For the week of Dec 26, 2001 - Jan 1, 2002

New Year’s Resolutions we’d like to see

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The people who study such matters as these say that most of us will never fulfill the most fervent resolution.

That’s why statistics rank with economics as a dismal science. Still, we can dream.

Just in case some influential folks out there have trouble coming up with a resolution for 2002, here are a few suggestions...

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Sun Valley, Bellevue, Hailey, and Blaine County: (Same as last year) To follow Ketchum in adopting a Dark Skies Ordinance to protect the incredible view of the Milky Way in the crystalline altitude of the Wood River Valley.

Blaine County Commissioners: (Same as last year) To hire some help to allow them to manage the big picture and to leave the micromanaging to others.

United States: Never give up the fight against terrorism.

Osama Bin Laden and his followers: Give peace a chance.

Idaho Transportation Department: To completely design new stretches of highway before they’re constructed¾ instead of designing on the fly. And, to let the public see all in advance.

Highway 75 Commuters: To desist from passing on the right at the Elkhorn light and detouring through the St. Luke’s access road to gain a few car lengths by triggering the next light.

City of Sun Valley: Restore fun and laughter to Sun Valley by letting rock and roll live and approving a new Community School campus, instead of banning music or kids.

National Football League: To let the refs make the calls without nitpicking TV interference.

U.S. Olympic Committee: Vow that the next time the Olympic torch is within 100 miles of a place like Sun Valley, which has produced some great Olympic athletes, the torch will be carried through it instead of around it.

Gov. Dirk Kempthorne: To dismiss the bodyguards, come out of hiding in the bunker that used to be the state capitol¾ and lead.

Palestine Authority President Yasser Arafat: Call off the suicide bombers, stop the terrorism, give peace a chance and make a deal with Israel.

Opponents of Ketchum and Sun Valley tourism marketing: Call off the legal dogs and figure out where the paychecks come from.

Enron execs: Give back the millions they made selling company stock just before the company¾ and its employee retirement accounts¾ tanked.

New York Stock Exchange: Impose new rules that would prevent the Enron outrage.

American Red Cross: Repeat daily, "The money belongs to the victims."

Ketchum’s new mayor and council members: Give peace a chance.

U.S. Congress: To charge the same user fees for Washington, D.C. monuments that are charged to visitors to public lands in the West.

Idaho Legislature: To quit starving Idaho schools and shortchanging its kids while pleading poverty and protecting corporate tax cuts.

Idaho Congressional Delegation: Stop the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from allowing private company Envirosafe to import high-level nuclear waste into Idaho while the state is working to evict high-level waste from the publicly owned Idaho Environmental and Engineering Lab.

Idaho Legislature: To allow Blaine County citizens to tax themselves to fund public commuter buses.

President George Bush: Quit pushing private investment accounts that will line Wall Street pockets, deplete Social Security, and deprive ordinary citizens of a secure retirement. And, to keep his oil-drilling mitts off the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Blaine County and valley cities: Hire an enforcement officer to put some teeth in local zoning ordinances.

Idaho Land Board: Stop turning a deaf ear to local concerns developing state land as a gravel pit while criticizing the federal government for the same behavior toward Idaho.

U.S. House of Representatives: Be brave and refuse to turn tail and desert the capitol if it’s attacked again.

State Rep. Wendy Jaquet: Kick open the closed doors on public business that were slammed shut by the mediation law she shepherded through the Legislature.

Idaho Legislature: Approve a new Idaho license plate depicting dairy and hog farms. Motto: Come for the smell of it.

California: Beware of corporate chiefs praising energy deregulation.

The rest of us: Get off the couch, work off December’s goodies, get in shape or quit complaining about the high cost of health care.

 

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.