 |
| Farm Defender Accused of Terrorism - By Rebecca Kemble with Citizens Concerned about the proposed Penokee Mine - We paid a visit to the Gollubske family in Kimball, Iron County, Wisconsin. Their buildings, land and underground springs have been affected by blasting from an asphalt company nearby. Their surface water and air quality has been affected by the air pollution coming from the asphalt cooking facility. Bob Gollubske was arrested last May for terrorism because in his attempts to seek justice and protect his farm, he called the FBI and after describing his situation to no apparent effect he asked the person on the phone, "How would they like it if I blew up the Iron County Courthouse?" He was jailed for 4 days and released on a $10,000 bond. Now he face(ed) penalties of 10 years in prison. Bob reports that there are no more trout in the creeks on the north side of Hwy 2 due to the air pollution and the shifting granite bedrock from the explosions that has diverted the artesian spring water to different locations. He says the only place he fishes for trout anymore is up in the Penokee Hills, and now they are under threat of explosives from Gogebic Taconite's GTac bulk sampling activities. Video of his testimony at the DNR hearing on GTac's bulk sampling permit. |
These statements are not facts. These statements are lies. Hence, the charges were dismissed by another judge.
Iron County District Attorney Martin Lipske wanted to throw the book at the mild-mannered farmer, Gollubske, because Gollubske last spring and summer had engaged in a campaign against the GTac proposed mine, saying it will result in environmental damage similar to that Gollubske blames dynamiting and controlled explosives inflicted to his farm and home's structural damage and poisoning.
Gollubske spoke about his concerns at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources held a public hearing on Gogebic Taconite's Bulk Sampling Permit application and Gtac's pre-application notice on August 15, 2013 on video.
A request for a new judge was granted in State of Wisconsin v. Robert R. Gollubske, known locally as "Barrel Bob" Gollubske, a 76-year-old farmer from Hurley because of his four wheeler.
Price County Circuit Court Judge Douglas T. Fox presided over this morning's hearing.
Gollubske says the same type of damage he attributes to construction and road building companies would be wrought by GTac in Ashland and Iron counties.
Gollubske called the FBI, an assistant at the Iron County Courthouse, among other authorities to warn the community that the mine's explosions could poison and cause unforeseen damage. He is not alone in this assessment.
For his trouble, pro-mining Iron County DA Lipske tried to paint the farmer Gollubske as a "terrorist."
The WCCO list felony "Bomb Scares" in State of Wisconsin v. Robert R. Gollubske (Case Number 2013CF000027).
Gollubske retained attorneys, Jeff Scott Olson and Peter Bear of Madison.
This morning all charges were dismissed. But Gollubske has been through an ordeal, a trauma.
"I feel happy, I feel good. But I gotta tell you after the Iron County Sheriff or whoever arrested me, I now have bad dreams of him holding his gun over me, shaking his hand and waving like he's going to shoot me. I will never forget this for as long a I live. He was shaking and then asked, 'are you Mr. Gollubske?'" said Gollubske.
"I feel happy, I fell relieved, but my wife you know, she had a heart attack over this, a quadruple bypass, and thanks to Marshfield (Clinic). Being called a terrorist, how it felt. I still can't believe I was accused of being a terrorist."
Another thing I want to say is you will never now how it felt when charges were dismissed; you will never know. My thanks comes from my heart, (attorneys) Peter Bear and Jeff Scott Olson, and you know my heart is with them."
I have my health, my wife is struggling, you look at our barns and garages, the rattled windows; it looks like an earthquake if you see it."
"So, I'm the terrorist, but not after this morning," said Gollubske.
Gollubske said he can be reached at the following address in Hurley in Iron County:
Robert Gollubske
Kimball Drive West
Hurley, Wisconsin 54534
No comments:
Post a Comment