I simply can’t wait for Saturday’s Our View with its “cheers and jeers.”

Cheers, cheers, cheers for the folks of Vinalhaven for having the foresight to recognize that self-help, versus waiting for someone else to do it, is critical in these tough times.

I have been to Vinalhaven many times when I lived in Rockland 30 years ago. I worked in a retail store and always looked forward to helping island folks when they stepped off the ferry. They were down-to-earth, always polite — just great Maine folks with a lot of common sense. Now, besides all those great Maine trademarks, they truly stand out in their quest for energy independence.

Not only do I think their wind turbines speak for their intelligence and tenacity, I think the turbines are kind of pretty, and as welcoming as a lighthouse.

From my house, I can see Streaked Mountain with its communication towers. They serve no purpose but to send signals. A few wind turbines generating electricity would make far greater use of the height of land and the available wind; plus, they’re pretty.

Al Pelletier, Norway