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Letters & Opinion | ||
June 5 | ||
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May 31 | ||
Let's hope truth starts lacing up its boots fast: A sure sign the politics of Idaho have changed for the worse is when attacks on good legislators begin weeks after the Legislature adjourns and a full year before the next election. That’s what is happening in our state right now. By Rod Gramer | ||
May 29 | ||
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May 22 | ||
The Great Boundary County Library Scandal: Last summer, Adrienne Norris and Donna Capurso circulated recall petitions which falsely claimed that Library Board members are “further adopting potentially sexualized, pornographic, pervasive [sic] and deviant material into our library.” No recall election ensued because few county residents signed on for the lies. By Timothy Braatz | ||
May 20 | ||
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May 19 | ||
Extremists, have you no decency? In 1954, after years of successfully smearing innocent people, ruining lives and careers, Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy launched a new attack against an unlikely target – the United States Army. Unlike his other victims, the Army had the power and influence to fight back. By Rod Gramer | ||
May 18 | ||
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May 17 | ||
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Zone 5 library board trustee says thanks: I would like to thank all the people who voted Tuesday. It really is what makes America great. I am honored to be elected as one of the five people guiding the Boundary County Library. I would especially like to thank all the people who helped me in my first campaign ever: Laura Anderson, Steve Howlett, sign posters, phone callers and all the people who endured my campaign speech. By Lee Colson | ||
Zone 3 library board member thanks voters: I’m humbled and honored to once again represent my district on the Boundary County Library board. By many accounts, this was one of the highest turnout elections in the library’s history. For me, that was the true victory because it shows the attention and care our community has for our library. I should say something grand and punny about new beginnings or closed chapters but in truth, the story continues. By Aaron Bohachek | ||
May 11 | ||
Trusts our librarians, library board: Book lovers of Boundary County: next Tuesday, May 16, is an important day. If you live in Boundary County Library Zone 3 or 5, it is the day to vote for Aaron Bohachek or Lee Colson for the freedom to choose to read what you want to read. For a number of years, my husband and I taught at American or International schools in the Middle East. By Jolyn Horton | ||
May 10 | ||
On Tuesday, hear truth, not hypocrisy: A recent candidate forum held at the Mt Hall Community Church and the video of that forum being shared, along with other disinformation, has led to a volume of disputed statements circulating through our community about Boundary County Library. I’d like to shed light on these statements prior to the Zone 3 and 5 library board elections by relating some substantiated facts. By Alison G. Henslee | ||
Beware those who profess to know good from evil: The upcoming library board election has taken on new importance this year. A vote for Lee Colson and Aaron Bohachek is a vote for experienced and responsible leadership for all people in Boundary County. Library boards, like school boards, are non-partisan and secular positions. Yet there is a new movement in our county trying to merge politics and religion into both our public library and schools. By Barbara Russell | ||
Library libel and other false witnessing: Mt. Hall Community Church recently held a rally for their two library board candidates, Mary-Esther Wilson and Lewis Clark. They are running against incumbents Lee Colson and Aaron Bohaceck. Familiar faces were present: Mark Moseley, Steve Fioravanti, Adrienne Norris. Both Wilson and Clark said God told them to run for office; their mission is to stop pornography. By Timothy Braatz | ||
May 9 | ||
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May 8 | ||
A son endorses his mother's candidacy for library board: I'm writing this in regard to my mother's application as library trustee. Mary-Esther Wilson is more than qualified for this position within the community. She has resided and been involved in the community for 10-plus years. If it's time spent in a library, then she more than qualifies. Throughout my childhood the community library was utilized by my parents for schooling material and resources. By Matthew Wilson | ||
MAGA lies are unraveling under the harsh light of evidence: While the process has been excruciatingly slow, the questions regarding the veracity of former president and current Republican frontrunner for the 2024 presidential nomination Donald J. Trump are steadily being answered in the negative. Yet still a flag flies upside down on Main Street in Bonners Ferry, "Let's Go Brandon!" graces the sign board of a Main Street business. Trucks drive by with "F**k Biden" flags alongside American flags denoting not patriotism, but fealty to a would-be despot. A sign coming into town still proclaims this beautiful place "Trump Country." By Mike Weland | ||
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May 5 | ||
