Waylon Sheetz's Story

A small business owner in the small Kansas town of Belleville, Waylon Sheetz shares his point of view on the wind farm that has gone up nearby, including the benefits to the local economy and his perspective on the people who work for the wind farm.

At 26 years old, Waylon Sheetz is a rarity, to say the least. He opened his own business, Sheetz and Suds Laundromat, at 23. (The town last had a laundromat when Waylon was in diapers.) Since then, he’s decided to train to become a funeral director. Why not? Belleville’s long-standing Bachelor-Faulkner-Dart-Surber Funeral Home is two doors down. 

Waylon Sheetz in front of Sheetz & Suds in Belleville, Kansas | Photo by Haines Eason, Freelance Kansas

Along the way, Sheetz has also served a year as the director of his hometown’s combined Chamber of Commerce and Main Street organizations. It’s given him a good view of the business landscape of his town, especially as the High Banks Wind Farm has taken root.

“What you hear in the news or media, if a wind farm’s coming, they’re bringing a lot of people,” Sheetz noted. 

But, this young man notes, these workers, they’re just like the rest of us. They have bills to pay, and they’re working for a paycheck. They have families and dreams, too.

“They want to experience the community,” Sheetz noted. “They want to experience what it’s like to be in our little slice of heaven in the country. They’re here to make it the best that they can.”

Belleville, Kansas square | Photo by Haines Eason, Freelance Kansas

Belleville is a town of roughly 2,000 people. The wind farm has employed hundreds, and, for a small town, the impact of such an influx is very noticeable.

“It’s been neat to see our community handle that, take that on, and be willing to grow more,” Sheetz said. “We’ve seen RV parks pop up everywhere in town that they can. Empty lots that were not being utilized. They’re being productive spaces that a year ago would not have been.” 

RV park in Belleville, Kansas | Photo by Haines Eason, Freelance Kansas

Given his connections to the business community, Sheetz has real insights into how his town’s boom has unfolded. 

He said that, across the board, most any industry has seen an increase in business. As a result, business owners are in a better position to pay down mortgages, invest in operations, and take care of their families. 

“Biggest thing I’ve seen firsthand are the restaurants. Our local Casey’s, it runs out of food immediately. Our other restaurants are selling like crazy trying to keep up. We’ve actually seen an uptick of restaurants. We just had a bar and grill open just a week ago, and I think a lot of that was due to the wind farm.” 

He said that, across the board, most any industry has seen an increase in business. As a result, business owners are in a better position to pay down mortgages, invest in operations, and take care of their families. 

Belleville, Kansas | Photo by Haines Eason, Freelance Kansas

Many workers have brought their own families, too. That means more kids in local schools, which means more funding. Even if for a short while, towns like Belleville are growing—when, before, they had been holding steady or shrinking.  

“All the workers, they’re working a job just like the rest of us. They’re not about the politics of it, the pros or cons. They’re here doing a job for a paycheck. Why not be welcoming and inviting and get to know them while they’re here?”

In the end, Sheetz summed it up perfectly: 

“All the workers, they’re working a job just like the rest of us. They’re not about the politics of it, the pros or cons. They’re here doing a job for a paycheck. Why not be welcoming and inviting and get to know them while they’re here?”

The Dobbins' Story

Jim and Freda Dobbins are farmers in Nemaha County, Kansas, who are leasing their land to a wind energy company for wind energy production. They have wind turbines on their land, under which they continue raising crops and cattle.

Jim & Freda Dobbins on their farm in Nemaha County, Kansas

If you look south out of Jim and Freda’s kitchen window, you can see a wind turbine in one of their crop fields. Step out and walk the area around their house and you can see turbines to the north and west without much effort, too. As the Dobbinses will tell you, they’re “about right in the very center” of Soldier Creek Wind Farm. And, that’s okay with them.

Jim and Freda were one of the first landowners approached by NextEra Energy, the power company that developed and runs the Soldier Creek farm. NextEra placed weather-monitoring equipment in the Dobbins’ fields during the exploratory phase. That required a lease, Jim notes. And, some of the first Solder Creek turbines went up on the Dobbins farm – one that has been in crops and cows since 1938, a fact celebrated by a new sign on a new metal barn not far from their house.

The Dobbinses say the sign was an extravagance they allowed themselves after the dust settled, the turbines were up, and the lease payments were underway. That the sign is an extravagance should speak some to the Dobbinses’ values. The farm is a business, and it has supported their family for decades. Decisions have consequences, and frivolity isn’t really a thing in their world.

