Batt Boldly Appoints Timber Rep To Committee
Listen to ‘em whine. Idaho Gov. Phil Batt has appointed the first timber industry representative to the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. And environmentalists are going nuts. Three eco-groups - Sandpoint Forest Watch, Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Inland Empire Public Lands Council (which all deserve an organically grown Hot Potato) - are asking that Chuck Roady’s appointment be rejected. Roady, of Bonners Ferry, is the resource manager for Crown Pacific. Said one detractor: “Crown Pacific is one of the major outfits that have logged the Yaak (sniff!), they have fought road closures (sniff!), and gotten the Forest Service to relax (recovery) standards (honk!).” But industry should have a say in a grizzly reintroduction program that will affect people in the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk areas. We wouldn’t have a wise-use movement today if state and federal bureaucrats encouraged local input. Kudos to Gov. Batt for having the guts to break the mold.
Let ACLUers provide homes for pervs
If we’re going to allow sex offenders back into society, we should warn neighbors and other potential victims about them. Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas plans to push a bill that would let cops notify neighbors when a pervert moves to town. (Heck, I’d support a move to brand them - literally.) One thousand registered sex offenders live in Spokane County; 98 in Kootenai County. One could be living in your neighborhood. Although a molester or rapist may serve his time, he probably isn’t cured or reformed. Few shake their addiction. Of course, the American (un)Civil Liberties Union has its shorts in a bunch about this one. But what else is new? A person who has molested a child or raped another deserves no breaks. Go for it, Bill.
He’s gotta do better than this
Paul Telebar, the newest Republican in the Kootenai County sheriff’s race, isn’t going to go far by campaigning against too big of a marine division. That’s one of the issues he cited in announcing his primary candidacy against former sheriff’s captain Tom Dickson and, most likely, incumbent Pierce Clegg. Said Telebar: “They have probably one of the largest marine divisions west of the Mississippi. I would have to ask myself, ‘Do we have that big of a problem?”’ In a word: Yes. If Telebar would glance out his Coeur d’Alene City Hall window, he’d notice there’s lots of water in Kootenai County. And it attracts lots of boaters. In fact, the sheriff could assign every deputy to the waterfront and still not cover it adequately. This one’s a non-starter. Next issue.
, DataTimes MEMO: D.F. Oliveria’s “Hot Potatoes” runs Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can comment on the items by calling (800) 344-6718 or (208) 765-7125.