Welfare Reform Proposal Real Chance To Tackle Problem

The usual suspects were out in force Tuesday in Coeur d’Alene to support our broken welfare system. And to trash a remarkable reform package forged by Gov. Phil Batt’s bipartisan Welfare Reform Advisory Council. “The council has presented us a recipe for disaster,” fretted Alan Wasserman, an Idaho Legal Aid Services attorney. “You’re punishing the child for the parents’ lack of responsibility,” complained ex-Democratic legislator Barb Chamberlain. State Sen. Mary Lou Reed, D-Coeur d’Alene, had a knee-jerk reaction, too (but wasn’t as quotable). Don’t listen to them, though. This package offers the first real hope that the welfare monstrosity can be tamed. First, it limits compensation. Then, it forces the able-bodied to work, parents to assume responsibility for their pregnant teenage daughters and holds deadbeat boyfriends accountable. Basically, it seeks to transform welfare from the de facto entitlement it has become back into the helping hand it originally was.

NIC committee didn’t get buffaloed

After a stumbling start, a blue-ribbon panel selected to review the North Idaho College athletic program refused to be confused. It didn’t fall for the bleating by a few shrill voices seeking to dismantle the acclaimed program. Rather, the committee recommended that women’s sports be expanded while protecting the status quo on the men’s side. The women need a quality softball or soccer program. The committee also was right in recommending that the athletic department interact more with the community and do a better job marketing its fine men’s basketball and wrestling programs. It does a lousy job in those areas now. Overall, the committee served the community well - though it did need a lesson on the importance of open meetings early on.

Chip knows value of human life

Sweet Potatoes go to Bonner County commissioners and Sheriff Chip Roos for deciding a man’s life is worth $50,000. The commissioners were willing to spend up to that amount to find possible murder evidence reportedly buried in the closed Colburn landfill. Needle in a haystack? Mebbe. But Roos found that needle at a cost far less than 50 G’s and now may be able to solve the year-old murder of retired teacher Paul Gruber. Not only was Chip amazed that he found a briefcase he was seeking but also three others as well. Typically, the colorful sheriff provided a good quote to go with good police work: “I never imagined we would find more than one. I’ve only owned two myself and still have them both.”

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