Sharpen your shovels

When it comes to the devastating economic impact of the federal closure of Lucky Friday silver mine in North Idaho, Dennis Wheeler has an idea that might be golden.

Wheeler, the recently retired CEO of Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. - the largest primary silver producer based in the U.S. - has quietly been brainstorming with other leaders at several levels. Wheeler wants to find a way to create good jobs quickly, to better enable NIC to meet the needs of the community, and perhaps most of all, to pave the way for a stronger local economy for many years to come.

Here's one way to part with hand-wringing and lip-service and actually do something to improve the local jobs picture - now and for the future.

Commit to a shovel-ready project and expand NIC's Meyer Health Sciences Center. A project of this scope would quickly provide many sorely needed, good-paying jobs to help ease the blow of Lucky Friday's crippling loss of up to 300 jobs. The project would also address pressing needs of the college and the local medical community: Making space for an additional 200 or so eager medical professions students.

How would a big effort like this be financed? Package some of the state's current budget surplus with NIC savings and its bonding ability. This three-pronged funding approach would ease the burden on all three of the tongs, allowing the work to begin soon and be completed relatively quickly.

We know these are exceedingly difficult financial times. We also know that some of the smartest people are using the current availability of excellent labor, low construction material costs and an extremely favorable bond environment to tackle politically tricky capital projects, both in the public and private sectors. Just as there have been few times as economically challenging as this, so, too, have there been few times when it made more sense to dive in and get important projects done.

As Wheeler himself would say, if there's a better shovel-ready project anywhere in the state that would reap the benefits this one would - particularly in a part of the state suffering from unemployment like ours is - let's hear about it.

And then let's get to work and do it.