Truax neighbors wonder why more officials aren’t speaking out against F-35s
Isthmus, September 5, 2019
BY HOWARD HARDEE
While contemplating a life regularly interrupted by next-generation fighter jets shrieking over her house, Kat Ruth-Leigh is most disturbed by what she doesn’t hear.
“Residents need to hear from our local leaders,” she says. “The silence is deeply concerning.”Like many residents on the north side of Madison, Ruth-Leigh is alarmed by a proposal to base F-35s at nearby Truax Field Air National Guard Base starting in 2023. After reading through a 1,100-page draft environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared by the Air National Guard, Ruth-Leigh and her wife, Shannon, fear that noise from the F-35s will make their house in Eken Park unlivable. Their house is in a neighborhood that would be exposed to an average of 65 decibels from the F-35s. What that means for their future is up in the air.