Support Wilson, Clark for open government: Boundary County Library is a taxing district supervised and controlled only by the people. The library’s operation in recent years has been curtailed and even closed with the board hiring a law firm to investigate that specializes in defending public entities from liability. The resulting report was withheld in total, an act of censorship. Open government is the cornerstone of a free society, the opposite is a shroud of secrecy cultivating fertile soil for rumors, lies and improper management. By Steve Tanner | ||
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May 4 | ||
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A civics lesson; no travesty in May 16 election: Bev Carr's letter of May 4 suggests that voting rights have been eliminated for the citizens of Moyie Springs. This is incorrect. Voting rights have not been eliminated. Rather the May 16 election is for qualified electors residing within the city limits of Bonners Ferry and for those residing in Library Zones 3 and 5. There is no travesty. Elections are specific to library zones, school board zones, a fire district, a municipality, a county or state. By Mary Ollie | ||
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Moyie residents have no vote May 16: Are you aware that citizens of Moyie Springs cannot vote in this election? Only those living in Bonners Ferry can vote, along with the other areas listed on the sample ballot. We in Moyie Springs have no vote concerning the only library available to us to use, though we pay taxes to support it. We have no vote about the one-percent tax issue. By Bev Carr | ||
May 3 | ||
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May 2 | ||
Retain Colson and Bohachek: Please consider these valid reasons to retain Lee Colson and Aaron Bohachek on the Boundary County Library Board: They both recognize that the library serves the entire community; Their opponents have self-serving agendas backed by radical groups. By Janis Kerby | ||
Mary Esther will serve community well: I had the honor of serving with Mary Esther Wilson on the Library Policy Design Committee beginning August of 2022. It was here that I quickly recognized Mary Esther's high moral courage and her value-based leadership. Mary Esther is a mother and she knows the importance of protecting those without agency, that being children. By Doug Nowak | ||
May 1 | ||
Senator Herndon continues with dirty tricks: Having read on the front page of the April 24 Daily Bee that the Bonner County Republican Central Committee (RCC), chaired by Idaho District 1 Senator Herndon, awarded a no confidence vote for District 1 Representative Mark Sauter, along with the April 29 Kootenai County RCC article alleging our same senator paid out-of-state McShane LLC $80,000 to attack fellow Republicans in the last election cycle, I feel compelled to respond. By Tony McDermott | ||
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April 30 | ||
Thank Herndon? Idaho's students deserve better: With "four-million-plus advocates in all 50 states," Americans for Prosperity, a "premier grassroots advocacy organization transforming country policy" based in Arlington, Virginia, spent who knows how much putting a glossy mailer in Idaho District 1 mail boxes telling the people of North Idaho that Idaho students deserve more, and to say thank you to Senator Scott Herndon, who agrees. By Mike Weland | ||
Good library, but room for improvement: A nation cannot be both ignorant and free nor can it be immoral and free. Our public library could and should be an institution for promoting both morality and freedom. I keep hearing that we have a great little library and President Bush said so, which gives it credence and preserves the status quo. By Robert Vickaryous | ||
April 28 | ||
Retain sanity on the library board: I can remember when the late Jim Marx and Sandy Ashworth traveled to the White House to receive the "Best Small Library in America" award from First Lady Laura Bush not that many years ago. Since then, a group of disgruntled employees leveled embellished claims of mismanagement resulting in a multi-year closure and limited operations to the detriment of library patrons and Boundary County taxpayers. By Gerald B. Higgs | ||
April 27 | ||
Big lies marching us toward authoritarianism: Why do some candidates and politicians make a big deal out of problems that are not problems but a failure to recognize boundaries? Despite any evidence of coercion, they suffer the vapors claiming that another’s personal choice is violating their rights. Why concoct something so outrageous that no one thinks that anyone would make up a lie so big? It’s because many people will believe it to be true. By Mary Ollie | ||
April 26 | ||
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April 25 | ||
Library board incumbents have proven themselves: A healthy public library has always been a stabilizing force in a community. Boundary County is no different, and an important election is coming up May 16 when voters in Zones 3 and 5 will choose their representatives on the library board. Incumbents Aaron Bohachek (Zone 3) and Lee Colson (Zone 5) have demonstrated their leadership abilities during these past challenging months. By Robin Lundgren | ||
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Partisan U.S. Supreme Court a threat to democracy: Thomas Jefferson said "The most sacred of the duties of a government [is] to do equal and impartial justice to all its citizens." However the increasing politicization of our Supreme Court nominees, especially since 1991, has undermined that “most sacred of duties” and thus our democracy as no other threat has before. Historically, justices for the U.S. Supreme Court, were elected with a three-fifths majority vote of the senate. By Georgia Earley | ||
