Levy Naysayers Shirk Their Duty
Forty-five percent of Lakeland School District patrons flunked their class in civic responsibility Tuesday by voting “no” on two levy issues. Each naysayer deserves a Hot Potato - with the biggest russet reserved for Rathdrum developer Larry Clark. Clark campaigned against a $9.3 million bond to construct a junior high school and against a $650,000 levy for a hot-lunch program. (Where does he suppose his future tenants are going to educate their children?) By following this anti-levy Pied Piper, some 1,800 Lakeland voters shirked their community obligation to provide good school buildings. They also missed the opportunity to build while construction costs and interest rates are low. Let’s hope the myopia fostered by Clark and embraced so readily isn’t contagious. Post Falls (on Tuesday) and Coeur d’Alene are facing crucial school levy votes this spring.
The-e-e-re goes Hilde
Greyhound racing in Idaho is illegal once again - thanks to 20/20 hindsight by the Legislature and Gov. Phil Batt. Eight years and hundreds of euthanized racing dogs later, the Legislature has outlawed this blood sport. It was a case of “too little, too late,” however. The Coeur d’Alene Greyhound Park closed in December after having lost its shirt for the past three years. The Post Falls track had a poor reputation industrywide and was dogged by accounts of animal abuse. It wouldn’t have been built if legislators had relied on their gut instincts and not rushed through a bill in the closing days of the 1988 session, a bill for which businessman Duane Hagadone personally lobbied. So much for sizzle.
CdA Council victimizes neighbors again
Coeur d’Alene’s Ida Hawkins has a legitimate beef with City Hall. Seems neighbor Don Jacobson has built up a successful but noisy business since he moved his tree service into her residential neighborhood 10 years ago. Imagine how you’d feel if you had to contend daily with your neighbor literally sawing logs - and splitting and chipping them. Well, the City Council doesn’t have your imagination. Council members saw nothing wrong with Ida’s discomfort (or the drop in her property’s value). They gave Jacobson Tree Service (and its two high-priced attorneys) permission to continue running the business in one of the city’s most restrictive zones (R-3). City officials apparently lost their bureaucratic nerve a few years ago when “Avon Lady” Rose Christman refused to close her shop in a Best Avenue residential zone. How else can you explain this cockeyed unanimous ruling that makes all Coeur d’Alene neighborhoods vulnerable? , 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.