Amen to the Presbyterian . . . .

Gary Payton is the local Presbyterian minister's husband. He works for the National Presbytery in its mission activities. Last fall, he spent nearly a month in Mississippi helping with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Gary also travels the world, especially to Russia, to fulfill his responsibilities.

He, his wife Nancy and their three sons moved to Sandpoint from Kentucky seven or eight years ago. They both serve in various capacities as thinkers, shakers and doers of our community. The Paytons have lived all over the country and the world as Air Force officers and as civilian professionals. It's easy to see, however, that Gary and Nancy truly love Sandpoint.

This morning a letter to the editor, written by Gary, appeared in the Daily Bee.

The letter reads as follows:

Dear FX3 Developers, Coldwell Banker Resort Realty, the Bitteroot Group, and all associated with Iron Horse Ranch,

Twice a year, I delight in opening the newest issue of Sandpoint Magazine. Over the years, I've greatly enjoyed the stories of our North Country community--our heritage, our natural environment, our art, and our collective love for this place we call home.

This season, however, you stopped me in my tracks. On page one, your prominent advertisement for Iron Horse Ranch, "a private gated community," stunned me as if I had been slapped in the face by an old friend.

Your promotion of "a private gated community" is the very antithesis of the values most hold dear about Sandpoint. And, it gets at the heart of the growing grassroots resistance to the multimillion dollar development projects spreading across Bonner County.

"A private gated community" brings forth images that are no community at all.

The phrase speaks of exclusion. It speaks of keeping others out, particularly if they don't share the background, the ethnicity, the wealth, the privilege of those within the gated walls.

The phrase speaks of separateness. Let "me and mine" enjoy the beauty of the mountains and the lakes, but keep us behind a gate so we don't have to mix with "them" inside our secluded retreat.

Your Web site at (www.ironhorseatsandpoint.com) poses an intriguing question, "How will visitors, invited or uninvited, be controlled through the entry gatehouse?"

Pity the "univited" person who is turned away by your guard in the gatehouse after the development is complete. Was he the logger who cleared the land? Was she the laborer who taped and mudded the drywall in the living room? Was he the painter in the old pickup truck that brightened your bedroom walls? Was she the immigrant who seeded your lawn and landscaped your yard?

The values of exclusion suggested by "a private gated community" don't fit in this place. You have the legal right to promote your vision of Iron Horse Ranch in ways that attract buyers. But, you do not have the moral right to introduce values which divide, not promote, community among us.

As a citizen of Bonner County, I ask that you not build the guardhouse to divide Iron Horse Ranch from all around you. And, I ask that you cease promotion of the development as "a private gated community."

I love the people, the mountains, the forests, and the wildlife of our North Country. Because of that love, I hope that I may always "welcome the stranger" and never turn another away based upon a valued system suggested by "a private gated community."

On Wednesday, May 31 the Bonner County Commissioners will consider the land use application of FX3 Developers for the Iron Horse Ranch.

Gary Payton
Sandpoint

I say "Amen, Gary!"