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This Day in History: Idaho Gov. Andrus Issued Concerns as Snake River Dams were Dedicated by Jim Kershner Spokesman-Review, June 20, 1975

"I want to point out that the costs of this system have been horrendous,
both in dollars and in costs to our natural resources."
-- Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus

From 1975: Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus spoke during the three-day dedication of the "Northwest Passage" -- the lower Snake River dams and seaway project -- but his speech was not entirely full of praise.

"The cost of this system has been horrendous in money spent and the cost to natural resources," Andrus said. "We did not realize all the ramifications this system would have. But we shouldn't wring our hands. These problems are solvable."

He saluted the $1 billion project, but he challenged "Congress and the Army Corps of Engineers with fulfilling the other part of this magnificent system," that is, fixing the environmental problems associated with the four new Snake River dams.

The Spokesman-Review story did not specify what those problems were, but an Army Corps of Engineers officials noted that Lower Granite Dam would be the first of the dams "with spillway deflectors designed to reduce nitrogen supersaturation of the water," which was blamed for killing fish.

Oregon Gov. Robert Straub had spoken on the first day of the celebration, and then Andrus on the second. Conspicuously absent was Daniel Evans, the governor of Washington, where the vast majority of the project was located. Evans said his schedule was "absolutely hectic" and there was no way he could attend any part of the ceremonies.

From 1925: Civic leaders were appalled when they discovered that the concrete base of the new flagpole at the top of Mount Spokane had been "defaced" by a pair of young lovers.

Someone had scratched the initials R.G. and F.S. into the wet concrete, and linked them together with a heart and an arrow.

"If our plans work out, we will see that these sort of publicity seekers get all the publicity they want, because we expect to have them correct the wrong they have done while a corps of newspaper photographers click their cameras," the head of the Inland Automobile Association said.

First, they had to find them.

A caretaker on the mountain said he saw a couple on the mountain right after the concrete was poured, and he recalled the first three numbers of their license plate.

The flagpole was donated by the Spokane Chapter of the Silver Star Legion, and was to be dedicated in a week.

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Print copy of June 20, 1975