Re: "Helicopter must stop flights over St. Albert in wee hours," Letters, March 23; "Sound of helicopters in wee hours gives me peace of mind," and, "Helicopters that fly at night have good reason," Letters, April 6.
In a letter a few weeks ago, a person was complaining about a helicopter in the early morning, flying over St. Albert. Last week came some holier-than-thou letters in rebuttal to his position.
He had a legit complaint. I have wondered about these choppers as well, and to just push it aside as, "It's STARS, be glad it isn't you in trouble," or, "I sleep even better with the noise knowing bad guys are being chased," are ridiculous comments, and the "old man yelling at clouds" is just more stereotyping.
One of the letter-writers called them "inherently dangerous." Sure, that's what I want flying over my house four to eight times a day. These are not STARS nor the police, they are military, and they are loud and should make an effort to mix up their flight patterns as they seem to be getting more frequent.
The other problem is there is no place to call to get some clarity or explanation as to what's up. It's clear they seem to be moving from Namao to the Villeneuve Airport, and my house, along with many others, is directly under the flight path. I don't even mind the odd one, they're neat to watch go over, but it's the frequency with which they come and the 11:30 p.m. ones that annoy me the most as I was probably just woken up by it.
Ahh, but the train horn which lulls me to sleep, as it is just the right distance away. I'm sure some residents in Lacombe Park or Heritage Lakes don't feel the same way, though.
Tony Gull, St. Albert
