A story reported in the national news media in recent weeks probably has grabbed the attention of residents in Scipio. T. Boone Pickens, a legendary Texas oilman who has made billions of dollars through the years, is no longer interested in the black gold.

His new focus is on wind power. In fact, he's investing about $10 billion to build the world's largest wind farm in Texas. And while Pickens loves to tout what he says are the green energy aspects of wind power, don't lose sight that this is a man who intends to make money off his investments.

The whole story is a strong indication that wind power will play large role in the nation's future energy generation, and wind farms will be popping up with increasing frequency.

With that in mind, it's time for larger state and county governmental bodies to put more effort into assisting smaller municipalities that will be dealing with project proposals. To a large degree, small town and village governments currently are on their own in terms of navigating these proposals to make sure they're sound and safe.

A potential wind farm in Scipio is generating plenty of questions these days, and it appears that the town board is doing its best to watch out for residents. Folks in the Onondaga County town of Spafford are also looking at wind power issues right now.

But what is currently an isolated issue for a small community here or there could soon be a challenge faced in much of the Finger Lakes region, where experts say weather and the lay of the land could make for ideal wind farm locations.

We urge the state, probably through the state Department of Environmental Conservation, to get more active in educating municipal leaders on the key issues they must address in their zoning laws. The DEC also needs to be sure state regulations are up to date with what's coming down the road.

County governments, particularly their planning departments, also can play a key pro-active assistance role.

When it comes to power generation facilities, it takes a top-to-bottom team approach. Town and village governments shouldn't be learning as they go with wind farm project proposals.