West commends Kerby
I would like to commend Mayor Kerby on his receipt of the Harold Hurst Award recently.
Darrell has been an advocate to keep our town upgraded so we can be proud of it.
When people visit or drive through, they say "What a great little town" and we should be proud of that and do all we can to keep a good image.
Unfortunately, a lot of what is being done focuses on tourism. Our town can not survive on that, plus it exploits and overruns our natural resources.
What I would like to see the focus on more is providing the necessary economic development that utilizes the natural resources we have abundantly available (what grew Boundary County in the first place), others that directly or indirectly are related to them, and anything else that may be a responsible industry providing jobs for the people who want to make a living here.
Every town must grow or it will die - but the growth must enhance the area.
In the late 70's early 80's, Boundary County had a request to build a pulp mill, but because of the stigma that pulp mills stink, which the older ones did (Lewiston and the 'Aroma of Tacoma' come to mind), but even with proof that they are more advanced now, their application was denied.
Now there is a thriving paper company and associated small diameter log mill in Usk, Wash., that has no odor and is providing much needed income for that depressed area.
Recently, a bid by the Kootenai Tribe to build a cogeneration plant that would take care of our landfill problem (as well as others nearby) plus utilize forest biomass was turned away very abruptly by the community because some individuals promoted doom and gloom by finding some quack who stated there would be toxic waste flying through the air.
He promoted recycling as the answer to our landfill problem (which recycling is the only good and sensible thing that was said in that public meeting, but it won't cure the landfill problem).
This stigma of toxins floating through the air is as much hogwash as the new pulp mills stinking.
I have been involved in biomass and visited modern plants in Europe that burn biomass, wood waste, peat and garbage at the same time- the air coming out of them is cleaner than the air going in.
Mayor Kerby is only part of the equation - the County Commissioners, the University of Idaho, State Department of Lands, BLM, Kootenai Tribe, our elected government officials and the citizens of Boundary County all need to think outside the box to make this happen.
Sometimes you need to get outside the box to realize there are means and methods for what you need to accomplish.
I would encourage those that have ideas to research them and work with the necessary agencies to make them a reality.
I am fortunate to have lived and worked in Boundary County. I am also fortunate to have a job that has allowed me to travel and see how things are done in other parts of the world.
It is "unfortunate" that I had to move temporarily, but we still own a house in Bonners Ferry and will be back shortly to again enjoy the wonderful area of which we have generations of family and friends living there.
Sincerely,
Tim West
208-255-8637 (Idaho Cell)