Paris as Capital For a Day

The town of Paris was “Capital For a Day” Friday.

Gov. C. L. “Butch” Otter and many other state leaders made the trek to Bear Lake County. They were two hours late, because they couldn’t land at the Bear Lake County airport due to snow and the airport doesn’t have instrument flight rules capability. So they landed in Pocatello and drove another hour and a half.

There was good turnout for the Q & A session and the luncheon. Some of the highlights were agriculture, forestry and logging, education and rural job opportunities for youth, water resources, and the big issue of preventing quagga mussels from getting into Bear Lake. Even some of the Franklin County commissioners were there because of their concern for this. Another topic was losing rural television signals through translators because of the Federal Communications Commission reallocating the spectrum for mobile use.

Otter said, “The history, culture and even the architecture of the first Mormon settlers sent north by Brigham Young remain central to Paris, Bear Lake County and the beautiful Bear Lake Valley. The rugged individualism and timeless sense of community that are so much a part of life in Paris are qualities shared by people in many of Idaho’s small towns. It’s what makes them so special, and what makes it so important for us to listen to their concerns and hopes for the future.”