| Letters
to the editor from this week's Chronicle
Letter to Editor
It is sad news that Cottonwood’s Prairie Community Library will be closed for an undetermined amount of time while repairs from flooding caused by a broken water pipe are underway. Little Free Libraries may fill the need for reading materials in the interim. You may have seen these near mailboxes, outside of businesses, homes, or near parks. They provide books free of charge to anyone and are always open during daylight hours. No need to make contact with anyone; just select a book or more and, if possible, leave a book or more to share with others. Cottonwood has two little libraries. Sweet Jo’s Lending Library is about a mile beyond the monastery at 719 Keuterville Rd next to the mailboxes there. It was erected to honor the life of a long-time book club member, Jo. The other roadside library is right in town at Dog Bark Park, 2421 Business Loop 95. Made and managed by Dog Bark Park owners, Dennis and Frances, this grey and red library is easy to access across the driveway from their postal mailbox. In Craigmont, a little library can be found at 112 E Main St., erected in memory of someone’s mother who was a voracious reader. In Nezperce there is the Connie Johnson Memorial Library at 401 Oak St. It is sponsored by the Friends of the Nezperce Community Library and is located at the city park across the street from Nezperce’s regular library. In Grangeville, there is a much visited Little Free Library on the outside south facing wall of Irwin Drug located on Main Street. I believe this library may have initially been a senior project. Not sure who manages the usually well-stocked library now. Farther afield, little libraries can be found by using the map on LittleFreeLibrary.org or download their phone ap. Keep on reading and enjoy short outings to these library alternatives while we wait for the re-opening of our main library. Frances Conklin Cottonwood To the Editor Leave No Voter Behind According to the VA, there are nearly 128,000 military veterans in Idaho. We represent 9% of Idaho’s adult population, which is one of the highest rates in the US. Some Idaho vets come from families that have been here for generations and some settled in Idaho after their service. We are as diverse and independent as our fellow Idahoans and care deeply about this great state. A veterans’ commitment to service carries through to voting. Veterans are more likely to vote (65.8%) than nonveterans (61.7%). Veterans are also more likely to vote as independents. According to Pew Research, 49% of US military veterans preferred not to register with a political party and vote as independents. When you put these facts together, you realize that military veterans are one of the largest blocks of independent voters in Idaho. However, Idaho’s closed primaries prevent independent veterans from fully participating in our elections. We served our country but can’t vote in primaries. That’s just plain wrong. Veterans for Idaho Voters (www.v4iv.org) is a cross-partisan and independent group of Idaho military veterans committed to fair elections, citizen initiatives, civil politics and sensible policies. We are one of the coalition partners supporting the Open Primaries Initiative. Government works best when there is vigorous competition among candidates and broad citizen participation. Closed primaries are not the Idaho Way. For 80 years from our first primaries in 1931 until 2011, these elections have been open to all. We now have a decade of results that show closed primaries are less competitive, and the winners are determined by fewer voters. In 2022, 96% of Idaho’s 166 legislative primary races were decided by less than the number of registered independent voters. Said another way, the votes of silenced independents could have changed the outcome in 96% of legislative primary races. The Open Primaries Initiative provides more power for more voters to participate in the elections that their taxes pay for. When Idahoans have the freedom to vote for whom they want, then our elected leaders are more accountable and better represent us. Most importantly, we believe that Idahoans have a civic duty to ensure that everyone can vote. If Idaho’s elections don’t work for one group - in our case, independent military veterans who swore to defend our nation - then they don’t work for any of us. Let’s work together to fix our elections and commit to leave no voter behind. Todd Achilles (Boise) Army veteran Marv Hagedorn (Meridian), Navy veteran Barry Johnson Jim Jones Rich Stivers Scott Syme Christie Wood
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