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Letter to the Editor: oppose Lyndon Township sand mine

(Chelsea Update would like to thank Rick Taylor for this letter to the editor.)

Dear Editor:

We’re dealing with a huge problem [a proposed sand mine operation in Lyndon Township] here in Chelsea and I’ve been asked by some residents to comment on the issue, so here it goes.

“Most people have no idea what a “Jake Brake” is and I’m very, very surprised that nobody has brought it up in regards to the proposed Sand Mine just north of the Downtown Shopping District of Chelsea.

A “Jake Brake” defined is as follows: “A compression release engine brake, frequently called a Jake brake or Jacobs brake, is an engine braking mechanism installed on some diesel engines. When activated, it opens exhaust valves in the cylinders after the compression cycle, releasing the compressed air trapped in the cylinders, and slowing the vehicle.

Although Jake brake properly refers to the Jacobs brand of engine brakes, the term has become a generic trademark and is often used to refer to engine brakes or compression release engine brakes in general, especially on large vehicles or heavy equipment.”

So, you’re probably scratching your head wondering just what this all means?  It means that the trucks are loud as [heckl as they have to slow down coming into town. These massive trucks (about 70 or so a day) are running and gunning to get up to speed and then it gets crazy loud as they come down the hill heading south and approaching Staffan Mitchell Funeral Home where the speed limit drops substantially.

The truckers will let off the gas pedal allowing the Jake Brake to slow the truck down, the sound is deafening to say the least.  Now, imagine this over and over again throughout the day.

Forget about what these trucks will do to our roads, forget about what they will do to our environment, how they’ll make the already backed up roads considerably worse and so much more.

What nobody has really talked about yet is the real estate impact this mine will have on our vibrant real estate economy in Chelsea.

Simply put, this mine will devastate our local economy and that alone begs the question:  “Which is more important; a sand mine or the City of Chelsea’s financial well-being and way of life in a majestic town of Chelsea?”

I would use these real and justified concerns as a reason to deny this sand mine from becoming a reality.

Rick Taylor
Ann Arbor

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2 thoughts on “Letter to the Editor: oppose Lyndon Township sand mine”

  1. This did not start a month ago. I want to know what Chelsea official has been aware of this proposed mine and for how long. As most long-term residents know, there are known secrets in Chelsea. If it becomes known that any one of our so-called officials have been aware of this nightmare, they will have serious questions to answer.

  2. We saw signs all over the Pacific northwest on the outskirts of towns instructing trucks that it was against the law to use the brakes talked about in the article in town because of the noise they make. They are very loud and disruptive. This mine is so wrong on so many levels!

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