Unattended Youngsters At Great Risk In The Water
As I watched my 11-year-old daughter splash around in the Spokane River Sunday, I considered how fast disaster can strike. She easily could get in trouble and drown in the time it took me to read a magazine article. Or light the charcoals for a barbecue.
Drowning was on my mind Sunday. At City Beach two evenings before, a 6-year-old drowned in five feet of water. I don’t know the circumstances. But I do know that children routinely are left unattended at the crowded North Shore. A seasonal lifeguard I know can tell stories of near misses and inattentive parents that would sober up a sailor on leave. The drowning Friday was the second in four years at City Beach. I’m surprised there haven’t been more. Each drowning should alert us that a small child in a busy swimming area is a tragedy waiting to happen. Be very careful out there.
Does F&G head have fatal flaw, too?
Steve Mealey, Idaho’s controversial Fish & Game director, believes a federal grizzly bear recovery plan for the Bitterroot Mountains has a fatal flaw. And he’s ready to prove it in court. Mealey claims that the current plan to release bears in the north central Idaho wilderness doesn’t match up with an earlier draft environmental impact statement. It leaves out prime bear habitat included in the EIS. The remaining area can’t support the reintroduction program. Said Mealey: “I’ll tell you that is a fatal flaw.”
Some sportsmen, of course, would say Mealey has a fatal flaw, too - and it has nothing to do with a recent incident in which he “mooned” a gaudy sculpture on Lake Pend Oreille. Nimrods and anglers believe he’s too cozy with groups as varied as ranchers, miners, loggers and even environmentalists. Still, Mealey may have a point regarding the grizzly reintroduction program. Here’s hoping he can make it in the courtroom without dropping his drawers.
It’s good to have friends in high places
After donating a combined $900 to the campaigns of Kootenai County Commissioners Dick Compton and Ron Rankin, polluter John Hern received: the county commission’s undying support in a battle with the Panhandle Health District and a $71,000 reduction in his property tax appraisals. Compton claims there’s “absolutely no correlation whatsoever” between Hern’s political contributions and his sweetheart treatment.
“If you look at all of the people who have contributed and who got reductions, you will see no pattern.” Blah, blah, blah. Do you suppose Hern also would have gotten a night in the Hagadone suite of The Coeur d’Alene Resort for $2,000?
, 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, or by sending e-mail to daveo@spokesman.com.