealthCare a permit to create this noise, without consulting nearby residents and the effect it would have on them. A questionable noise report, with no source stated, has been provided to residents showing that the noise created by the generator is within acceptable limits stated in the township ordinances, which would allow GE HealthCare to continue to make this noise indefinitely. The report does not stand up to the slightest scrutiny by anybody knowledgeable in sound and vibration. Nobody at either GE or Ferguson Township has provided a solid timeline for if or when this noise source will end, nor offered any solution to reduce noise output in the meantime, particularly at night. If this were partying college students, the police would respond and stop it, but because it’s machine noise from a business, we’re meant to tolerate it? If this unnecessary noise is affecting your quality of life, I encourage you to contact GE HealthCare and Ferguson Township Zoning office to make your voice heard.
Dave Kraige, State College
Common-sense solution to energy challenge
If you can, imagine life without electricity. Work, home, entertainment, travel, communication, health care — there’s hardly a facet of our lives that electricity hasn’t transformed for the better. And demand for electricity is going up as we transition toward clean energy sources and as data centers expand to serve our needs for faster computers. The problem is that we don’t have the transmission grid to handle this increased demand, leading to rapidly rising electricity costs and inconsistent service. But there’s a simple solution right under our noses (and our fenders): highways. It turns out the need for transmission lines is pretty much where we have interstate highways. And we can build faster along highways, where there are fewer barriers and less disruption to communities. So reach out to your government representatives, your electricity provider, and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Learn more about this and other common-sense solutions to our energy challenges by going to climatechangemakers.org.
Raymond Najjar, State College
New development proposal hurts community
A few decades ago after a performance, the lead actress and I found ourselves driving through College Heights at midnight.
Suddenly she said, “This is where the real people live.”
I think now of that remark in contrast to the high-rises on Beaver Avenue culminating in the building proposal where Addison Court is to be destroyed.
The whole avenue is brutal and dehumanizing. We all remember that Wright said, “the skyscraper should be a proud soaring thing” — and later Erickson said the pure space evoked in these new buildings is spiritual and counters the materialism of the age.
Our canyon that has become Beaver Avenue is nothing like that.
Instead its buildings are at best “an efficient housing of human material” — they morally deface everyone who sees them, let alone the students so housed.
And it will show our community values real estate profits over support for the poor as well.
Socrates was killed for corrupting the youth — erroneously as Plato thought.
The building proposed would do the same literally.
Contact the borough and the property owners to oppose this sale.
John Harris, State College
In uncertain times, WPSU is a lifeline
Right now, the world feels unsettled. Wars abroad. Political division at home. Misinformation spreading faster than facts. In moments like these, I turn to one place I’ve trusted for decades: WPSU.
For years, WPSU has been part of my daily life — in my car, in my home, in my family’s conversations. It has guided us through national crises, election nights, public health emergencies and local challenges with calm, fact-based reporting. It has educated our children and connected rural communities that too often go unheard. It has also entertained us with dramas, comedies and musical programs.
That’s why Penn State’s decision to withdraw funding felt so alarming. Losing WPSU would mean losing one of the last independent, locally focused news sources serving central and northern Pennsylvania.
Thanks to more than 20,000 supporters, a path forward emerged: transfer the WPSU broadcast license to WHYY while preserving WPSU’s regional identity and mission. That transition is underway and moving toward FCC approval.
But paperwork does not sustain journalism. People like us do.
In a time when so much feels unstable, we cannot afford to lose such a trusted resource. WPSU will remain locally branded and locally governed. What it needs now is secure community support.
If WPSU has been a steady presence in your life, please stand with it now. Start or renew your membership today. Every contribution designated for WPSU stays with WPSU: wpsu.org/donate/pledge.
Connie Schulz, State College