[Vision2020] Four arrested at megaload protest in Moscow

Fri Aug 26 10:36:53 PDT 2011

Apparently the DN reporters can't count.  There were six arrested, not four.

Somewhat better the the Trib. though.  According to them there were only 
a dozen protesters when there were actually about two hundred.

Dave

>
>   Megaload moves out for Moscow and beyond
>
> Friday, August 26, 2011 9:42 AM
>
> (Source: Lewiston Morning Tribune, Idaho)trackingBy Elaine Williams, 
> Lewiston Tribune, Idaho
>
> Aug. 26--The stars in a summer sky were among the only witnesses to 
> the departure of the first Imperial Oil megaload to go through Moscow.
>
> The load left the Port of Lewiston at 10:05 p.m. Thursday, following a 
> couple of honks that signaled the start of its journey.
>
> Wild Idaho Rising Tide, an anti-megaload group, had previously 
> announced plans to watch it leave Lewiston and protest it in Moscow.
>
> The monitors were heading to Lewiston, said Helen Yost, an organizer 
> with the group in Moscow, who couldn't confirm they'd arrived.
>
> About a dozen people gathered in Moscow by 10 p.m. to oppose the 
> oversized load and at least two dozen more were expected, Yost said.
>
> Allowing loads to use north central Idaho's roads is a bad idea for a 
> variety of reasons, Yost said.
>
> The extraction process in the tar sands where the load is headed hurts 
> the ecosystem, Yost said.
>
> In doing so, they affect the lives of indigineous Canadians who have a 
> subsistence lifestyle of hunting and fishing, Yost said.
>
> "This is a blatant exploitation of the public resources of Idahoans 
> and Americans," Yost said. "These heavy, long loads coming through 
> will damage our roads and bridges."
>
> Imperial Oil has stated previously the impact of the oversized hauls 
> is similar to that of regular semi tractor-trailers because of how the 
> weight is distributed per axle.
>
> Two calls to Imperial Oil late Thursday night were not immediately 
> returned.
>
> Idaho State Police took no extra security measures. The same four 
> officers that accompanied five previous megaloads that used U.S. 
> Highway 12 earlier in the year went with the rig heading on U.S. 
> Highway 95 to the Palouse, said Capt. Lonnie Richardson of ISP. Their 
> overtime is paid for by Imperial Oil.
>
> The 24-foot-wide, 14-foot-high and 208-foot-long rig was carrying a 
> piece of a processing plant to be built at the Kearl Oil Sands in 
> Alberta, Canada.
>
> Idaho Transportation Department rules require it to pull over every 15 
> minutes to allow cars to pass, and limit its travel times to between 
> 10 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.
>
> It was supposed to get as far at the Latah/Benewah County line by 
> early this morning, and then resume traveling after 10 p.m. today to a 
> stopping point 15 miles east of Coeur d'Alene on Interstate 90. On the 
> third segment of its Idaho journey, it was expected to reach the 
> Montana state line.
>
> The component that moved Thursday was among 33 that arrived at the 
> Port of Lewiston in the fall and were converted to about 70 shorter 
> hauls at a cost of almost $500,000 each. The work made it possible for 
> them to navigate underneath interstate overpasses.
>
> Originally the 33 were part of a group of 207 loads Imperial Oil 
> wanted get across Idaho on U.S. 12.
>
> Imperial Oil chose to modify the cargo after it took longer than the 
> oil company anticipated to get permits to move them on U.S. 12. The 
> delays occurred because opponents successfully insisted they get a 
> chance to testify in a formal proceeding before ITD made any final 
> decision on the issue.
>
> So far, ITD has granted permission for only one Imperial Oil shipment 
> to take U.S. 12, a test module in the same dimensions and weight as 
> the largest of the proposed shipments. A court case brought by 
> Missoula County commissioners and three environmental groups has, so 
> far, blocked Imperial Oil's efforts to use U.S. 12 in Montana.
>
> In the meantime, Imperial Oil is finding other ways to get the 
> Korean-made components to Canada, bypassing the Port of Lewiston after 
> they arrive at the Port of Vancouver.
>
> Sixty are able to use a mostly interstate route through Washington, 
> Idaho and Montana without any fabrication. At least 49 more have been 
> staged at the Port of Pasco for a four-lane highway and interstate 
> route through the three states.
>
> Williams may be contacted at ewilliam at lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.
>

