Interlocal is coming up

Usually, when I fail to write a column or even miss multiple weeks, it is in the winter when not much is happening on the North Fork. The last two weeks have been different. There is a lot happening on the North Fork. However, a serious health problem of a close friend made it necessary for me to be out of state dealing with that serious event. That is one, maybe the biggest, problem with being in the your eighties, it is beginning to feel like I know more people in the cemeteries than are above ground.

I really hated to miss Karina and Vern Petty’s history tour. Although I have read all of the news articles about the shooting of the homesteader Fisher in 1932 by a neighbor’s grandson, I would have loved to walk the ground and to see the remains of the old road and homestead cabins. I was happy to hear that the event was well attended by about 20 North Forkers.

Same with the memorial for Tom Sliuter. Over 75 people gathered at Sondreson Hall and included folks from all over the state. The group included former colleagues, friends, relatives and many North Forkers. It was a great memorial with funny stories about Tom’s life and career with more than a few tears shed in remembrance. There was also a ton of food and volunteers to clean up afterward. The event was scheduled so that most of Tom’s summer friends were also here and able to attend. I am sorry I missed it. Tom will be alive in all of our memories.

The Forest Service has FINALLY filled all vacancies on the Resource Advisory Committee. Among the new members are two North Forkers. Debo Powers will serve as a representative of the environmental community and Randy Kenyon will represent the public at large.

According to Janette Turk, the U.S. Forest Service Liaison, the committee will not meet until September, but once started, will approve two years of funds. That obviously means no projects this year, but hopefully they will have projects for summer 2020 and 2021. When this two-year authorization is over, it is uncertain if it will be renewed.

This year’s Summer Interlocal will be held at Sondreson Hall from July 10 from 1-4 p.m. and will be hosted by the North Fork Road Coalition for Health and Safety. Anyone with concerns they would like the agencies to address should give them to Bill Walker or Ray Brown by July 1 so they can forward them to the agencies so they can give us informed answers.

I hope the Forest Service and the Park Service will give us straight forward answers about what they intend to do at Sondreson Meadow (USFS) and the Inside Road and air quality monitoring (NPS).

For years, they have fed us placebos about imminent action, but have done nothing. After a while, promises begin to smell like B.S.

Larry Wilson’s North Fork Views appears weekly in the Hungry Horse News.