County did great job at hearing

Dear editor:

I would like to say job well done by the county commissioners for the zoning hearing last week. They asked good questions and tried to keep the speakers on track that this was a zoning meeting and not an argument over a power plant.

At the meeting people who farmed the property in question stated that it was prime farmland and also had drainage straight into Snake River. If this was turned into industrial zoning they said how it would drain into the river and cause a lot of pollution.

I believe that the Snake River is more polluted by nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from chemical fertilizers and livestock waste that cause excess algae growth. This results in dense mats of algae that can choke off waterways to boaters and, through decay and respiration, can reduce oxygen to levels lethal to fish and other aquatic organisms. So as far as I can see the farming is causing more problems and has fewer controls over the land than there would be as an industrial zone.

These are my concerns over the zoning and now I will give you my opinion as far as bringing jobs to the area. I am a business manager for the Plumbers and Pipe Fitters that covers Southwest Idaho. We have 24 members that live in Elmore County and another 538 that live in the rest of our area. Currently our members have to leave the state to find employment. We in Idaho keep letting more and more people move to our state daily. We are letting prime farmland be subdivided to build houses but we don't want any industry. We desperately need industry for more Idaho jobs for Idaho people.

I don't live in Elmore County but I was born and raised in Idaho, my son was born here and my 3 grandchildren were born throughout the state, so I believe this does concern me. How do we keep our children from leaving the state without having decent paying jobs here for them to apply for?

Rod Clay