Recall of fire district commissioners wrong

Who is Maxwell Austin van Lack of Bayview? Have you been to any of the Timberlake Fire Protection District meetings or are you just talking from hearsay? Rumor has it that your people from Bayview call us "Atholtonians" and "Good Ol' Boys." Sorry, I'm not a "Good Ol' Boy" nor am I a boy! I am a 65-year-old resident of Athol, have lived here 37 years and am of the feminine gender. Sorry!

Since November 2009 I have been to all but three meetings of the Timberlake Fire Protection District, and don't believe you have all the facts straight!

As far as a district wide recall petition you refer to, I don't see too many people from the incorporated city of Athol on the petition. You say district wide, why didn't you check with the residents of Athol itself or don't we count? Are you sure that some people were not strong armed into signing the petition? Are you even sure the facts were right? Because on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010, the Coeur d'Alene Press reported in Section C (Local News) that Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh ruled there were no violators of open meeting laws which should nullify the petition as invalid.

Also, maybe you need to read Idaho State Statute on removal of equipment from service, as you would find it is against the statute to remove equipment from service on your own, without both Commissioner approval as well as State Fire Marshall approval. Former Chief Krill acting all on his own did remove equipment from service without seeking ANY approval.

Chief Marcus of Northern Lakes Fire Department was asked at the last meeting what would have happened if he had committed those acts and the chief replied, "I would have been fired that day!"

The main reason there were so many meetings was due to the fact that all but one of the fire trucks were taken off the road. That left the district without fire protection. The majority of people at these meetings were concerned and brought their concerns to the meetings, as well as their concerns of administrative and overhead costs taking up most of the budget with little or no money for repairs and updates of equipment.

Also, many were concerned about a tax levy most could not afford. Not everyone in this district has a lot of money to live off and have very limited income. The residents, voters per se, were the ones questioning salaries, expenses and the board was working on alternatives. Nowhere during the meeting did I hear former Chief Krill bring up any alternatives.

As far as a MOU with Northern Lakes Fire District and Timberlake Fire District, it was discussed during public meetings with public comment at Hayden Lake, Athol and Bayview. This was not just a dreamed up thought to get rid of the Fire Chief. Maybe you need to look at the old budget and see for yourself that our new commissioners and working with Northern Lakes have saved a tremendous amount of money and have gotten our vehicles back on the road again.

It seems to me that the paid personnel and volunteers are a pretty happy crowd. I especially noticed their positive, happy personas when I took my grandchildren to the fire station the morning of Athol Daze for the pancake feed.

I applaud Rudy Rudebaugh, Marty Fish and Kirk Quillin for standing their ground and working hard and long hours to clean up a budget that for years was top heavy with administrative costs. Not on a budget that wasn't there for what the fire chief wanted: a new fire hall, new engines, salary increase for himself, un-needed equipment, etc.

During these hard economic times, we all need to tighten our belts and make things work. We in the fire district - residents, voters, paid volunteers and commissioners - all need to be responsible and make the district work. We need to let our newly elected officials do their jobs at least for a year to see how well they do before we decide to change commissioners (after all, the majority of the people voted for them).

Let's all grow up and learn a lesson from this. All these problems didn't pop up overnight; it has been over many years. I don't think anyone had gone to the fire hall meetings for years, including me, that's why all this has happened. We need to not be so complacent and attend if we want it to work.

If it wasn't for the Northern Lakes Fire District's willingness to work with us, I assure you by this time now we would have no commissioners, no paid staff, no volunteers and no fire hall. Let's appreciate what we have, move on and applaud our paid fire staff, volunteers and commissioners for their fine job and be respectful at the next Fire District meeting this month. Let's not be the crucifiers. Let the commissioners do their job without name calling, slandering, stomping and acting like little children and MOVE ON!

By the way ... I am not a radical right wing, anti-tax ideologist either!

Mary Zichko is an Athol resident.