RE-ENTRY: Good for county

Sholeh Patrick’s column regarding the proposed Community Re-entry Center for North Idaho was well researched and very positive on this subject. I sure hope many, many people read it and give it a second look rather than just pushing it away and saying, “not in my neighborhood.” I am very supportive of this concept and it’s OK with me to locate it in Kootenai County.

I would suggest a site that would work really well would be somewhere in the River Bend Commerce Park, where the NIC Workforce Training Center is located. I believe there is still plenty of property available in this location and with its close proximity to not only the numerous light industrial businesses in River Bend, but also through the area from the Stateline to Pleasant View Road and beyond from the Spokane River to Highway 53. What an ideal location for a workforce partnership to develop in conjunction with the CRC!

I have some background in this area and know that if it’s done right, it can be immensely successful, not only for the offenders and their families, but for the community as a whole.

JERRY BALTZELL

Lt. Col. USAF/ANG (ret.)

Post Falls