Submitted Photo Jake Szumigala, who lives with his family on Center Road and enjoys hunting, says the peace and quiet no longer exists during the wind turbine project.

ARKWRIGHT — For the last four days, Jake Szumigala has been defined by a picture that appeared on Page 1 of the Wednesday OBSERVER. It showed him within inches of another town resident with a look of anger, pointing his finger at the individual.

He wants everyone to know, even Harold Ross and his family, that is not who he is. That was just one moment in time.

“I apologize to the Ross family,” he said. “I do wish him well and I’m sorry it got to that point. I never wanted it to be that way.”

Szumigala did not begin the confrontation, which began when Ross talked about his support for the windmills that have become a part of the northern Chautauqua County landscape in the last month. Ross noted at the Arkwright Town Board meeting that he was battling cancer, and was pleased to see the construction in the town.“Everybody wants to say that nobody can sleep,” Ross said. “Now, I got stage 4 cancer. I am awake 24 hours a day. I watch Gernatt dump trucks drive down Creek Road, I watch them drive up. … They don’t bother nobody; the tractors that drive by wake me up more than anything that these folks are going to do.”

In making his statements, he moved closer to Szumigala. It led to a sense of unease and “irritation.”

“I was never going to lay my hands on the man,” Szumigala said. “I’m not that type of person. … He approached me and got six inches from my face. … That was not going to be acceptable.”

Szumigala, who spoke to the OBSERVER by phone, apologized for his actions over and over again. He took full accountability, but was obviously upset by how the photo may have been interpreted by others. “I have a huge amount of respect to my elders,” he said.

He also cares about those who are making a road trip to Arkwright to see those tall turbines up close. In fact, he went to Monday’s meeting to point out an issue of safety regarding the forklifts that are driving regularly on the town roads. He wants those lifts lowered when they are with traffic.

“Everybody’s coming to look and those lifts are at least 4 to 5 feet high on Center Road,” he said, noting drivers may not be fully attentive to what’s happening on the road if they are looking at the windmills. “I asked them to be lowered for public safety … by simply lowering the forks so they are closer to the road surface.”

As of Friday morning, Szumigala said the drivers have not complied with his request.

In the meantime, he and his family are considering a move away from what was once a quiet, peaceful surrounding. “It’s a tough pill to swallow,” he said, noting he has been outspoken in his opposition to the project. “We are hoping to get someplace to live again … and not have to worry about cranes, bulldozers and windmill parts making noises when coming by the house.”

Before he hung up the phone, he offered one more note of forgiveness. “My apologies to the Ross family … I wish the family God’s blessings.”

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