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To Brad Smith: In your April 14, 2019, letter you asked what we can do to ensure that the place we all love stays the place that we love. You don’t say what it is that you have loved and lost. Anyone who has lived here for over 25 years asks the same question. That Bonner County is long gone never to return. But change doesn’t necessarily have to be all bad.

Is Kootenai County a harbinger of things to come in Bonner County? It is inevitable.

What happens when Bonner County is no longer Bonner County because of all the people who move here? That has already happened and will continue to happen. People in over-populated urban areas want to escape. If they have money, they are fleeing to places like Idaho with a low population, lower taxes, and fewer regulations. Many can pay exorbitant prices for land or homes which results in tax increases necessary to provide all of the services demanded — better roads, water and sewer systems, better schools, etc. The demand for more services often creates the need for more regulations to try to protect the people who were already here. However, many infrastructure improvements benefit all of us.

All we can do is be vigilant and work to preserve and protect the best of what we have for future inhabitants of this piece of paradise.

HELEN NEWTON

Sandpoint

A 72 year resident