Bonners Ferry Local Guide including all of Boundary County Idaho

Otter presses need for timber funding

Monday, January 29, 2007; CDAP

Gov. Butch Otter is confident Craig-Wyden bill funding for timber communities will be reauthorized by the U.S. Congress and President Bush for two years, but wants a long-term solution in place. "We can't build schools. We can't expect teachers to accept a position in a classroom with a schedule that short. We need a permanent fix to it," Otter said Monday at The Press. In his first editorial board interview since taking office 29 days ago, Otter said he spoke with U.S. Sen. Larry Craig over the weekend on what is commonly called the Craig-Wyden bill, which compensates timber counties for cutbacks in federal timber harvests. In 2006, Idaho received about $24.3 million, which was dispersed to timber counties. - Full Story