Vital for the Region and My Family, A Teen-Agers View of Vermont Yankee: Guest Post by Evan Twarog

Evan Twarog
See note about the picture  (note near the end of the post)

My name is Evan Twarog. I am a sophomore at Keene High School, and have lived in this region for more than 13 years while my dad has worked at Vermont Yankee. In that time, I have grown to love the region, and couldn’t have imagined growing up anywhere else. Each year, I play two school sports, and I am a proud member of the Keene Rotary Interact Club.

As I’ve seen the legal battle pan out over my family’s primary income source, I’ve learned just how vital Vermont Yankee is to our community. Each year, the nuclear energy facility provides local charities and non-profits with hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding which helps ensure mouths go fed, athletes have gear to play in, and disabled citizens are taken care of. My father is the president of one of those organizations. For almost 14 years, he has worked at the facility and has risen to the position of Shift Manager. In the time he’s worked there, my confidence in Entergy and its employees has only increased.

At the facility, there is no higher priority than safety. In fact, he’s spent more time achieving and maintaining his reactor license than he spent in the four years it took him to get his Bachelor’s. In the past couple of years, as my interest in nuclear energy and VY has increased, I have delved into issues concerning the plant such as economics, safety and environmental issues, and this research has only made me more certain just how important VY is to Vermont’s economy and environment.

 In these rough economic times, it would be an enormous mistake to try to shut down Vermont Yankee and force the 600 families supported by the facility to move out the region. We have much to gain by keeping the facility operating, and much to lose by shutting it down. Thank you.


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This is the 16th in a series of posts which share statements made in favor of Vermont Yankee at the Public Service Board hearing on November 7, 2012.

Evan Twarog wrote an earlier post on this blog: A Teen's View of Vermont Yankee.

A short note about the picture.  People were asked to line up so that they could get to the microphone quickly.  In this picture, you can see Cheryl Twarog standing just behind Evan, ready for her chance to speak.  Between them, sitting down, is Peter Lothes, who also spoke for the plant.  Just to Evan's left, also in an aisle seat, is a man who identified himself as Brother Toby from a Buddhist temple. This man was quoted in the Reformer.  Not surprisingly, he spoke against the plant and against all nuclear energy.