CASS COUNTY MN Aug 9 2013 -- A Kalamazoo woman spent about nine hours in a tree Wednesday, protesting Enbridge oil pipline construction in Cass County. Police said the woman, who was being called “Felix,” was hoisted into the tree by three other protestors shortly before clearing crews were supposed to knock down that tree and others in the Crane Pond State Game area, east of Cassopolis.
The woman, estimated to be about 60 feet up, is with a group known as MI-CATS – the Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands.
Shortly after 6 p.m., the Cass County Sheriff's Department indicated in a news release that the woman had come down but said the incident remains under investigation. The case is expected to be forwarded to the Cass County Prosecutor.
Demonstrations like that one have prompted Enbridge to pay the the Berrien County Sheriff's department $65 an hour to patrol its Niles Township staging site at the old Eastgate Shopping Center on Oak Street. Deputies don’t get paid the whole $65, but the rest of the money covers costs for things like gasoline.
Taxpayers will not pay anything, the township said.
A sheriff’s deputy at the scene told WSBT Enbridge has private security patrolling inside its staging area, but the officers are there in case protests happen and things get out of hand.
Niles Charter Township approved Enbridge’s request earlier this week. Enbridge spokeswoman Jennifer Smith said it is “standard procedure” to have on-site security at the staging areas to keep the workers and equipment safe.
It’s no secret the project is controversial.
“It’s a nightmare,” said Kym Reese, who lives along Third Street in Niles.
It’s also something she’s dreaded for months. Construction crews started tearing down trees on her property Tuesday.
Right now, the pipeline that carries oil from Canada to the United States sits on her neighbor’s property. But Enbridge is moving it 10 feet from Reese’s home. Kym and her husband Shaun have four kids and a fifth due this month.
Enbridge is taking their property through eminent domain. The couple agreed not to disclose the settlement they reached with the oil company but says they’re fed up.
“I would love to be protesting this and have everybody chained up out there and not wanting to move, but what is that gonna get me? It's gonna stress me out even more and frankly, I have enough stress just trying to deal with it every day,” Kym said.
Others in Michigan have protested.
Last month in Lansing, they chained themselves to contractors’ equipment. Before that, a Kalamazoo man crawled into a pipe – refusing to move for hours. That’s one reason the oil company is paying to have officers in Niles Township… even though no protests have happened there yet.
“They have every right to express their views on energy and we respect that,” said Smith. “[But] safety is a priority.”
Kym Reese said Enbridge told her they would likely be in Niles for at least the next several months if not up to a year. Enbridge’s contract with the sheriff’s department lasts until the work is done.
Source-wsbt