Far-fetched schemes should not be ruled out

Lest we get into the “it will never happen here” mood, let’s remind ourselves that the existence of this community was preceded by a very nutty idea that was laughed at by the whole nation.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was derided for supporting the building of Grand Coulee Dam. That is, until he looked like a genius when the nation suddenly needed its hydropower to fight World War II.

But big dreams are easy for those of us with noses to the grindstone to dismiss. Grasping their particulars often requires more time and energy than we have left at the end of the day, or the beginning of another meeting.

That’s probably why the men who see a need for a new hydropower plant here were given just about 10 minutes at Monday’s Board of Mayors meeting to explain the enterprise promoters say could employ thousands during construction and hundreds on a permanent basis.

That kind of thinking is worth much more of our collective attention.

It’s easy to laugh off such notions, dismissing them as just one more thing that will never happen here.

Many in the community did just that as the new hospital was about to be built, and as the new school was about to be funded.

The ideas of Columbia Basin Hydropower aren’t fanciful. They are just solid enough to command attention, whether you’re for them or not.

Scott Hunter

editor and publisher