Don't "Cell" Out Our Children! Vote NO to cell towers on July 31!

Many people have asked me about the short speech I gave at the DeKalb Board of Education meeting in November of 2011 during the public comments portion of the meeting.  So, I'm reprinting it here as a reminder to everyone that the school board elections are right around the corner.

If  you do not know whether or not a candidate or incumbant would vote in favor or against a cell tower at your child's school or next to your home, I suggest you find out before deciding whether or not that person should be able to represent you.

My wife and I have been speaking out against cell towers on school grounds since one was proposed for our child's school last year.  After it was removed from consideration, we remained involved because we felt it was not right for these towers to be placed at any school in any part of our county.

Unfortunately, efforts made to ban the towers completely left us with a "non-binding advisory referendum" on the upcoming ballot.  While they call it an "advisory" referendum, you know that means it will likely be used to determine which areas of DeKalb will be the best places for them to try putting up the next round of towers once the first 8 go up. (Smoke Rise, Briarlake, ML King High, Princeton, Narvie J. Harris, Margaret Harris, Jolly, Flat Rock.)

There will be a question on the July 31 ballot about this issue.  It will ask you if the DeKalb School system should "place or operate telecommunications towers" at any public or charter school.  WE hope you will agree that putting children at risk from a health and safety standpoint should never be an option, no atter how deserate the county is for money.  You are urged to vote NO!

Please vote NO to "telecommunications towers" at any public school and warn others aabout the importance of showing up to vote July 31, or your school or neighborhood might be next!


Norcross 2011 cell tower fire (courtesy CBS Atlanta).

*****************************

COMMENT MADE DURING NOVEMBER 2011 BOE PUBLIC MEETING:

I would be cordial and greet you here tonight, but I know you guys don’t want to hear from me, but here it goes again.  It makes me sick that I even have to come up here and talk about cell towers.  As a father, it makes me sick to tell my daughter that her life would be at risk, whether you guys believe it or not.

You guys seem to think that it doesn’t show any risk factors.  But, I’m also a physical therapist and I work in a bone marrow unit and I work with leukemia patients every day.  Come in to my work if you don’t  think something like this exists.  Picture one of your loved ones sitting in that bed.  They can’t do anything, frail and weak.  They didn’t ask for it.  But, for some reason you guys think it is okay to expose children to this? I don’t get it.

I was also a boxer.  I have been in hundreds of fights.  And every time I think of what you guys have done, it feels like someone sucker punched me from behind.  And. I feel that way every day I have to think about this.

I got in my truck the day we found out.  I got in my truck and went to my neighbors with pen and paper and got signatures.  I said, “Did anybody tell you that this was going on?”  Not a single person knew.  Not a single one.  And we came and we told you guys that and you said, “Oh we haven’t seen any factors that we would think it would be dangerous.

B.S.   There is a dirty little secret and we are going to uncover it.  You are not going to get away with it.  I promise you that.   Again, it makes me sick that I even have to bring this up.  The fact that we’ve been lied to by our principal.  Let’s just talk about notification.  Our principal said, “We didn’t know anything.  We were just told to put the information in the children’s backpacks…. in my three year old’s backpack, isn’t that pleasant?  That’s a sweet thing in pre-K.

SO…. We go to the principal and she says, “We didn’t know.”  So we go to the PTA and they say “We didn’t know.”  And at first they are all up and arms about it and then they say, “We can’t take a stand on issues like this.”  So we are left in the dark.  So, we have to continue to seek the answers.

Not a single person has told me, not a single person, a positive that is coming out of this.  Except, “Oh, the schools are going get money.”  $25,000 hush money for the PTA?  That’s not acceptable.   The cost of somebody’s bone marrow transplant doesn’t cover the cost of a single payment that we will ever get.  I don’t get it.  

And, God forbid…  (pause)…  I don’t ever want to wish any illness on anybody, but again, come in to my work, step one foot in the bone marrow transplant unit and I guarantee you will rip those cell towers out of there.

(to the board) Bad people...  It’s not nice.

