The recent Windham Town Council special meeting about the so-called tar sands oil potentially being pumped from Montreal to Portland certainly has been one of those meetings many local citizens have been talking about.

The pipeline under discussion that evening is something I never thought that much about until recently because at the present time there has been no mention in the news about imminent pumping of crude oil through it. That meeting might have just been the wake-up call and I mean that in more than one way.

I must point out what I find kind of odd about that special meeting. I expected a significant turnout of local citizens attending the meeting because they were worried about their environment. Many of those who attended were the ones asking for a meeting. But, pray tell, who invited those in favor of pumping the Tar Sands crude oil through that pipeline because it is now obvious some of the Windham town councilors knew nothing of that (although that seems to be becoming the norm now). I must admit I wonder what is going on behind the scenes at the council and exactly the same for the pipeline running through our town.

I was surprised that several Windham citizens talked to me about the meeting because they were upset that council rules were not followed. By that I mean we have some who frequently attend council meetings and when they speak during the public participation period the three-minute time frame is strictly enforced. That is not something that happened during this special meeting when someone spoke for what seemed 10 to 12 minutes. It makes me wonder who invited that speaker there in the first place because he definitely wasn’t against the pipeline.

I must also mention that it almost seems the norm that at least one member of the public who speaks at a council meeting is verbally attacked by the same councilor or councilors. I won’t mention who or what in this column but it that continues I guarantee I will dedicate a whole column or multiple columns to that subject.

I can certainly find more reasons for shutting down the pipeline rather than allowing crude oil being pumped from Montreal to Portland, even though no such endeavor has yet been made public. Certainly the age of the pipeline is a question and so is where it is situated and perhaps even more significant, what safeguards are in place if the pipeline ruptures? On the other hand, I find the whole debate somewhat intriguing because all we are hearing from are extremists on both sides of the issue rather than finding a common ground. Is the crude oil really that corrosive or do the opponents use the term tar sands oil in an attempt to vilify it? The pipeline is over 60 years old and can it really be safe to pump crude oil through it?

For me, right now I have too many unanswered questions to form a solid opinion for or against the pumping of Tar Sands oil from Montreal to Portland, if in fact, it will actually occur. I would much rather begin to understand what is happening in Windham’s town hall because that has an immediate impact on me and my family. I think the most important question that must be answered is who in Windham’s town government invited those supporting the tar sands crude oil being pumped through that existing pipeline and not informing all the town councilors.

Lane Hiltunen, of Windham, wonders how many drove their gasoline-powered vehicles to that special meeting.