On 08/26/2011 08:01 AM, Tom Hansen wrote:
> Courtesy of today's (August 26, 2011) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
>
> ------------------------------
>
>
>     Four arrested at megaload protest in Moscow
>
> At least four people were arrested early Friday morning in downtown 
> Moscow as protesters sat cross-legged in front of the 
> 413,600-poundmegaload making its way north on Washington Street.
>
> Several of the protesters passively resisted arrest, and law 
> enforcement officers crammed limp bodies into a Latah County Sheriff’s 
> Office van.
> Some who weren’t arrested yelled and made lewd gestures at police and 
> the megaload convoy, while counterprotesters called for law 
> enforcement to make arrests and get people out of the crosswalk.
>
> The nighttime protest started out relatively slowly, with a small 
> group of people gathering outside the Pie Hole restaurant at Second 
> and Washington streets around 10 p.m. Thursday.
> Starting around 10:30 p.m., the protesters began marching through 
> downtown Moscow with the Moscow Volunteer Peace Band.
>
> By the time the megaload rolled through downtown Moscow shortly after 
> midnight, hundreds of protesters, counterprotesters and spectators 
> lined Washington Street.
>
> Greg Larson, a Latah County resident, smeared black paint on his face 
> and carried a large sign reading “Mega ugly.”
>
> “Ultimately, I don’t have to make a moral statement, but an aesthetic 
> one,” he said. “(The oil sands project in Canada) is just too ugly.”
> He said he was tired after getting off work Thursday but felt a duty 
> to protest.
>
> “If they can do that in Syria, I can do this in Moscow,” he said.
>
> University of Idaho law student Al Baker and a group of his friends 
> stood on a corner opposite the protesters, holding signs supporting 
> the megaloads and oil sands project.
>
> He said he didn’t think the megaload was something worth protesting, 
> given the amount of work done to determine the feasibility of its 
> travel plan.
>
> Fellow counterprotester and law student Reed Colten said the oil sands 
> project didn’t concern him.
>
> “Have you been to the gas station lately?” he asked. “The more oil, 
> the better.”
>
> Jennifer Emerson, a UI senior studying environmental science, said she 
> protested the megaload because she is opposed to the oil sands project.
>
> “It’s one of the most environmentally destructive practices on the 
> planet,” she said, holding a sign that said “Heart of the monster.”
>
> Marcie Miller said her husband, Greg Freistadt, in addition to Bill 
> French, Brett Haverstick and Vince Murray were among the protesters 
> arrested early Friday morning.
>
> Helen Yost, community organizer for Wild Idaho Rising Tide, said 
> several protesters were going to the Latah County Jail to keep in 
> touch with those incarcerated.
>
> “Wild Idaho Rising Tide organized the event, but we were amazed and 
> surprised that so many showed up,” she said. “We’re very proud of 
> Moscow. We think this has been the most successful direct 
> confrontation with the megaload in the entire Northwest.”
>
> Moscow Mayor Nancy Chaney said she was saddened by the passing of the 
> megaload through Moscow to the Alberta Tar Sands, but felt the protest 
> was successful.
>
> “I thought the protest was peaceful and powerful,” she said. “I think 
> law enforcement, from my observations, handled it well,” she said.
> Chaney said she hopes Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil will consider an 
> alternative route from the Port of Pasco up U.S. Highway 395 then 
> Interstate 90 through Washington and Idaho and into Montana to 
> Interstate 15.
>
> “I think that is a far more rational route than taking a two-lane, 
> deteriorating highway through rural Idaho towns,” she said.
>
> Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil says it plans to transport at least 60 
> shipments from the Port of Lewiston up U.S 95 and I-90, though not 
> every load will be of this size, which was 24-feet wide, 14-feet tall 
> and 208-feet long.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Stay tuned, V-peeps.
>
> I will have photos and videos available online later today.
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
> "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to 
> change and the Realist adjusts his sails."
>
> - Unknown
>
>
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