******************************************  end public comment

To watch the video of this and other protesters from the School Board Meeting last Novemer, go to:    http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewIndexSessionSLMQ.aspx?indexSessionSKU=MekWaHPZMrYBy4Wd4iUaZQ==

For more details, go to: www.GETtheCELLoutATL.org.  And, to learn about school board candidates who oppose cell towers on school grounds, you can also "like" us on Facebook.

Read more: CrossRoadsNews - entry Don t 34 Cell 34 Out Our Children Vote NO to Cell Towers on July 31

Debunking the Claim that We Need Cell Towers for Better Service From 911

A recent comment on our articled titled, "REPRINT of OCT. 2011 Response from CEO Burrell Ellis' Office," questioned our comprehension of the role cell towers play in the "911 infrastructure." 

We welcome all comments on both sides of any issues raised on this blog/website, especially from those who might be in favor of cell towers at our schools because that is one opinion we have yet to understand.  Even the person commenting on this particular article seems to not grasp the fact that our public school system has one major responsibility - educating children. 

So, the diversionary comments regarding 911 services are irrelevent in addition to being untrue.  Our schools are well equipped with land lines and students are not even permitted to bring cell phons to school.  It is also against the law for anyone under 18 to drive while talking or texting on a cell phone or other mobile device, so it's best that they just leave their electronics at home and come to school prepared to learn. 

These cell towers that will soon be built at 8 of our DeKalb County schools (unless a lawsuit is filed to stop them) have nothing to do with education - currently.  The money they will bring in is not slated for anything of merit that would help any of the schools being asked to take on this burden.  And they will be an eyesore and health hazzard for those who have no choice but to live near them.

How many lives does the annoymous commenter think will be saved by adding another cell tower to our county which is already saturated with them?  And, how many lives might one day be lost if RF radiation turns out to be the carcingen that the World Health Organization says is possible?

Here's the comment:

Two facts you are failing to mention.   

1) Cell towers are necessary to support the 911 infrastructure. Without adequate cell towers, the 911 system does not work well. Dekalb County needs assistance from cell companies like T-Mobile to effectively operate the county's 911 system. In addition, many of the first responders who work for the county's police, fire and rescue departments rely on their cell phones while working emergency incidents.  

2) Cell towers are an EXPENSE to cell companies like T-Mobile, not sources of revenue. Cell phone companies would be delighted if they could just collect revenue each month and never spend a penny on cell towers. But they can't. In order to meet their service commitments to their customers, they have to spend money to build cell towers - an expense, not a revenue. Are you that ignorant of basic business knowledge and facts? on REPRINT of OCT. 2011 Response from CEO Burrell Ellis' Office

While the need to insult others is clearly a sign of insecurity and an attempt to bully or intimadate us into silence, it's a bit too late for that to be effective, so we will overlook it. 

Now, let's debunk the premise behind the first "fact" offered up by our commenter.  This should be fun.  If you are new to cell tower research, you might learn something about how the 911 service is falsely touted as a "need."  If you have been involved with fighting a cell tower, you will enjoy seeing that these absurd statements are not only made in your community, but in mine, too. 

It says a lot about an industry when you realize that they expect employees to behave in such an underhanded way, doesn't it?  They are obviously given a set of questions and answers to post on blog sites, like this one, that likely have no reflection on how the person truly feels about the subject personally.  In order to keep their jobs, they must essentially deceive others.  Nice, huh?

Okay, comment number one can be broken down into several parts.  And, by the way, none of this subject matter is relevent to why we would want a cell tower to be placed on public school property.  It has nothing to do with education and the money is not slated to help any of the cell tower schools. 

1A.)  Cell towers are necessary to support the 911 infrastructure.  FALSE

Here's the 411:  The nation's 911 emergency response system, built in 1967, was based on the expectation that calls for help would come from land-line telephones.  Cell towers are not needed to support a communications system that is based upon land-line service. 

Cell towers support cellular communications which is a for-profit industry, not a public utility or a public infrastructure requiring the aid of pubic funds.  In fact, cell phones are actually problematic for 911 dispatchers and responders.

Cellphone users "almost assume that they are going to be located — and that's not a fair assumption," says Brian Fontes, CEO of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), which focuses on 911 emergency communications.

