More Bonner Foolishness

So, what do you get when you combine 20 agencies, five years’ worth of work, thousands of hours of meetings and community support? Nothing if you live in Oldtown, Idaho. Last week, Bonner County’s Dynamic Duo struck again. Republican Commissioners Bud Mueller and Larry Allen rejected a plan to protect a sole source of drinking water for more than 5,000 residents of Oldtown and nearby Newport, Wash. This, despite the fact that Washington residents were going to pick up 80 percent of the tab. Why the rejection? Property rights, silly. Despite all the time and effort put into this proposal, Mueller and Allen hearkened to the voice of a handful of dissenters. They and their handlers believe a man ought to be able to do anything he wants with his property - and his neighbor be damned. Daggumit. What foolishness.

Teacher gets by with help from his friends

So, a panel of teachers thinks ex-Kellogg High School instructor Mark Holzer deserves to teach again after another year of penance … er, probation? They think he’s safe now because a counselor said Holzer is not “pathologically attracted to young girls” nor does he “fantasize about relationships”? Whether Holzer hits on another student or not isn’t the point. He violated one of the most serious codes of teacher conduct - thou shalt keep your mitts off the students - and should have been banned for good. Holzer, as you may recall, had an affair with a student. The only thing that saved him from criminal charges was her age - 18. Now, his tears, colleagues and an ethics panel apparently have saved his career. When are our schools going to take such unholy liaisons seriously?

Methinks he protesteth too much

Now, Kootenai County Commmissioner Ron Rankin is in a lather because a sales tax redistribution bill carried by state Rep. Jeff Alltus, R-Coeur d’Alene, has been rejected. Last week, Rankin raved that state Reps. Hilde Kellogg, R-Post Falls, and Jim Clark, R-Hayden, should have supported Alltus when he presented his bill to their committee. Although the proposal had merit, it received no votes. It called for reworking the antiquated state sales tax distribution formula to return more revenue to fast-growing counties such as Kootenai. But the bill had two fatal flaws: It was too complex to be introduced this late and it was carried by Alltus. Frankly, Alltus has stepped on too many toes and may not have the consensus-building ability to push through a controversial bill. Clark and Kellogg would have squandered political capital by supporting him. That’s how the system works. Rankin should know that.

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