‘Driving to distraction’…

Dear editor,

The Idaho Senate rejected the education voucher bill Feb. 28, which attempted to fund religious schools (among other things), cutting into funds for public education. Our Sen. Herndon voted for it. The House Education Committee stopped a similar bill. Our Rep. Sauter voted to stop it.

It makes a big difference who we elect from District 1 to the Legislature.

The bills rolled at least two of our Founding Fathers over in their graves: Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, both fanatical supporters of freedom of religion, fanatically opposed funding religious institutions with government money. Money changing hands either way between government and religion leads to corruption of both institutions.

President Madison vetoed a bill to give support to a religious charity, because it “exceeds the rightful authority, to which Governments are limited by the essential distinction between Civil and Religious functions, and because it gave to “religious Societies as such, a legal agency in carrying into effect a public and civil duty” (support of the poor, and education).

The voucher bill supporters tried to distract from how the bill proposed to corrupt the separation of church and state. The opposition in the House and Senate were not distracted.

Nancy Gerth Sagle

Public

Dear editor, Project 7B is a local organization that encourages responsible land use planning and robust citizen involvement in decisions that shape our community’s future. We are concerned that the proposed expansion to Highway 2 (from two lanes to four and five lanes) flies in the face of the adopted Comprehensive Plan and did not involve the public.

To quote from the Sandpoint Comprehensive Plan: Plan Vision 3-3 Streets and Transportation:

“Sandpoint is a town that values multimodal transportation. The community’s transportation investments and decisions give full consideration to improving the pedestrian experience, and elects to grow in ways that support the ability to shop, recreate, travel and commute on foot. Sandpoint residents envision bike paths, good sidewalks, safe lighting, street trees, canopies and awnings in down- town areas, benches, well-marked crosswalks, slower-paced, efficient traffic and walkable neighborhoods throughout the city.”

The proposed highway expansion undermines this and other similar goals. A high-traffic highway is a river through a town, generally with few, if any, safe crossings. It divides and prevents residents from walking or cycling to work, school, shopping and healthy recreation. Transportation decisions should implement, not undermine the Comprehensive Land Use Plan.

How did citizens participate? They completed an online survey that did not mention widening Highway 2 or any other roadway. Because this was a “2040 Project” it was fuzzy and kept in the background. Previous public debates on “the Curve,” a similar plan a decade ago, were heated, protracted and covered all aspects of livability and economic vitality.

Interestingly, the Federal Highway Administration is promoting alternatives to wider highways. Before the City Council takes any action, Project 7B encourages both a series of public workshops with robust public involvement and engaging professionals who have experience in alternatives to widening highways. Thank you for considering our concerns.

Judy York, secretary, on behalf of the Project 7B Board Sandpoint er attorneys would do court work at $175 per hour. Wentz then upgraded his office from a modest space in Gunning’s Alley to a top-floor suite in the Columbia Bank building.

Next round for Wentz to peddle his influence was a $2,000 donation in August 2022 and $1,000 in April 2022 to Steve Bradshaw’s campaign. Three months later, Bradshaw voted to update the Davillier contract, giving Wentz $500 per hour, claiming it was “a deeply discounted rate in furtherance of our civic commitment.”

Now with our new board, Wentz appears to be meddling once again with a proposed educational program for county board members with a requested 31 hours for its initial design phase and 20 hours for “deployment” for each board group. Cha-ching.

No. 1, it’s time to void Davillier’s contract for Wentz’s influence peddling; No. 2, time to call out McDonald and Bradshaw for not recusing themselves; No. 3, time for Prosecuting Attorney Louis Marshall to do his job regarding Nos. 1 and 2.

Rebecca Holland Sandpoint

Dear editor, dangerous precedent, please write a letter or email the Bonner County Planning Department. Refer to this as File AM0002-21.

The addresses are as follows: Bonner County Planning Department, 1500 Hwy 2 Sandpoint,ID 83864. Email: planning @bonnercountyid.gov.

Calls can also be made to 208 265-1458. These must be received by March 14, 2023.

Most importantly, attend the meeting of the Bonner County Planning Commissioners at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21 at the Bonner County Administration Building, 1500 Highway 2, in Sandpoint.

Roger Sparling Bonner County

It’s not ‘woke,’ it’s the golden rule…

Dear editor,

What is being “woke”? Nikki Haley calls it a more deadly virus than COVID (1.2 million Americans dead). A local said it was entitlement. I work with the public, entitlement isn’t new.

Webster’s Dictionary defines woke as, “aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).”

Dear editor,

A review of Davillier Law’s history in Bonner County starts in August 2019, when commissioners signed a contract with George Wentz before suing the city of Sandpoint. This unnecessary drama wasted $300,000 of taxpayer money. Little was it known that Wentz had contributed $1,000 to Dan McDonald’s county commissioner campaign, as documented in his 2018 financial disclosure report. It also showed Susan Wentz, George’s wife, handled a $395 “in-kind contribution” at Ivano’s for the McDonald campaign. I’ve wondered if that dinner date was when Wentz suggested his firm could provide “outside legal services” for the county, should McDonald be elected.

Indeed, a contract was signed with Davillier Law stipulating Wentz would consult for $250 per hour (even without having a license to practice law in Idaho) and two young-

On Dec. 21, 2022, the Bonner County commissioners denied the Hammond request for rezoning at the corner of Vay and Dufort roads. The applicant refiled for this Rural 5 (residential five-acre minimum) to be rezoned to Neighborhood Commercial on 11.8 acres. This time, the filing is referred to as a Comprehensive Plan Map amendment. This filing, if approved, will allow residential lots of 1.01 acres or more plus any other commercial plans of 1.01 acres or more.

Wow! What a precedent setting decision!

If approved, any parcel five or more acres and zoned residential could be made into several 1.01acre residential lots within a Rural 5-zoned area. Scary Isn’t it? This does not even include several types of other businesses that would fall under this type of rezoning.

A few of the matters that will affect this area and any other Bonner County area in the future are: traffic on any other dangerous rural corner roads, sewage, water and the added tax dollars to increase infrastructure for county services

If you are opposed to approving this in the proposed area, or your area in the future, because of this

Ron DeSantis’ staff defined it as, “the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them.”

Wow, what a reason to take over and destroy North Idaho College. Or ban African-American history at the college level.

So, who first taught wokeness? Jesus of Nazareth. The Koch brothers have spent millions on Super Bowl advertisements to try to spruce up Jesus’ reputation. One advertisement proclaimed that Jesus loves those you hate. True, but not the whole truth. In Luke 6:27, Jesus said, “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,” NIV translation.

I first learned about Wokeness in Sunday School, it was called the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” As a Christian, when a Black man is choked to death by police, I’m commanded to care. If a gay person is attacked and discriminated against, that is my concern. Treating others who are different as I want to be treated is not entitlement, it’s Christianity. I’d like to say I’m Woke, but God is not done with me yet.

Sincerely,

Mary Haley Sandpoint