KVRI meeting lacked civility

I attended my first yahoofest of 2012 on Monday, Jan. 9, at the Kootenai River Inn. It was a KVRI meeting.

On its face the meeting was held to provide information about designation of habitat for caribou in the Selkirks by U.S. Fish and Wildlife.  But it was attended by two or three dozen rowdy boys who felt the meeting was held to facilitate their opinions via yelling, catcalls, and various rude and uninformed interruptions.

Standing near, it was easy to hear quieter snarling comments and threats physical and sexual against the Fish and Wildlife men and woman who were attempting to make the presentation.

While the persons running the meeting — Patty Perry, KVRI "facilitator," and Dan Dinning KVRI chairman — announced repeatedly it was strictly informational, that no public comment was to be taken, neither made any serious effort to control outbreaks. Even as the meeting flirted with chaos, Perry virtually invited input from the rabble, and even read public comment from an unnamed attendee.  Dinning used the unruliness as a backdrop while making  demands about future meetings. These were Dan's boys.

The other KVRI board members remained quiet, owning the disrespect.  These were KVRI boys.  Again, no one hosting the meeting made any attempt to keep the meeting civil.

It's possible that nobody in the KVRI leadership organized disruptive and unhelpful behavior, but it's clear that KVRI shown to be unable to follow its bylaws when inconvenient, is also unequal to hosting all its meetings in a civil manner.

John O'Connor

Bonners Ferry