This is a truly sad tale, yet not a surprise at all. He is right–the Idaho moral of every story is business above everything else.

One wonders if the whey tower could be heavily insulated against the noise it produces, but he’d need to consult engineers on this because I doubt if the company will.

The people in the Magic Valley are also unable to enjoy their homes and properties because of the incessant, uncontrolled and unregulated stink from the various CAFOS in the area, not to leave out the contaminations of air, ground water, and soil. Most of those folks were there before the CAFOs migrated here from California after they faced strict environmental regulations. Idaho doesn’t believe in regulating anything. Regulation is a dirty word here.

But Dave, don’t you remember all the jobs and prosperity that tower would bring? I do remember some hub-bub about it but smell and noise wasn’t one of the issues I recall. It was the visuals everyone was torqued about.

Now we have a noise and odor issue. It would seem to me there should be some noise abatement and scrubbers to cleanse the air. Don’t look for the Sorreto people to do anything on their own to be a good neigbor.

Ah yes, I ran into something like that with a gravel pit near our house. In the summer it would start up at 4 a.m. and sound like a freight train coming in through our bedroom window. Called a county commissioner and he said the business was given permission to start early during the summer because of the afternoon temperatures. Said they weren’t breaking any laws & sorry we were in the way of the noise. I told him that if I were having a party at 4 a.m. that you could hear that far away, the cops would come. Sigh. He didn’t care.

Same thing, on a limited basis, when we lived near Hyde Park. The annual fair would boast really rotten rock bands that were so loud we could here them even with our windows closed. Illegal parking all through that north end of town for three days, with drunks puking in driveways. People would be sitting on our rock walls as though they belonged to them. We lived there for 17 years, and I was raised in the north end, so I do miss some aspects of living there. But not the Hyde Park Street Fair. Zero police back up. Zero.

Old JR Simplot would say, screw you guys, that’s the sweet sound of money. And good luck, my guys the Mayor.

Find exactly what law is being violated by the factory, band together with your neighbors and sue…then go after the local government that is not enforcing the law.

“We are contemplating abandoning our home to save our health and sanity since it certainly isn’t salable, obviously the warm and fuzzy feeling about the Treasure Valley and the State of Idaho is gone. This may be just an early sign of what happens in a one party oligarchy, Idaho has become the “ Right to Harm” state.”

Please Tom, don’t forget to spread those words when you and your “War Bride” get back to where ever you came from!
You must have been chummed in on one of those other “Gosh, ain’t Idaho great!” invasions if you thought Idaho was truly wonderful in the “late seventies and early eighties.” (Idaho was already suffering from over kalifornication in those days too.) Back then it was mostly kalis and northern left coasters swarming here. The only difference is that now we seem to have added the gawl dangit texan rabble to the hordes.
Anyway, go ahead and abandon your house, but above all, have a nice trip BACK to where ever you came from.
Don’t leave with empty seats in your vehicle and remember to tell all your other pals and relatives how absolutley NASTY it was here when you get home.

The owners of the cheese factory testified in a city hearing (before they went to the county for the permit) that it’s proposed new whey dryer tower would be noisy and smelly and generate a lot more traffic. Then, when they went to the county, they denied all of this. Bizzare, but true.

What about a lawsuit by all the surrounding home owners for lost property value?