Fallen radio towers focus of dispute

SNOHOMISH, Wash., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A Washington resident says she opposes the toppling of two Snohomish River Valley radio towers despite the controversy surrounding the structures.

Area resident Christine Goff said the KRKO radio towers had been blamed for hurting the health of the local population and wildlife, but nonetheless they should not have been sent crashing to the ground by vandals, The Daily Herald of Everett, Wash., reported Saturday.

"These towers don't belong here," Goff said.

Opponents of the towers allege the radio structures' AM radio waves are to blame for such problems as increased rates of childhood leukemia or damage to area bird habitats.

The towers, which were found Friday after apparently being brought down by an excavator, were the focus of a King County Superior Court dispute in August. No suspects or damage estimates over the incident were reported.

The court battle ended with a judge backing a Snohomish County Council decision to allow KRKO owners to build two additional 200-foot towers, the Daily Herald said.

"We tried to do this by legal means," area resident Albert Highberger said of the fight against the radio towers. "Everything is a political decision."