Community Stuff

Don't forget to attend the Gary Eller concert and Jam Sunday, September 28 at 2:00 pm. If you are a musician that can play folk or bluegrass, come on down for the show and the jam following. Eller has traveled far and wide to capture songs about Idaho, specifically old ones from the 1920's and older.

I've met Gary, played a tune or two with him. He's the real deal. A retired Nuclear Scientist, he holds a PHD in chemistry,a banjo and a guitar. Gary has been playing bluegrass and Folk for a long time as a hobby/avocation. The Bayview Community council in conjunction with the Bayview Historical society is hosting the event at the Community center.

The Buttonhook is closing for the season on the 28th. With the real estate market bottoming out, and an escrow hold on closings at Vista Bay, cash flow has substantially been reduced. As a result of the action of the Developmental Analysis Committee, (they allegedly paid $75.00 to the county resulting in a stop on closings) ten local employees have been laid off and the Buttonhook has been closed prematurely. What is it they say? Unintended consequences? Perhaps it is time to reexamine the role of this committee. Is it to monitor developments? Or is it's goal to stop or severely delay any development. A parallel would perhaps be the folks that live in trees in Northern California, trying to stop any logging.

So, then, where does the line get drawn. If this is about extremism, it is doubtful that the community at large will support it. For the most part, as I have observed, and I include myself in this example, the shock of our lifestyle being turned upside down has caused an outbreak of negative response to ALL development, or at least most of it. It would appear to me that some of the currently planned developments will go forth, or at least when the real estate market recovers.

Reality, however, suggests that former employees of Waterford Park, (I'm one)might have a personal ax to grind.I have overcome that anger, but some haven't. Others are perhaps governed by the eviction of the trailer park. I to, mourned the loss of those inexpensive home sites. People that lived there were out friends and we miss them. Still,isn't it time to get realistic and start planning for the future Bayview, rather than the old one that unfortunately is gone. Maybe we need to examine whether our egos have taken over from out common sense.

I have lived here for thirteen years. The day I moved here, and it was before I retired from the mortgage lending business,I looked around and said repeatedly, this place is going to boom, and soon. Well it didn't and my forecast was premature. But the inevitable arrived in the investors that invaded. I guess my point here is that this is the reality, not what we wish, which is to go back to where we were. Newcomers have moved in and some immediately attempted to redesign the community. Such is the style of many that move out of a community that doesn't like them to one that they can have a fresh start in. Others move in, can't adjust and move on.

Many things have changed besides the developments. The huge blue back fishery is gone, probably forever. Trophy trout fishing is going to follow.The sudden influx of small mouth bass suggests a new future fishery, but the hundreds of small watercraft that plied the Kokanee fishery are gone and will not come back. This town could have died from that change. Perhaps only the development of a high end tourism market will save Bayview's economy. Perhaps it is time to start thinking instead of reacting to development. Our future is not entirely in our control. Try going back to your home town. Is it the same? Hell no it's not, and this place won't be either. For a time, we will have peace, because speculative building loans Will and have come to a halt. This condition, in my opinion will last for perhaps four or five years, maybe longer, depending on how far our economy falls.

Whether or not most of you realize it, we are headed pell mell into what could pass for a repeat of the great depression of 1929-1939. That was ten years of starvation, unemployment, foreclosures and a screeching halt to manufacturing. The Bayview economy has suffered from the wipe out of the trailer park, as well as the departure of the fishing fleet. The few surviving businesses are vital to our local economy and need to succeed for out little village to endure. I encourage all of you to drop in to the local restaurants, the mercantile and oh yah, I blew it on my recent column in the S/R when I neglected to mention Ralph's Internet Cafe. Ralph is still in business, going strong and will stay open all winter, along with Terry's and the captain's wheel. Along with informing tourists and newcomers, Ralph has morphed into the town greeter. Everyone seems to end up there for tacos or brownies, maybe a burger or an ice cream cone.

Just a moment to remember the depression, most of this country was rural back then. People could feed themselves from their own garden, farm animals and such. Now most live in a city, or at least a crowded suburb. Can you feed yourself from your property? I think not. This could get very interesting, and perhaps diminish the petty things that we worry about today.