Jacki Vorhees, Moscow

Moscow-Pullman Daily News 12/17/11

Who is in charge of managing these megaloads coming through our town and on our highways?

The accident involving a megaload near Viola was blamed on one of the drivers involved and now it appears, through statements made in the Lewiston Tribune and Daily News, that someone is blaming the driver of the megaload in this recent accident in Moscow. The Tribune stated that this driver has driven these megaloads through Moscow before. So one would think he knows the routine. Why did the Idaho State Patrol car and the pilot car, who escort this behemoth through town, take off if it wasn’t safe to go? Continue reading →

Bill London, Moscow

Moscow-Pullman Daily News 12/13/11

Sure enough, after all the promises that the megaloads posed no problems to those of us who also use the U.S. Highway 95 route, a megaloads driver smashed into a couple of cars. Thankfully, the megaloads didn’t kill anyone this time. According to the Daily News article (December 8), the police blame only the driver of that megaload truck. Continue reading →

Jacki Vorhees, Moscow

Moscow-Pullman Daily News 12/13/11

Question: Where was the Moscow Police Department Tuesday night when the megaload accident happened, and could their presence have helped prevent this accident?

Wait a minute. Didn’t Chief David Duke say the MPD was only able to help (because of resources) on Thursday evenings? Maybe some of the cops who hang out watching those rascally protesters on Washington Street, no matter what night the megaloads run, would be better utilized watching the real danger.

Eric L. Jensen, Moscow

Moscow-Pullman Daily News 11/25/11

On October 27, my wife and I were driving from the Lewis-Clark Valley to Moscow. At about 8-8:30 p.m. we came over the top of the hill by Johnson Trucking doing the speed limit of 60 mph. A few seconds after coming over the top of the hill we were surprised by dozens of pylons – maybe hundreds – across all lanes of the highway. There was no warning, no signage to explain how to get through this mess, and no Idaho Transportation Department employees. Images of a collision rushed through my mind. There was a lone worker by a nonstate of Idaho truck along the side of the road. He made no effort to direct or assist us. We did not know how to get through this massive obstruction and were somewhat panic stricken. We made it through the pylons somehow but it all happened so quickly I don’t recall how we did it. Continue reading →

Tessa Jilot, Moscow

Moscow-Pullman Daily News 10/11/11

For the last several weeks I have watched the megaloads roll through Moscow, not just as a protestor, but as a resident whose front yard has suddenly become a parking lot for giant, environmentally destructive, earth-raping equipment.

I am absolutely appalled by the complete lack of safety exhibited on behalf of Mammoet and the Idaho State Police. Every week I see pilot cars screaming down U.S. Highway 95 with no regard to the posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour and without using turn signals, which help pedestrians like myself understand when it is safe to cross the street. Furthermore, and much more importantly, the Mammoet flaggers seem to have no training in regards to directing traffic. Continue reading →

Jeanne McHale, Moscow

Tar Sands Action website 9/28/11

Missoulian online only 10/9/11

Supporters of climate justice, please hear this plea.  Citizens of Idaho find themselves now at the nexus of greed, environmental degradation, and genocide.  Our ethically challenged state department of transportation has permitted the North Idaho transport of dozens of ExxonMobil megaloads of death, bound for Alberta tar sands operations.  The massive carbon emissions that would result from this mining project represent a point of no return for the planet.  Here in Moscow, Idaho, vigilant protestors are taking a stand as these road-hogging weapons of mass destruction, launched from the Port of Lewiston, bash through town in the late evenings (every Thursday), accompanied by throngs of state, local, and federal law enforcement officers.

Frankly, we need some help here.  North Idaho is beautiful in the fall, the tamarack are turning gold, and the rivers are running clear.  On absolutely no authority whatsoever, I declare the month of October to be “North Idaho Eco-tourism Month.”  Come join the members of Wild Idaho Rising Tide (friend them on facebook), the Moscow Volunteer Peace Band, and other anti-tar sands activists as we converge in Moscow, Idaho, to speak out against our unwilling participation in this immoral exploitation of the planet and its people.

Rob Briggs, Pullman

Moscow-Pullman Daily News 9/19/11

There is an expectation among Daily News readers that op-ed pieces will meet minimum standards of civility and respect. We also expect some intent to enlighten and inform. Henry Johnston’s piece on megaload protesters (His View, August 30) met neither expectation. When Doyle McClure wrote to complain (Letters, September 3-4), Michael O’Neal weighed in with charges of censorship (His View, September 7). Continue reading →

Tina Hilding, Moscow

Moscow-Pullman Daily News 9/14/11

I am responding to Henry Johnston’s His View column (Opinion, August 30) and his disapproval of those who exercised civil disobedience over the megaloads coming through Moscow.

Johnston, I’m not a hippie and certainly don’t smoke pot. The 1960s ended 40 years ago when I was 5. I am conservative.

If I get arrested, I will do so because of my grave concern about climate change. Continue reading →