{"id":15727,"date":"2021-03-24T01:47:10","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T01:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=15727"},"modified":"2021-03-24T17:39:39","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T17:39:39","slug":"its-the-little-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2021\/03\/24\/its-the-little-things\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s The Little Things"},"content":{"rendered":"

Valley leaders, residents grapple with growing tensions between longtimers, new arrivals<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Eric Valentine<\/em><\/p>\n

Talk to Mike McKenna\u2014the executive director of the local chamber of commerce\u2014about the pros of what could be an economy taking off, and he\u2019ll also want to talk to you about concerns he has about the newer residents moving in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think people moving here have to be ready to assimilate more to small-town life than a small town has to assimilate to them,\u201d McKenna said, still reeling a bit from what he called \u201can attack\u201d by some newer-to-the-Valley folks about his opinions on the proposal for a Croy Canyon campground.<\/span><\/p>\n

Talk to Hailey Mayor Martha Burke about the diversity of license plates (from other states) she\u2019s seeing these days and she\u2019ll quip, \u201cI wish we could interview people moving here and have them check off a few boxes, \u2018Do you clean up your dog\u2019s poop?\u2019 or \u2018Will you volunteer at our schools?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re at a crossroads,\u201d said Burke, who moved to Idaho from California in the 1970s. \u201cWhen I moved here, my family had the motto: Don\u2019t Californicate, appreciate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

All the data isn\u2019t in yet, but the eye test has been going on since COVID restrictions were in place and even before. It\u2019s clear the Valley looks a little more congested on roads, in parking lots, at stores, and on trails. It\u2019s part second-home owners staying longer, part travelers opting for Idaho since they can\u2019t cross international borders, and part influx of new, permanent residents from, especially, California to Washington, purchasing real estate and looking to grow roots.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s a small town to do?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to create policy with anecdotes, you need data,\u201d says Ketchum Mayor Neil Bradshaw. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone\u2019s ever been perfect about picking up their dog poop. Look at newspapers from 100 years ago and you can probably find complaints there.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

But Bradshaw agrees with Burke that whatever the actual numbers are when it comes to new arrivals, there will be a distinct need for them to be active members of the community. It\u2019s not so much about fitting in, it\u2019s about making a difference\u2014a positive one, of course.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need to fear a change, we need to find a change we want and to embrace it,\u201d Bradshaw said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bradshaw has street cred on that point. He moved to the Valley in 2005, from London. Immediately, he got involved, on a volunteer basis, and helped launch the Ketchum Community Development Corporation\u2014a nonprofit organization formed in July 2006 as part of an overall revitalization plan that also included a Downtown Master Planning exercise and the formation of the Ketchum Urban Renewal Agency. Some accomplishments:<\/span><\/p>\n