Candidate Wants City To Put Focus On Families

Improving the opportunities for recreation in Post Falls is City Council candidate Vicki Caughran’s top priority.

Caughran, 39, is a co-founder of Youth First, an organization committed to increasing recreation for kids and teens, and has served on the city’s parks and recreation commission.

“It’s better to recreate the youth than incarcerate them,” she said. “They need a place to go for recreational activities.”

Caughran (pronounced CAR-en) is one of four candidates for the two available four-year terms on the Post Falls City Council. The other candidates are Paul Settanni and incumbents Scott Grant and Clay Larkin.

Councilman Ron Jacobson is seeking election to the one available two-year term. He’s running unopposed.

“I just want to help ensure that Post Falls remains a great place to raise families,” Caughran said.

She supports connecting parts of town to the Centennial Trail and supports a Parks and Recreation Commission plan created a few years ago.

“They had some wonderful goals in the comprehensive plan, and we’re way off,” Caughran said, explaining that she’d work to keep up with the plan’s goals and to acquire more parkland for the city.

While Caughran supports local businesses and recognizes their importance to the community, she feels that sometimes the council has made decisions that benefit business interests at the expense of the average citizens, she said.

“I support business, but I would like to speak for the everyday person,” she said.

She opposes a proposal by the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway to locate a refueling depot over the aquifer, she said.

The city considered writing a letter opposing the depot to Kootenai County, which has jurisdiction over the issue. The council ultimately decided to write a letter not taking a side in the debate but urging the county to be cautious in making its decision. Caughran would have preferred that the council write the letter of opposition, she said.

Caughran and her husband, Carl, have lived in Post Falls since 1978 and have three children. Caughran grew up in the vicinity, and her parents and in-laws all live in the Post Falls area.

She’s concerned that children can use computers in the Post Falls Public Library to view pornography on the Internet, she said.

“I’d just like to filter the X-rated sites, at least on the ones the kids use,” Caughran said. Another idea would be to require kids to have parental permission to use unfiltered computers. They could have stickers on their library cards, for example, showing that they have permission to use the unfiltered lab, she suggested.

“The city has done a pretty good job holding the line on taxes,” she said. “I want to keep taxes as low as possible without sacrificing quality of life.”

Growth in Post Falls is inevitable, she said.

“I’m for growth as long as it pays for itself and is controlled and the schools can handle it,” Caughran said. She wants to have a good mixture of housing, including housing for people with low incomes, she said.

Caughran is a full-time mother, she said. In addition to serving on the Post Falls Parks and Recreation Commission, she has been vice president of the Kootenai Girls Softball Association, volunteered in the Post Falls School District, been a licensed foster parent and president of the Coeur d’Alene Christian Women’s Club.

“I feel like I have the pulse of the community,” she said. “I don’t have my own agenda. I just want to be part of things, advocating for the people.”

This sidebar appeared with the story:

Vicki Caughran

Resume: 39 … full-time mother, three children … co-founder of Youth First, a nonprofit organization trying to develop recreation opportunities for Post Falls youth … Grew up in the area and has lived in Post Falls since 1978 … Former member of the Parks and Recreation Commission, has volunteered on several committees in the public schools and youth sports organizations.

Issues: Understands needs of youth and seniors alike … Increase park space … Youth and families are top priority … Keep taxes as low as possible without sacrificing quality of life … Opposes BNSF proposal to build refueling depot over aquifer … Kids shouldn’t be able to access pornography at public library.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Post Falls at a glance Post Falls is a city of 15,732. … Its population has grown 114 percent in the 1990s. … Major issues are related to growth: street repairs, increased school classroom space and recreation facilities for young people. This is the final installment of profiles on Post Falls City Council candidates. Four candidates are competing for two four-year terms in next week’s election.