For the week of June 27 - July 3, 2001

No self-fulfilling prophecy

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Nice places for people are usually one part geographic accident and one part sweat.

Blaine County is such a place. A lot of good people have sweated the details here. It’s going to take a lot more good people to keep it from falling prey to "inevitable progress."

Every resident, second-home owner and visitor must bear responsibility for Blaine County or see it lost to witless destruction as it continues to grow.

Its uncommon character is under threat every week of every year. Retaining its character must become the concern of everyone who appreciates this unique place.

Idaho’s vacation Mecca has withstood the assault of unbridled corporate and government interests that could have trashed the place.

Some tell us it’s already trashed. Don’t believe it.

Had county residents taken Blaine County for granted and chosen a path of complacency, the place would look much different now.

There would be a divided freeway from Timmerman Hill to Ketchum. That city would be a splintered shadow of what it is today, divided and mangled by one-way, two-lane streets and an exit cloverleaf.

West Hailey, now full of quaint and lovingly refurbished turn-of-the-century homes, would be bifurcated by high-speed lanes.

Mid-valley would be wall-to-wall mini-malls and sprawling car dealerships.

Canyon roads would have locked gates. Fishing and picnicking access along the Big Wood River would be non-existent. The river itself would be dead--rip-rapped and channeled.

There would be no bike path, no public pool, no winter cross-country ski trails.

Silver Creek would be a private preserve with no public access.

People here today are the lucky beneficiaries of the efforts of earlier arrivals who kept Blaine County from the worst of the worst.

The county needs new advocates. They’re easy to identify—one need only look in a mirror.

Pick an issue. Get active. Stay active. Newcomer or old-timer, no one should take this place for granted. Every individual has the power to protect the best of the county by serving on government boards or speaking out in public hearings.

Blaine County never was and never will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. It needs everyone’s help.

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.