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Record Turnout at IDOG Seminar in Salmon

May 27, 2005 by

By Dean Miller

photo of a presenter at Salmon seminarView photos.

The Salmon Recorder Herald has set the bar one notch higher for those who host IDOG�s open government workshops � the May 19 session in Salmon was the best-attended session yet, with around 90 people on hand.

The Recorder Herald’s Shiela Johnson got on local radio, published notices in the Recorder Herald, and made personal phone calls to dozens of locals, helping boost the turnout. This wasn�t surprising in view of the Recorder Herald�s motto:

�Free Press � Open Government � Free People�

Audience members also were recruited for the skits. That proved entertaining, and it engaged the audience right off the bat.

If you haven�t seen it yet, the IDOG seminar mixes skits (short bits about common open government struggles, refereed by the Attorney General) with a meaty PowerPoint presentation by deputy AG Bill Von Tagen, one of Idaho�s leading experts on our open meetings and public records laws. Post Register editor Dean Miller drafted the skits and serves as moderator.

Evaluation forms filled out by attendees have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic about the format.

Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and his staff drove four hours from Boise to lead the show in Salmon. He plays the role of referee in each skit, jumping in to note fouls and to encourage sportsmanlike conduct.

The script has been revised by Bob Cooper, Wasden�s press officer, to make it even more punchy and fast-moving.

Another thing the Recorder Herald taught us: Future hosts and co-sponsors may want to consider pushing local judges to attend. Magistrate Jerry Meyers� presence in the back of the room was not lost on local officials. It has to help the cause of government openness that these officials now know that he knows they have heard the rules clearly explained.

The timing could hardly have been better. Salmon news has been dominated recently by reports of Sheriff Sam Slavin�s DUI arrest in Boise. Slavin, it turns out, was disciplined several years ago for a similar offense, but he has so far refused to release records pertaining to his alleged arrival at an accident scene, intoxicated, in a county car.

Seminar Photo Gallery

Filed Under: Past Seminars

Higher Ed Meeting should be Open to Public

May 17, 2005 by

from THE IDAHO STATESMAN, May 17, 2005 – “Our View”

Higher ed meeting should be open to public

Important people – many of them elected – will meet behind closed doors next month to talk about higher education.

The topic will be two campuses in Idaho Falls. The discussion has clear local implications: It could shape satellite campuses in Boise and perhaps Boise State University’s Nampa community college.

Yet Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, who decided to bring together a who’s who of politicians and educators, is promising them a private venue to talk about a publicly funded higher education system.

That’s inappropriate and unnecessary.

Inappropriate because the topic deserves a public airing. The framework of higher education – which school offers what program, and how the state avoids duplication – is important. The issue is particularly gnarled in Idaho Falls, which has no stand-alone college but two taxpayer-supported facilities located across town from each other. Students can attend Eastern Idaho Technical College or, on a satellite campus, courses from University of Idaho or Idaho State University.

Unnecessary because public officials should feel free to kick public policy ideas around in public settings. If they are afraid to discuss public policy freely before the public, they ought to retire from public service.

It’s a no-brainer to talk about how public institutions in the same city ought to operate without overlap. Idaho needs to expand a community college system that ill-serves students and employers across much of the state. It cannot afford to squander money on duplicative programs at any satellite campus – be they in Idaho Falls, or Boise or Nampa. All taxpayers have a stake in open discussion.

There’s no good reason to allow county commissioners, City Council members, legislators, State Board of Education members and university officials to meet behind closed doors. Kempthorne “wants them to be able to talk freely and get some solid conversation going,” his spokesman, Michael Journee, said Monday.

This kind of argument has never made the case for secrecy at any level of government. The people on Kempthorne’s guest list are powerful, opinionated public officials. They don’t need a cloak of secrecy.

Journee said he unaware of anyone who requested the closed meeting. The ground rule evolved as Kempthorne’s office started to put the meeting together.

The meeting is tentatively scheduled for June 22. Kempthorne has ample time to set a date and open the doors.

Editorial from The Idaho Statesman

Filed Under: Articles