Commissioner Foss, every time I start getting comfortable thinking your term is coming to an end (surely the residents of Ravalli County will be sick and tired and vote you out of office) you resurface. This time with your letter titled “Support for local control” in the April 30 Star. Your opinion is of course reinforced by your record which includes:
• Appointing and defending an incompetent County Treasurer
• Refusing Title X funds
• Support of the “Legacy Ranch” development
• Boosting the County Road Dept. Supervisor out the back door in a questionable manner
In my opinion, Commissioner Foss, you and your cohorts epitomize the basic problem in American politics today, YOU are all broken! The thought of giving control of Federal Lands to counties is frightening. I am a taxpaying citizen of the United States of America. Wherever I might go in this wonderful country I can consider Federal Lands to be mine. They are yours, too. Please recognize the responsibility you have in preserving them.
Commissioner, in your letter you conclude with a series of comments (that I consider ludicrous) including “Bambi is being murdered by fire, by wolves and by a political agenda… “Are you implying that if Ravalli County controlled Federal lands there would be no more fires, the wolves would move to California and any political strife would disappear? Are you suggesting that if Ravalli County had control of Federal lands our forests would be green, our water clean, our air pure and endangered species protected?
You even managed to work guns and religion into your viewpoint, stating that is why we are all rallying behind Ken Ivory’s movement for equal rights to control our federal lands. That “we” does not include me Commissioner Foss, and based on the feedback (seen in this paper) after Mr. Ivory’s visit, a large part of your constituency disagrees with this course of action. After seeing how you have botched your job managing county affairs, why would we trust you to handle a treasure like our National Forest?
Dick Owings
Stevensville