Sunnyside Road work defended

SANDPOINT — Not everybody on Sunnyside Road is upset with work being done to improve ditches and sight distances within the right of way.

“There’s strong support for what’s being done on Sunnyside Road,” said resident Clif Warren, who presented commissioners with the results of an informal survey he conducted along the route.

Warren told commissioners on Tuesday he obtained signatures from 21 people, 17 of whom voiced support for the improvements. Four people signed the petitions without comment one way or the other.

“Some of those people were upset,” Warren conceded.

The county came under intense fire last month for brush-clearing and tree-removal operations along Sunnyside Road. Opponents of the project lambasted county officials for not advising them of the work beforehand and took strong exception to what was being removed.

Gail Swan, a relative of Warren’s who also lives on Sunnyside, said clearing in the right of way gives motorists more time to react when wildlife crosses their path.

“I’m really happy those obstructions are gone,”

Bonner County Commissioner Lewis Rich toured the work area after the complaints started pouring in, but found that some of the criticisms “didn’t hold water.” Rich said claims that county workers cleared vegetation beyond the county’s right of way appears to be unfounded.

“I’m satisfied with the work that’s gone on out there,” he said. “I know I’m probably going to take some heat for those words.”