City Government
Anyone FOR Cyanide In Boise River?
March 7, 2007 
Following the Tuesday “anti-poison”vote of four Boise city councilors, a coalition of greenies sent out a press release praising Mayor Dave Bieter for his actions, even though he is not allowed to vote on council resolutions.
There were three references to “Mayor Dave Bieter” and “city council members–not a single councilor was named. Two were absent.
This is of interest only because we are now suddenly getting press releases or advisories from Councilors Elaine Clegg and Jim Tibbs in this election year. Clegg is council president and Tibbs is gearing up to run for Bieter’s big office at city hall.
If you are wondering why the greenies didn’t come out with, “COUNCILORS TIBBS and CLEGG AND THE MAYOR OPPOSE RIVER POISON,” well, it just might be politically motivated.
Pretty easy to be against a cyanide leaching gold mine 100 miles from the nearest Boise voter. Especially when the city has no binding authority on any potential mining activity.
Wonder if the greenies would join the GUARDIAN to oppose the Hammer Flat development with ITS sewage pond. The law of gravity tells us if it gets flooded, malfunctions, or used beyond capacity, the discharge–treated or not–ends up in the same Boise River a lot closer to our drinking water intake.
We also would like to know how the greenies feel about Team Dave’s support of a power plant just south of the airport inside the city limits.
Let’s hear what the politicos have to say about the planned development above Lucky Peak. Developers were the biggest contributors to the recent County Commission election and look for them to buy into the upcoming mayor and city council races as well.
The GUARDIAN is against poison in ALL rivers and not just far away from town. Who isn’t?!
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Comments & Discussion
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Mar 7, 2007, 11:03 pm
Out of state mine operators.
Mar 8, 2007, 7:30 am
Well, we already know that Mayor Bieter and the City Council are opposed to the Hammer Flat development, and we already know that the “Greenies” are opposed to Hammer Flat development.
Maybe we should be talking about our out-of-touch legislature that has voted to not give the citizens of Idaho a voice on transportation funding (and has offered no alternative solution), voted to make English the “official languauge” of the state of Idaho (gee, that’s going to really help the citizens of Idaho), voted to not allow even minimum requirements for daycare because it might be a “communist plot”, and is resisting the creation of a community college despite the overwhelming support for one.
Mar 8, 2007, 3:02 pm
Dear Mr. Guardian
I had to laugh about your article today about sewage going into the river from
Hammer Flats.
Maybe you should look A LOT closer than Hammer Flats. Golden Dawn retirement has 2 BIG lagoons right next to the river ( by Barber Dam). 35 years old I hear. Used by Golden Dawn, Riverstone School, Idaho Parks, and of course Shakespeare. Much more danger than Hammer Flats.
But of course since Shakespeare and Idaho Park use it we don’t talk about it.
I guess when the green folks from the Northend go to Shakespeare, and drink their wine and beer this summer, their’s smells a lot better than the folks that will be at Hammer Flats. Let’s all protest Hammmer Flats! Let’s not talk about the folks
that are protesting are using dangerous sewage lagoons that are leaching into the river!
Way to stay on top of things!
EDITOR NOTE–this sounds like it may have a grain of truth, but we hope there are not that many pooper pools placed at these points.
Mar 8, 2007, 6:24 pm
So what’s wrong with a little cyanide in the Boise River?
All it probably would do would be poison a few thousand people.
That would certainly slow the rampant growth — and might even reverse it. 🙂
As for the legislators’ refusal to let The People vote on mass transit — well, just who do those People think they are, anyway? Do they think this state belongs to them and not to the Legislatue, City Councils, County Commissions, Highway Districts, etc.? Besides, ‘most all of the legislators *know* that the folks who elected them are too damned stupid to be trusted to do anything else.
And colleges? Who needs ’em? People get educated, they just get to wanting better jobs, more pay, etc. (which makes life difficult for Wal-Mart et al.), and then the next thing you know, they get to thinking and reading and suchlike, then first thing you know they ain’t a-gonna keep re-electing the same people over and over and over …
So just lighten up; our esteemed legislators know exactly what they are doing — they ain’t nearly so dumb as they appear.
Mar 9, 2007, 12:14 am
Bravo Porc for the insight. That is the first I have heard about this. I assumed there were mostly individual septic systems but not big poop pools. Besides the Hammer Flat system probably has the same probability of failure as does the city’s huge system sitting right on the Boise River. MBR sewer treatment is used in Star and Harris Ranch also. MBR will soon be used in newer green building to recycle gray water for flushing toilets.
Guardian you are right on the cyanide issue, purely political in the way of the announcements have taken place. Team Dave usually spends too much time sticking there noses in others business, usually losing. But I agree with them on this one. There are better ways of extracting gold beside using the heap leaching. Mainly offsite processing of the ore/gold.