The Granite Mine Battle Testimony
by
Sandy Lane Garmire
For ten years I had been a Realtor in Idaho and Utah. One day I decided to preview some property on the ridge above our land. We lived in a small rural town in Athol Idaho. The ridge had a breathtaking view of the valley and the surrounding mountains and even though the prices had dropped slightly, it was still property that was valued. There were many homes on the ridge and in the upper subdivision. Many families with small children had come to live there and it was a quiet and peaceful place.
The children would be dropped off at the road entering the subdivision and walk sometimes two miles in to their homes. Some lived on the ridge, while others did not. This was a country atmosphere with many livestock and wildlife in the area. It wasn't surprising to see wild turkey in flocks strolling along the road, or see a horse calmly grazing on the side of the road.
As I drove down the quiet dirt road, I noticed to my left a county sign posting stating that there was going to be a zoning hearing that very week. I was curious and almost sensed alarm at the sight of the posting. I knocked on a nearby neighbors door, and asked if they knew anything about the zoning hearing. They said yes and boy were they upset!
It turns out that someone that owned land on the ridge right next to the gas line, was trying to get a zoning change from residential rural, to an exception where He could put a Granite Mine or Gravel Pit in the center of the ridge. The plan was to dig down at least 75 feet and to have gravel trucks pulling gravel out and transporting it night and day. This would ruin all the homes perched on the ridge, endanger the lives of many children and cause health issues from all the dust that would blow over all of us that lived below. Let alone, it would devalue all of our properties. The children would have to walk along the side of the road, while huge dump trucks zoomed by, at least five an hour. The property was also on top of the underground aquafir that provided drinking water to northern idaho and spokane.
I also realized this would effect our prayer area that we had established at Glory Road Ranch and I just didn't believe that the Lord would stand for that. I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to jump into action. I got a hold of some neighbors and within two days we had a meeting set up for those in the neighborhood to come together to fight for their land and neighborhood. We invited the media and the press showed up for an interview.
I had one more piece of information that told me that this man would lose this fight. I had been drawn to the book of Esther that week. My sister was visiting and she told me that the Lord had told her that my answer would be in the book of Esther. So I got out the book and the Lord spoke to me and said" who was the villain in Esther?" and it dawned on my that it was Haman. Then the Lord said "who is the villain in this situation?" I realized it was also a man named
Haman! The man trying to get the zoning variance and permit was Mr. Haman. The Lord spoke to me and said "pray and this will not stand!".
The rules for sitting in at one of those meetings is this, you get to talk for 3 minutes after the one petitioning the zoning exception talks. Rarely can anyone talk any longer. We listened to a man that represented Mr. Haman, while Mr. Haman sat at the corner of the room, I noticed how this man really thought that he had this all together. He continued to try and lie about just about everything he said. He said that really hardly anyone lived in the area, and it would not affect or impact price values. He said that they would not use much water even though they were planning on drilling right above the aquifer that supplied the entire Northern Idaho and Spokane Washington areas with their water supply. They said that they would not impact the children in the area because they would put a little bus stop shelter there for them. He forgot that the children had to walk on a dirt road without sidewalks through slush and snow. He said the noise really wouldn't be bad, even though it would be going until late at night. This went on and on and I was amazed at how ignorant he thought we all were. The thing I enjoyed the most though was that every time he lied, I noticed the intercessors would quietly pray more and I would watch as he would shift in his seat and stutter. It was very clear he was lying.
Then it was our turn to talk. This took about three hours because everyone had a different thing to say about why this should not happen. When they got to me, I presented the report on home devaluing and the zoning plat maps showing all the new home owners. We also within hours before the meeting came up with a letter from the Gas line people protesting this, because they had not been informed and this could be dangerous. While I was up presenting this paperwork, the planning and zoning people asked me to talk longer. They asked me a lot of questions regarding the property values, how many people lived around there, and if you would be able to see the mine from the highway. They had not taken this into consideration until then.
After I testified, there was a man that also testified and said that he worked for a mine and explained that the water usage would be far more extensive that what Mr. Haman had said and the noise level would be far greater also. They asked him who he worked for and here was the zinger. .... He said "Mr. Haman". Mr. Haman just about fell out of his chair. Boy was that a fun moment. I had to admire this man that testified. He was putting his job at risk.
After a few minutes of a private discussion among the Planning and Zoning Officials, they came to the conclusion that they needed to look at this further and requested Mr. Haman pay for some different studies to see what the impact would be. They also wanted to come out and take a look at the ridge and the residential area. They gave him 10 days to complete the study and turn in any other paperwork that would justify the special use permit. They also gave us 10 additional days to put in what ever we wanted to put in.
As the meeting ended, I went up to Mr. Haman and nicely asked him if he would consider trading his land for another granite mine that I knew was for sale. I was sure that I could probably arrange the trade. He said "No, I can make a lot more money on this one with the highway construction happening and all". I told him "You might want to rethink that, because I know of someone very high up that does not want this to happen and will see to it that it doesn't."
The someone higher up of course was God, but I didn't identify that to Haman. He just laughed and said "We'll see". I cordially said goodbye and left.
That next week, we rolled up our sleeves and went to work. One of the ladies was a great researcher and had worked for the government. We found out that a large company to stay nameless, w as involved in this plan and they would be taking this over after Haman got the special use permit. We found a lot of red flags so to say that, we submitted the documentation to Planning and Zoning. It was about 2 inches thick.
We waited to hear when the Planning and Zoning people would be coming out, but never heard anything. So I decided to go in and talk with them. I was not there five minutes when the lady at the front desk told me that Mr. Haman had just called and canceled his request for a special use permit. He said however that he would be persuing it again in the Spring. He tried again the next year, but was turned down flat. We have not heard a word from him since. I can say many years later the land is not occupied and the view is still amazing.
That was a wonderful victory for our community. I think Mr. Haman and people like him will think twice about plans that come against God's land. Glory Road Ranch Ministries was a part of the land that God wanted to preserve along with protecting the water resource and the land of over three hundred families in that area. You don't ever ever mess with the Big Guy and His purposes. In the moment, if you are willing to stand up for what is right, God will always back you up and be with you. He is the great strategist and counselor. I had never really fought a battle like that before, but with God all things are possible. And, we won!!!
Thank you Lord for your strength and your wisdom to fight the battles and go before us!
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