Sheriff makes his own laws

I'm mad.

I thought our sheriff was elected to uphold the law. He was voted in for that purpose. He is not the county bill collector or overseer of everything. Mr. Ben makes his own laws - sound familiar.

I support the Diamond Cup boat races as it is a great event and a huge boost for our local economy, especially when you consider the unemployment rate in North Idaho is way above the state average. Millions of dollars were brought in to our community.

Mr. Ben and the county has taken it upon himself to stop an event that has huge impact for our area. He has imposed conditions on event organizers that aren't imposed on other events such as Ironman.

Ironman - like almost 80 percent of all first events - was not immediately successful. You learn by your mistakes. The Diamond Cup had an individual from Small Business Development Council (WSU) in Spokane evaluate the race results independently. His report states clearly that for 2014 the race could have erased all 2013 debt, covered 2014 race and still be in black. Security had to be tightened up. No more "freebies," both on land and water.

Mr. Ben was told this on more than one occasion in writing, as he would not meet with organizers, except one time. At that meeting he drew the line in the sand of July 1 for all permits knowing it was nearly impossible - and contrary to Idaho code, which states any event of this type can apply up to 30 days before the race.

All permits were in place around July 15, except for the sheriff's. State, federal, and the City of Coeur d'Alene were on board. Amazingly, the county stops the race, again contrary to state law because our sheriff draws a line in the sand.

You can't pay past or present bills without income. For example, Mr. Ben's conditions stated KCFD (fire district) had to be paid in full for 2013 by July 1. Organizers had agreement through their and the district attorneys to handle this matter.

He said his personnel needed 60 days to prepare for event. Not true, even confirmed by his own personnel. The "plan" had already been implemented for 2013 race, and nothing changed for 2014. USE THE SAME PLAN. I guess the sheriff is saying that if an event good or bad happens, he needs 60 days to get his "PLAN" in place. Ridiculous.

More than one of county sheriff's employees stated they would volunteer for the race weekend because they wanted to be part of the event. There were no insurance claims for this event and even the sheriff's people stated it was a crime-free weekend. People were having a great time.

Without a permit from sheriff, the investors organizers had in line would not commit the funding.

Mission complete for the sheriff. He delayed the process long enough to where not enough time was left to have a race. The 2013 debt cannot be paid, because of this action by the sheriff.

And what about the veterans? The race was to honor veterans and their families from both the U.S. and Canada, with free admission for them to see the race and to raise awareness for veterans needs. Organizers planned a job fair at the fairgrounds to help veterans find employment. The veterans I have talked to are hopping mad too.

Mr. Ben, you have issues, probably personal, with this event and parts of Boy Scouts of America, but not with other events of this nature you choose to approve. You cannot pick and choose who does what with all aspects of an event. You are here to enforce the law. You should allow event organizers to apply for an event according to Idaho Code.

Retire.

Charlie Knudtsen is a Kootenai County resident.