Calls that originate from a land line can immediately tell dispatchers the address where the call is coming from and pinpoint the location on an overhead map without the person on the other end having to say a single word.  Here is a story about a woman in Greater Atlanta who might have lived if she had called 911 from a land line instead of using her cell phone.

Even the most advanced 911 systems do not allow a dispatcher to get a specific street address for a wireless call.  About 93% of the nation's 911 centers have technology that lets the dispatcher immediately see the caller's phone number and the location of the cell tower that picks up the call, but not the exact coordinates of where the person making the call is located. 

The dispatcher still has to request the GPS coordinates from the caller which can take several seconds or more and, even then, it does not locate the emergency with much accurasy in the case of a high-rise apartment complex or business center.

1B.)  Without adequate cell towers, the county's 911 service does not work well.  FALSE

Here's the 411:   First of all, there is no area in greater Atlanta that would be considered to have anything less than "adequate" service or an "adequate" number of cell towers. 

There are cell phones and cell towers everywhere.  In fact, we wrote about a recent FCC report that actually shows the parts of the U.S. that still need 3G services, and DeKalb County is not on that list.

And, adding to the taxpayer expense as well as the hassle of our emergency personnel, it was recently reported that nearly 40% of all calls to 911 are accidental.  A large portion of these calls are from "pocket dialing" or "butt dialing."  Here's more about butt dialing.

Here's an article that points out the trouble locating a victim because 911 responders cannot pinpoint the location of the call if it is from a cell phone.  You are urged to give your location quickly if you are calling 911 from a cell phone.

Another problem caused by cell towers is that 911 calls are often mis-directed to the wrong dipatch center.  We encountered that problem not too long ago in Atlanta. 

Unlike land-line calls, which are sent to the 911 center for their jurisdiction, wireless calls can hit the wrong tower, further slowing the response.  Misrouting also happens in metropolitan areas where multiple jurisdictions are bunched together.

And here is an article about how cell phones can disrupt some police and fire radio signals.

1C.)  Many of the first responders who work for the county's police, fire and rescue departments rely on their cell phones while working emergency incidents. TRUE - but they have cell phones that are not affected by the commercial use of cell services.

Here's the 411:   Here's an article we wrote that shows how cell towers can actually disrupt some police and fire communications.

First responders have their own cell phones with a dedicated frequency so that they can talk without interference from commercial traffic.

And, remember - EVERY cell tower IS a 911 cell tower.  There isn't anything that makes one more special than another.  So if you already have plenty of cell towers around you, then you likely do not need to add one to your local public school in order to help anything related to 911.

Now, a response to the poster's comment #2

2A.)  Cell towers are an EXPENSE to cell companies like T-Mobile, not sources of revenue.  FALSE

This comment is so ridiculous it is almost not worth responding to.  It's like saying that a grocery store should claim its actual building as a liability and a burden that's necessary for them to sell groceries.  We all know that you wouldn't build a building and you wouldn't build a tower if there wasn't going to be profit waiting for you on the other side.  Investment in your own infrastructure, even if it includes leasing space, is just that - an investment with a  reasonable amount of risk associated with it, but with the sole intention that over time it will turn a profit for the business.

2B.)  Are you that ignorant of basic business knowledge and facts? FALSE

Guess who appears to be ignorant of the "facts" now?  Nice try, now go butt dial your boss at ATT and tell him DeKalb County is way ahead of your antics, yet again.

Balloon Test - Look Out Below!

Jolly Elementary (Clarkston), MLK High (Lithonia), Princeton Elem. (Lithonia), Smoke Rise Elem. (Stone Mountain), Margaret Harris Comprehensive (Atlanta) - start looking for the balloon test and remember to take photos from different angles from your own property and in different locations (front yard, back yard, looking out your window, etc.)

 

Since all the photos will be views of the same thing (a balloon), it is helpful to also keep a notepad with you so you can write down the location in the correct order they are taken to make sure you do not get them mixed up.

If you neighbors are not home, be nice and take some from their vantage point as well. These pics are important to show the actual visibility expected from your residence so loss in property value can be estimated.

You can also CALL DEKALB COUNTY and ask for them to give you the date and time of the balloon test near your school. 

404-371-4915

School District Cell Towers

Why Your School District Property May Be More Valuable Than You Think.
(click for full story)

 There has been a huge push by wireless providers in recent years to increase the capacity of their wireless networks. For example, from 1st Quarter 2010 to 1st Quarter 2011, the amount of data used by each cell phone per month has increased by 89%. This trend will continue as more subscribers get smart phones with data capability.

Another tower as seen from I-285 on the north end.  Towers are
approved with the RF radiation level reported for a single
antenna.  They can add new antennas at will and never
be checked to see if they are still below FCC standards
for human exposure.

In addition to increased data use, virtually all providers have unlimited plans of one type or another. This requires that they find additional capacity in their wireless networks, which can be met in a number of ways including increasing the density and number of cell sites in areas where capacity is needed.

Historically, the wireless industry has built communication towers in commercial and industrial areas, avoiding residential communities that tend to voice "NIMBY" opposition. "Not In My Back Yard" is a nice way of referring to the mindset of those users who demand more consistent and reliable wireless service, but don't want to be anywhere near the wireless infrastructure necessary to provide it.

Now that wireless carriers need increased capacity and better indoor coverage to meet growing consumer demand, they are starting to focus more closely on residential areas. Another factor impacting this trend is the shrinking proximity between cell sites, which is forcing carriers to find alternatives to using commercial or industrial areas and simply aiming coverage into the residential areas. Instead, carriers are now building sites between their existing sites- a process commonly called "infill".

The challenge wireless carriers are faced with is that many zoning ordinances have outright prohibitions against wireless towers in residential areas or require large parcels be allocated to accommodate the "fall zone" of a communication tower. This has triggered many carriers to get more innovative and creative when working through the demands of local communities - including using stealth towers and other camouflage technologies to better "hide" towers. Despite this, in many residential areas, there is a finite supply of larger parcels that would even meet local zoning regulations.

Carriers Meeting Demand with School District Cell Towers
In our years of experience, both as a site acquisition agent for the wireless carriers and as a consultant for hundreds of churches and municipalities, these larger parcels are often churches or schools. Because of their unique locations and larger parcel size, churches and school properties are often excellent locations for cell towers. Unfortunately, because of the aforementioned NIMBY effect, they are often contentious ones as well.

Ironically, wireless carriers prefer not to have school district cell towers because of many parents' fears about potential health risks of cell towers. It is difficult to predict whether a proposed school district cell tower will upset local residents and parents and as a result, wireless carriers will often look to other properties before they consider building a school district tower.

Given this situation, if a wireless carrier has approached your school district, you can bet it's probably a measure of last resort. Your school district property may be the only option for that particular wireless carrier and as a result, you may have a significant advantage in negotiations. It's precisely these types of situations where our expertise is most effective.

We've assisted many schools and universities in the successful negotiation of school district cell tower leases. We can review your specific situation to determine if the carrier is considering other site options and if not, then we can help your district decide just how hard to push in the negotiations.

Our Customers Tell it Best
Our clients are our best advocates. As one of our school district clients in Arizona said:
"Hiring Steel in the Air was the best decision we ever made. We work with Ken Schmidt who is clearly an expert in this field. Prior to Steel in the Air, district staff negotiated these cell site contracts and did a poor job. We make more and have better contracts because we use Steel in the Air."
Prior to using our services, this Phoenix school district relied on shared information they gathered from other districts in the area. Unfortunately, that information indicated a fair market value of leases that was lower than it should have been. Fortunately, as a direct result of using Steel in the Air, this school district received almost double the average lease rate than they would have received without our assistance.

Contact Us Today
Contact us today to discuss your school district's cell tower situation. Our initial discussion is always free. While we can't tell you how much you should be charging for your leases, we can indicate if we believe there is room for improvement. Additionally, we can provide an estimate for our services and references from other school districts and universities who've benefited from our valuable services.
Please note: In most cases, our school district clients pay little or nothing for our services. Instead, the wireless carrier proposing the school district cell tower pays our fee.

Cell Tower Fire in Gwinnett County

From the Lilburn-Mountain Park Patch

A cell tower at the corner of Rockbridge and Lilburn-Stone Mountain roads caught fire Friday afternoon.