In their later 70s now, the turbines bring the Dobbinses a steady lease income that doesn’t require them to work sunup to sundown

Jim and Freda will tell you they didn’t work with NextEra out of the greenness of their hearts. The turbines were another business decision, they underscore, just as is buying and selling cows and deciding whether or not to try out a new crop. In their later 70s now, the turbines bring the Dobbinses a steady lease income that doesn’t require them to work sunup to sundown, if much at all, especially as compared to their early- and mid-life years. They also sold a small parcel of land to NextEra for its farm operations building.

The Dobbinses were initially surprised by some of the anti-wind rancor they noticed from their neighbors. More surprising: Some of those same neighbors ended up sore that they were not approached with a turbine lease opportunity. Freda especially finds this confusing as, she highlights, some of these folks were some of the loudest and aggressive members of the opposition. Such can be the confusing and emotional nature of grappling with change in a small community.

The Dobbins' 'Value Them Both' sign on their land; wind turbines in the background

Freda and Jim themselves weren’t initially sure what to make of NextEra’s plans. But, one day, a representative knocked on their door. They had the gentleman into their kitchen to sit and talk. As more meetings occurred, they took notes, asked pointed questions, and got essential promises in writing.

But, one day, a representative knocked on their door. They had the gentleman into their kitchen to sit and talk. As more meetings occurred, they took notes, asked pointed questions, and got essential promises in writing.

Everything came down to real numbers and agreed-upon timelines. That’s what swayed the Dobbinses. Not social media posts or general store hearsay. Whatever NextEra proposed or promised, Jim and Freda say they got it, and more or less within a reasonable timeframe.

In the end, Jim and Freda’s pastures were restored. Those acres are producing, and that means the Dobbinses can expect their tenant farmer to be able to make his lease payments. All told, the Dobbinses have secured a solid future for themselves and their family for generations.

Jim & Freda Dobbins at their kitchen table

Mary Fund's Story

Mary Fund’s family has been living on and working the same acreage for roughly 150 years. Roughly a quarter of the land remains in tillage – organic grains, mostly. They run a few cows, as has always been the way there.

Mary herself is now retired from the Kansas Rural Center where she served as executive director. She devotes her time to tending her property, getting behind causes she cares about, gardening, and just being present on her land.

To find Mary and her husband, you take S Road north from Goff a few miles to an intersection with a nondescript numbered dirt road. Out there it’s just the Funds, the neighbor across the road, the wind, and nature. Early spring had taken hold – blooms were emerging, as were leaves. The redbuds were having their moment.

A NextEra wind farm has also taken root over the last few years. As with most big change in small communities, the farm and its slow expansion has divided the community some. But, the farm has also brought benefits. Jobs during installations. Afterwards, vehicle maintenance contracts and some ongoing operational and turbine repair jobs. Land leases, too.

Mary says the animosity regarding the turbines has surprised her some, especially given the prevalence of oil wells and their associated leases. Then there’s the mess a well drilling operation can make.

The turbines are, by comparison, she says, much less impactful. Maybe they are more noticeable, but the risks naysayers put forward when the farm was going in and expanding? For Mary, they haven’t materialized.

Sure, when the wind hits a turbine just right, you can hear it, she says. And, in bad weather, you might not want to stand underneath one (just as you wouldn’t a tree, she notes). A turbine can sound a little like a plane in a high wind, and the blades can ice up sometimes, but not many folks are usually near a turbine in these conditions. Nor are their cows.

In the end, Mary says, you kind of forget the turbines are there.

The benefits to the Funds are pretty straightforward. The land on which their one turbine sits is leased by NextEra, and for a long time. That money has helped with their retirement planning. And, NextEra graveled many roads during construction. They made that gravel available to locals for free. That’s no small thing.

NextEra also pays the county quite a bit annually. Roughly $900,000 a year for a few decades to come. And, by Mary’s account, the company took excellent care of her family land, being careful not to tread on sensitive areas, removing and returning topsoil, staying on the roads they built, communicating well, and making right when they did incur damage (which happened infrequently).

But, she says, some locals just won’t see the change as a good thing. And, those opposed organized well during the build out. The county commissioners are reportedly opposed to wind. Mary’s advice: Even a group of citizens who support wind and see the benefits as clear should organize. If those who want wind in their community hope to see turbines materialize, they should organize well as those who are opposed are doing.

Don’t take anything for granted, she notes. Talk to your neighbors. Talk to the wind company representatives. Take notes, be present, and make yourself heard. Others will if you do not.