Planning and zoning commissions that serve every county in this nation are comprised of individuals appointed to their post, often on a volunteer basis. Such is the situation in this rural county in the inland Northwest. Like most regulatory boards, while believing they are serving their neighbors, they are unaccountable to those same neighbors except by elected county commissioners removing them from their seats. The interesting thing is, that this circumstance doesn’t rule out political pressure.
During this presidential election cycle there has been an expanded discussion on the appalling rise of drug addiction among the general population. In both parties the topic has been hotly debated, with numerous candidates sharing personal stories of how their lives have been affected by the viral nature of addiction. Despite this growing epidemic, there are still pockets of resistance to the idea that this evil has been let loose in their communities. Statistics show that it has.
In this sparsely populated county the number of individuals on parole and probation being supervised by the Community Corrections office has tripled in one year, from 40 to 120. No one, and no neighborhood is immune. There is no vaccination to ward off this disease, either.
The facts, however, are not only being overlooked, they are being ignored, wholesale, by those who prefer to continue living in the fantasy world of “it couldn’t happen here.”
This week, the planning commission considered the issue of awarding a Conditional Use Permit to a “clean and sober living” home that sits on a rural highway, separated from its nearest neighbors by several acres of open pasture. The building was originally constructed as a sewing factory but later converted to a Christ-based community center. After years of effort bringing in programs to serve families and disadvantaged youth, the center failed for lack of community support. Yes, the community enjoyed the programs, which included outdoor concerts seating hundreds of people, but they were unwilling to ante up when it came to the bottom line – donating time or funds.
Unfortunately, this is another symptom of the disease mentioned above: the unwillingness to be vested in the cure, expecting someone else to carry the burden while enjoying the results of someone else’s efforts, even lauding them for it. This mentality has morphed into the acceptance of shoving off any problem to government and quasi-government agencies to handle. The result? No one is willing to take responsibility for the ills that continue to spread in our hometowns.
The blindness was clarified by one naysayer’s comments before the panel, stating they wanted to keep their “wholesome community.” Which gives rise to the unvoiced query, how do they expect to keep it that way? The answer was obvious as each of the opponents of the 12-18-month program of transformational housing rose to take their turn on the microphone. Gloss over the statistics and act as if the county has no problem. See? Problem solved.
During the time given to testimony against the clean and sober house, evidence of positive results already achieved was disregarded in favor of uninformed fear-mongering. Not one of the opponents present, including the members of the commission, had bothered to read the CUP application and were thus unprepared to consider the legal and moral argument for the, thus far, successful program.
Instead, unsubstantiated complaints were expressed, sans actual proof, and the director of the program was publicly maligned and castigated as arrogant, lawless, mercenary, and, believe it or not, heartless. On top of which, more than one complainer stated that the program couldn’t possibly be part of a church ministry because that’s not what churches do.
Really. The assertion was made by more than one person who, evidently, knew what churches do, not that they elaborated. In and among these knowledgeable commentaries regarding what churches are and are not, was an obviously learned decision rendered by, who else but, real estate agents.
Had anyone actually read the narrative submitted by the applicant, which is indeed a Christian ministry recognized by the state, the feds, local law enforcement and churches, they would have had a clue as to what the Church does, for it was spelled out according to Scripture (Hebrews 13:3, Matthew 25:31-46 and Luke 19:1-12). What is of great interest is how individuals playing the NIMBY card, favoring their perceived financial self-interest, thought they could determine what are works of the Church. What’s worse, the panel acquiesced to the fearful, biblically unschooled assumption of what a church should or should not be, and what they determined was that a church shouldn’t assist the drug and alcohol addicted to seek a better life, a fulfilling and productive life through Christ.
It is one thing for a few vociferous community members to reject a well-founded legal argument. That’s typical among those who will believe what they want in the face of evidence to the contrary. It is quite another for them to presume to tell a church what should be its work and calling.
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The hypocrisy of the opposing arguments is summed up by two things…
One couple complained they were unable to close a sale of their property due to its proximity to the clean and sober home. First, the property has been on and off the market for a number of years, unable to find a serious buyer. For what reason? Only they and their realtor would know. Secondly, they are the ones who raised the specter of a bogeyman living at the transformational housing by disseminating an ugly, and untruthful flyer throughout the whole of the county. Is it any wonder the potential buyers lost interest once they saw that piece of misinformation?
Two: More than one individual began their testimony by praising the ministry for wanting to assist the unfortunately addicted. They then misapplied the program director’s words, stating that he would heartlessly toss residents back onto the streets without compunction. The final decision rendered by the planning commission after weighing all the rancorous comments, most of which consisted of unconfirmed observations made from a distance (i.e. busybodies), managed to bring about exactly what they accused the program director of doing – throwing those unfortunate individuals out onto the streets; their road to recovery blocked by superstition and plain old fear.
The underlying dilemma that confronts every community is who should address the rising level of addiction? The federal government, which can’t handle anything efficiently? No. The onus of responsibility of dealing with this disease is on the family, the immediate community and the Church. As it is said, Charity (that is, Love) begins at home.
Former newspaper publisher, A. Dru Kristenev, grew up in the publishing industry working every angle of a paper, from ad composition and sales, to personnel management, copy writing, and overseeing all editorial content. During her tenure as a news professional, Kristenev traveled internationally as a representative of the paper and, on separate occasions, non-profit organizations. Since 2007, Kristenev has authored five fact-filled political suspense novels, the Baron Series, and two non-fiction books, all available on Amazon. Carrying an M.S. degree and having taught at premier northwest universities, she is the trustee of Scribes’ College of Journalism, which mission is to train a new generation of journalists in biblical standards of reporting. More information about the college and how to support it can be obtained by contacting Kristenev at cw.o@earthlink.net.
ChangingWind (changingwind.org) is a solutions-centered Christian ministry.
