Parents and grandparents of Dogwood Elementary school children in Germantown, TN are making a concerted effort to stop construction of a tower, 150-feet from school grounds, according to WMC-TV.
The recent uproar in California from a school with four children who have developed cancer, has made people in Tennessee reluctant to expose their own children, to what they deem is a similar risk (see Inside Towers March 14 article: “Parents Want Tower Removed Citing Cancer in Students and Teachers”).
As of Tuesday, 360 names were on the Change.org petition. The petition read: “As concerned parents, we would like the mayor, alderman, and school board members to pause this process, take a hard look at the most recent data, and find a new off campus location for this tower. We understand the need for better service in this area, but we feel that the school campus is a poor choice of location. Although there are parties on both sides that will debate the health concerns/effects of being this close to a cell tower, we wholeheartedly believe it is not worth the unknown risk to the children and staff that we care so much about.”
Spotty coverage in this area of Tennessee prompted Germantown officials to consider service improvements. As a city representative said, “The proposed cell tower was brought forth to help fill coverage gaps in the Dogwood school area for citizens and emergency services.”
“What keeps me up at night is they may actually put this tower next to this school,” said Robbie Davis, grandmother of a Dogwood Elementary student.
While Germantown has cited poor service as a need for the new tower, and has referenced the Telecommunications Act of 1996 in support of this need, local opposition is mounting. No final decision has been reached at this time. Comments? Email Us.
March 20, 2019
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