2,000 attend rally for natural gas drilling

DEC hold-ups costing local residents money, they maintain

BAINBRIDGE — Responding to a rallying cry to protect their rights and royalties, about 2,000 people gathered in Bainbridge on Sunday afternoon to urge state officials to allow energy companies to drill for natural gas in their backyards.

With hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, landowners, bankers, lawyers and gas industry representatives filed into General Clinton Park and fanned out across the sprawling grounds along the Susquehanna River.

Some wore bright yellow T-shirts stating: “Pass gas. It’s a movement.”

Dan Fitzsimmons, an organizer, said 871 vehicles parked for the event, many with two or more occupants.

With thunder-heads looming in the background and county and western musicians jamming from a large stage in the park’s center, rally-goers set up folding chairs and umbrellas on the lawn. Many circulated among makeshift booths in shelters and pavilions, where lawyers and financial firms offered their services and advice to landowners, some on the verge of suddenly becoming wealthy.

Star-Gazette (Elmira, NY)