Keep the library open for our community: We are so fortunate to live in a community that has vast beauty, clean air and many caring constituents. Having lived in Boundary Count6y for 40-plus years, the Boundary County Library has always been an inviting place to gain knowledge. As trustees, Lee Colson, Zone 5, and Aaron Bohachek, Zone 3, have strived to keep our library an institution that serves the entire community. By Laura Anderson | ||
April 24 | ||
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April 22 | ||
A better approach? We opened our mail box yesterday and found an attractive card inside from the City of Bonners Ferry soliciting our vote for Local Options for Local Services. A one-percent sales tax proposal for the city to fund vital services within the city. I’m curious why this is being proposed when the state has an admitted budget surplus of nearly $1.4 billion dollars on hand. By Chuck Giordano | ||
Holding on to lies to spite truth: "Right now, our nation is heading into a time of trial. We live in a deeply divided nation, where public discourse is broken and respect for different opinions has dwindled to nothing. Two opposing ideologies fight for the future of America," reads the home page of the Heritage Foundation's website, a group that touts leading the conservative movement for 50 years. "We have a White House and legislature bent on pushing a far-left agenda." No, we don't. By Mike Weland | ||
May 16 election important, vote Bohachek: If you live in Boundary County Library Zone 3, as I do, or in Zone 5, you have an important upcoming election to choose your zone's library board trustee. Check with the courthouse clerk to discover which library zone you are in. Small elections can be confusing because of varying boundaries, sometimes with only a few districts voting. By Jo Len Everhart | ||
April 14 | ||
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April 13 | ||
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Thanks for nothing, conservative legislators: While Senator Herdon and the rest of the conservative Idaho legislature are busy patting themselves on the back for a job well done, I would like to also thank them first for passing one of the most restrictive abortion (or women’s health care) laws in the county when Roe v. Wade fell in 2022. They then went on in this legislative session to pass HB242 addressing the problem of abortion trafficking. By Celia Phaete | ||
April 12 | ||
Let's talk about war: Why are we constantly engaging in it? Who benefits? What is the military industrial complex? The names of companies that might come to mind are Ford Motor Company, International Harvester, Caterpillar, Boeing Aircraft and perhaps hundreds of others. But what about the Russian military industrial complex? Who built the factories in Russia where the tanks, guns, trucks and aircraft are made that were used to kill American soldiers in Vietnam and Korea and now Ukrainians? By Robert Vickaryous | ||
Idaho no longer has a presidential primary: The Idaho Constitution specifies that it is the duty of the Idaho Legislature to establish a system of free public schools for the purpose of providing a stable republican form of government. However, it is in this primary mission, endowing our citizens with a basic understanding of civics, that our public schools are failing miserably. Few and far between are the citizens that have a well-rounded knowledge of how our government actually works, or fails to work. By Brent Regan | ||
April 11 | ||
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April 7 | ||
Pray people pray: Remember the good old days when the president actually took questions from the press, kept millions of illegals from sneaking into our country, gave us energy independence, had the economy roaring, had our enemies actually fear us, lifted up our military and our police, when the words "Make America Great Again" were proud words and the American Flag was respected, when men could be men and women were women, when we expected the FBI to be men of integrity and when the news media actually were interested in news and truth? By Ginny McCormick ... comment added | ||
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Legislators spreading hate in wake of veto: Idaho citizens who this week were relieved that Governor Brad Little vetoed the latest horrible bill out of the legislature, HB314a, were doubly grateful to legislators like our own Representative Mike Sauter for voting to sustain his veto. But defeat of that terrible bill has left a destructive, unjust wake. By Clarice McKenney | ||
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April 6 | ||
Idaho or Idastan? Idaho, always a state with a healthy respect and tolerance for the rights of individuals, is seeing an influx of of people and organizations with extremist views that seek to take away or severely limit our rights. They are very successful. The state legislature has been busy legislating details of our private lives and how we must behave. Prison sentences and fines await anyone or any organization that dares defy Christian nationalist goals. By Doug Kim-Brown | ||
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April 4 | ||
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Bonners Ferry, Idaho |
9B.News Mike Weland, Publisher mike@9b.news 6931 Main St. P.O. Box 1625 Bonners Ferry, ID 83805 (208) 295-1016 A 9B Media LLC publication |
9B News welcomes letters to the editor on any topic of interest to readers in Boundary County, Idaho, written for a family audience and without malice. Email letters to mike@9b.news and be sure to include a daytime phone number for verification. We reserve the right to edit for style and clarity or to withhold publication. |
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