 CreditTheresa Waldrop

 

Updated at 8 a.m. Saturday

A cell tower will be taken down that caught fire in unincorporated Lilburn near the corner of Rockbridge and Lilburn-Stone Mountain roads Friday afternoon.

Firefighters were on the scene until about 6:30 p.m. Friday, when the fire was considered to be out and power was cut to the tower, said Tommy Rutledge, spokesman for the Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services.

A contracting company was welding on the tower, and that seems to have sparked the fire, which burned along the transmisison cables that run up the tower, Rutledge said.

The tower rises above a daycare center, and the children were evacuated to a nearby Ingles parking lot. There's also a gas station on the corner in front of the tower. Rockbridge Road was closed until about 6:30.

Firefighters on the scene and could be seen spraying the bottom of the tower at about 4 p.m. Fire and smoke engulfed roughly the top part of the tower, and the upper portion seemed to be bent and leaning slightly.

Firefighters established a collapse zone just in case the tower came down.

About 20 children were evacuated from Education Station Daycare, and the owner and teachers said it was frightening experience. Owner Celeste Ginyard said the children at first went to a nearby playground, as they had practiced in fire drills.

"It began to crackle and make a lot of noise," she said. "As it leaned, that's when I said we've got to get out of here." Within five minutes, staff members had the children, including five infants, in vans and buses, headed away from the site.

"I'm so glad we practiced," she said. "The kids are really what made it easy" although a few were scared.

Lilburn Cell Tower Catches on Fire - Daycare Center and Homes Evacuated

Emergency crews worry cell tower may fall after fire

News from WSB-TV, 12/2/11

http://www.wsbtv.com/videos/news/emergency-crews-worry-cell-tower-may-fall-after/vFQDs/

Cell Phones Disrupt Some Fire, Police Radios

JONATHAN D. SALANT, Editoral Staff - Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The proliferation of cell phones is having potentially dangerous consequences for firefighters and police officers, who in some places can't use their radios to call for help because of interference from cell signals.

The Boston suburb of Cambridge, Mass., is one of those areas. Last fall, an officer responding to a fight at an apartment had to walk to the other side of the high-rise to call for backup. Another time, an officer responding to a burglar alarm couldn't call for help as he approached the building.

In both incidents, the delays didn't cause any major problems for officers. But the potential is there, said Cambridge Fire Chief Gerald Reardon, who oversees the city's entire public safety radio system.

``If equipment needs to be repaired or upgraded, we have no problem doing that,'' he said. ``This is beyond our control. It's a worry.''

Ernest Mitchell, president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, was more pessimistic.

``Thankfully, no one has died,'' said Mitchell, who is fire chief in Pasadena, Calif. ``But it's only a matter of time.''
Read more about how cell phones disrupt police, fire signals here.

Coincidence or Not? 911 calls rerouted to Savannah

Reprint from the Atlanta Business Journal, June 15, 2012
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2011/06/100-atl-911-calls-misrouted-to-savannah.html

Shortly after the DeKalb School Board had originally decided to vote on the cell towers for its school campuses back in June 2011, this story appeared on the local news in both Atlanta and Savannah.

A glitch that routed approximately 100 Atlanta 911 calls to Savannah, Ga., rather than to Atlanta emergency officials has been corrected, AT&T officials told the Savannah Morning News. The calls were sent to the wrong place when an AT&T cell tower near Interstate 20 in Atlanta was coded with a Savannah address, the newspaper reports.

The problem started in January and more than 70 calls were misdirected before police pinpointed the problem in April, according to the article.

Savannah police alerted AT&T (NYSE: T) and thought the problem was corrected, but on June 5 an Atlanta woman calling Atlanta police to report a window was smashed at a duplex she owns was routed to Savannah twice. After what the Savannah newspaper said was a “confusing exchange,” the operator had to give the woman a direct number for Atlanta police so she could dial the number herself rather than relying on 911.

The problem continued for a few more days, police said. AT&T officials say they corrected the problem last week, the newspaper reports.

Now that really makes you want to run out and ditch your landline, doesn't it?