[Vision2020] Tribune editorial 9/30/05

[French]

Lewiston Tribune Editorial 9/30/05

T.H. - You mean you have to actually apply for grants?

Tom Henderson

 

 Larry Kirkland of Moscow just learned a valuable lesson. If you don't apply for a grant, your chances of getting it drop dramatically.

 Kirkland is the executive secretary of the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee. He told committee members they had a $100,000 federal grant to help monitor water levels, but the money was taken back because they didn't use it in the right time frame.

 He characterized it as a paperwork snafu -- a confusion over deadlines for using the money.

 When committee members pressed him for details, he said he needed to dig up the grant application.

 Fishy.

 You tell committee members they've punted a $100,000 grant they were planning on, but forget to bring along the paperwork?

 Of course, Kirkland forgot something else. He forgot to tell committee members he never applied for the grant in the first place.

 Officials at the Environmental Protection Agency say they never received any kind of grant application from the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee.

 Well, Mr. Kirkland? Care to explain?

 You have to give him credit. However, he should have gone with the dog eating his homework. Telling committee members he has to dig up a grant application he never submitted takes lame excuses to a new level.

 Is all this really that big a deal? Yes and no. Kirkland made a mistake. It's embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as attempts to sugarcoat it.

 On the other hand, members of the committee often say they want to be the lead agency in the area for water-use issues. If so, they need to demonstrate more competence and honesty than this.

 Determining water levels is part of the research vital to the future of water quality and usage, not to mention comprehensive planning, throughout the Palouse.

 It's serious business, requiring a serious level of professionalism.

 Kirkland's feet need to be held to the fire -- even if just a little bit -- for playing spin doctor without a license. -- T.H.
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