Pitted Against Pit Residents Protest At Kootenai County Courthouse Over Approval Of New Sand And Gravel Pit
Children donned gas masks and angry, defeated parents carted signs outside the county courthouse Tuesday to protest approval of a 230-acre gravel pit along U.S. Highway 95.
About 30 residents from the Boekel Road area waved signs stating “Don’t Dump on Us” and “Taxes are Still Outrageous” at passing motorists.
“It’s a way to get over some of my own bitterness,” said gravel pit neighbor Steve Eachon. “It’s better than going out there and blowing up the asphalt pit.”
Last month, county commissioners approved a controversial plan that gave Interstate Concrete and Asphalt Co. the right to mine sand and rock for the next 75 years. The company had sought the approval for three years.
Residents, meanwhile, had complained that dust and noise from existing gravel pits was clouding their lungs and preventing them from enjoying their property.
They also accused commissioners of approving the deal because Interstate President Bruce Cyr is a member of a business group that contributed $5,000 to Commissioner Dick Compton’s campaign.
Compton and Cyr repeatedly have denied discussing the project before the May 30 vote.
Still, residents feel their rights were trampled. They told pedestrians that what happened in their neighborhood could happen all over the county.
“It’s not fun. It’s not right,” said Kathy Gill, who lives above the gravel pits along the rimrock. “We’re tired of fighting.”
Crystal Freitas, 12, said she was protesting to protect her grandmother’s land so she could play. P.J. Slauson, 10, wore a gas mask to illustrate dust problems predicted from the newest gravel pit.
“We moved out there so we could have space and stuff,” he said. “The pits aren’t helping anything.”
Commissioners have said they approved the newest gravel pit in part because the neighboring pits have been around for years - in some cases longer than some of the residents. They also said the operation guarantees the county will have gravel for the next 75 years.
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