Supports Bonners Ferry Library center

y Aaron Bohachek

I support the new library/learning center.

As a journalist, I’m bound by a sense of duty to stand aside and report issues fairly, to see both sides of every argument and give each side its due. As a reporter for the Herald, I strive to remain as neutral as possible in my stories.

But as a resident of Bonners Ferry, an avid reader and a writer, and as a representative of a younger generation, I must weigh in on the prospective new library/learning center in Bonners Ferry.

On May 20, residents of Boundary County will be given a ballot at the voting booth in addition to the ballot for party candidates. The library ballot asks Boundary County voters to underwrite an $8 million bond to build a vibrant, bustling downtown hub for learning and collaboration, and for a increased maintenance and operations budget to run this building. Once the bond is in hand, the library board will be able to immediately move on millions of dollars worth of grant money so we don’t have to pay the full bill.

What the library board is asking for in a collaborative new learning and technology center is unprecedented in the history of libraries in the state of Idaho, and in fact will be unique among libraries throughout the world. The vision Sandy has for the future of the Boundary County Library district could change the face of education for the next generation.

The future of information lies with technology, as does the future of humanity. The new library will embrace this fundamental shift in our world by offering all residents of Boundary County tools to use these changes to our advantage here in Boundary County.

As I toured the IFG mill at Moyie Springs, I was amazed at the amount of technology used to get the most efficient cuts out of a single log. I was even more amazed when Chris told me the technology wasn’t even up to date.

Where do we get the learning to run something like the mill of the future? And why shouldn’t we invent and build it here?

Gone are the days of hairy, hoary old men working by the seat of their pants and the sweat of their brow. Those jobs just don’t exist anymore, at least not for my generation and the next one behind me. Our generation follows the new energy gold rush into Alaska, or North Dakota, or further away from Boundary County. The educated ones leave for higher pay and a better life in the big city.

Why can’t we make Bonners Ferry the crown at the top of the Idaho technology corridor? We have a history of innovation and invention in Idaho. With access to tools like those available in a new learning center, we and our children will not have leave for a big city to pursue our dreams.

We will be able to learn what we want, when we need it, and be able to directly apply it. This falls in line perfectly with the independent nature of Boundary County.

Two paths lie before the voters of Boundary County. One path embraces the idea of a new learning center that could revitalize a faded and by-gone downtown area, bringing the life and activity of youth.

The other sees the youth of Boundary County leave for greener pastures, rarely to return. Slowly but surely, wealthy retirees will buy up the land around the county until this becomes a community of the elderly, and those that couldn’t escape.

Give Boundary County a future. Vote Yes May 20.