Date: 08/18/2009 As you already know, the Idaho State Legislature ransomed their way out of Boise this year by taking our dedicated gas tax fund and giving it to highways. This money pays for thousands of miles of trail improvements, snowmobile groomers, camping improvements, parking lots, and much more!
Over the years, it has amounted to millions of dollars for Idaho's recreating community. To see how much, check out the map of Recreational Fuel Tax Grant Expenditures by County at
http://www.sharetrai...s/Idaho_GasTax/. Where would we be without it? No grooming programs, trails closed! Folks, that's where it's headed if it's implemented in July next year.
We all need to work hard to get the legislature to reverse this terrible mistake. We need the governor to agree, and Thursday, August 20, 2009, you will have the opportunity.
The governor will be in RIRIE THIS THURSDAY 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, at the senior center located at 395 Main Street, as the town becomes the August "Capital for a Day" (see Governor's News Release below). You need to show up and politely request that our dedicated gas tax fund be restored!
You don't have to be there for the whole meeting, but YOU DO NEED TO BE HEARD!
Please, spread the word and ask everyone you know to make some calls or send some emails.
If you are not able to attend, please go online and sign the petition asking the governor and state legislature to return OHV Gas Tax Fund money to the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.
Sign the online petition at http://www.sharetrai...on=Idaho_GasTax.
Thanks for your immediate attention,
Ric Foster
Public Lands Department Manager
BlueRibbon Coalition
Resources on the web at http://www.sharetrai...s/Idaho_GasTax/
Recreational Fuel Tax Grant Expenditures
A fact sheet for background info
An Op-Ed by BRC's own Adena Cook printed in the Post Register
C.L. "BUTCH" OTTER
GOVERNOR
NEWS RELEASE
August 10, 200909:050
CONTACT: Jon Hanian
(208) 334-2100
RIRIE TO HOST AUGUST "CAPITAL FOR A DAY" (BOISE) - Governor C. L. "Butch" Otter announced today that the Jefferson County community of Ririe will be Idaho's next "Capital for a Day" on Thursday, August 20th.
The first-come, first-served open opportunity to meet with the Governor and First Lady Lori Otter, selected members of the Governor's Cabinet, and other senior state officials is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the senior center located at 395 Main Street in Ririe. The Governor also will join Mayor FarrDell Hayes, other state and local leaders, and community members for a no-host noon lunch at the same location.
Officials joining Governor Otter at Capital for a Day will include Don Dietrich, director of the Idaho Department of Commerce; Dick Armstrong, director of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare; Gavin Gee, director of the Idaho Department of Finance; Colonel Jerry Russell, director of the Idaho State Police; Scott Irwin, consulting appraiser section manager for the Idaho Tax Commission; Erick Neher, regional administrator for the Department of Environmental Quality; Coleen Erickson, Idaho Commission on Aging regional commissioner; Rogelio (Roy) Valdez and Steve Karstad of the Idaho Department of Labor; Brent Schneider, administrator of the veterans home in Pocatello; Luci Willits, chief of staff at the State Department of Education; Cameron Wheeler, Idaho Fish and Game commissioner; Steve Schmidt, Idaho Department of Fish and Game regional supervisor; Gary Spackman, interim director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources; Pat Brown, area supervisor for the Idaho Department of Lands; Scott Stokes, acting director of the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD); and Karen Hiatt, ITD assistant district engineer.
"Ririe is right on the Jefferson-Bonneville county line. For local folks and anyone who knows the area, it's a gateway to Swan Valley and Palisades Lake. But it's a lot more than that, too," Governor Otter said. "It's steeped in the issues of rural Idaho - from water to wildlife and from jobs to health care. It is the kind of community that my Capital for a Day program is all about. It's important to me that the people of Ririe and both Jefferson and Bonneville counties get the chance to weigh in on our state policies and priorities. I'm looking forward to hearing what they have to say."
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