Together for Camp Easton

Divided they stood.

For the good of all, united they must again be.

Negotiations have broken off between Inland Northwest Council of the Boy Scouts of America and a company that had hoped to trade for the Scouts' historic Camp Easton on Lake Coeur d'Alene. Just like that, many months of discussions between those two parties and an ensuing full-fledged rift in the scouting community are over. If any ill feelings linger, there's no room for them; there's no time for them now.

When the Inland Northwest Council announced Wednesday evening that the camp swap would not happen, it simultaneously launched a capital campaign to address what it contended all along was a major impetus for considering moving the camp: Desperately needed upgrades to Camp Easton. While all the details of the capital campaign haven't yet been released, donations are already being solicited at www.nwscouts.org/campeastoncampaign

The bitter dispute between those in favor of negotiating a move and those determined to keep Easton a Scout treasure forever went well beyond the scouting family. Those wanting to block a move from Camp Easton had lost their case in District Court last spring, and recently filed an appeal with the Idaho Supreme Court.

It's our sincere hope, not just for Scouts but for the greater community, that acrimony from the disagreement dissipates just as quickly as it gathered. Scouting casts a powerful image of working together not just for the betterment of the individual, but for society, as well. Infighting, no matter the issue, diminishes the organization and sets a poor example for the young men who are striving for self-improvement.

It doesn't matter which side of the Easton tug-of-war you were on. Now it's time for all of us to pull together for a better, safer Scout camp on the gorgeous shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene.