WORLEY, Idaho — Free bus service linking communities on the Coeur d’Alene
Reservation with the off-reservation towns of Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and
Hayden Lake was announced at a recent community meeting and dinner at the
Coeur d’Alene Casino Event Center.

The first bus began connecting the southern communities, and five
additional buses should begin operating with the northern communities in
late October.

Francis SiJohn, vice chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Council and
planning director for the tribe, explained that a feasibility study had
been conducted in 2000 and 2001 at community meetings to determine tribal
members’ transportation needs. They concluded a fixed rural bus route was
needed.

Residents, particularly elders, were often having problems getting from
rural areas to town for shopping or medical care or to the larger
communities of Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene for clothes shopping and other
services. From that beginning, a partnership was developed to make this bus
service come to fruition. SiJohn credited tribal Transportation Planner Lux
Devereaux with having the foresight to start the long-range survey and
assess needs through community meetings.

SiJohn welcomed the crowd of several hundred to the Event Center and
introduced Dixie Reed, chairman for the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning
Organization. The tribe entered into a partnership with KMPO to make the
bus service possible, and to service not only the Indian communities but
the larger towns as well. Reed said, “The partnership between the tribe and
KMPO is unique in Idaho. This shows we can get along and accomplish great
things for our children and grandchildren. This would not have happened if
not for the leadership of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. I thank you for that.”

SiJohn serves as one of 10 board members for that organization which
include four highway districts, three towns off the reservation, the Idaho
Transportation Department and Kootenai County.

Laura Stensgar-Mokry, marketing director, said: “This is a great day. We’re
providing free bus transportation for each and every one of you; not just
tribal members, not just the cities of Plummer and Coeur d’Alene, but for
everyone. We’re providing safe and secure transportation. State and federal
money gave us that extra budget to offer safe, secure and convenient
service.”

Using a PowerPoint presentation, she explained both the routes and the
convenience provided. As an example, students attending North Idaho College
in Coeur d’Alene can arrive in time for early classes and return at a
reasonable hour. On the other hand, residents in town can travel to the
reservation for tourism, recreation or gaming at a variety of times.

Francis SiJohn commented that the tribe is being pro-active. They will be
meeting with the congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. to present
concerns regarding the Transportation Equity Act to ensure that rural
transit gets funded at the national level. “We’ll let them know what we’re
doing in northern Idaho. It’s going to benefit each of us in the long
term.”

The Rev. Thomas Connelly, longtime priest on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation,
offered a prayer of thanks before a salmon dinner was served. He brought a
chuckle, commenting, “I thought I was going to have a bus to bless.” He
added, “It’s been 300 years since tribal members traveled mostly by canoe.
It’s been 200 years since horses came in. It’s been 100 years since buggies
and wagons. Now we have buses! This will be a blessing, with gas prices the
way they are.”

The first Citylink bus was then unveiled by driving it into the Event
Center. “Citylink” was printed across the front with a huge painting of a
rainbow trout leaping against a background of water, trees and mountains —
typical of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation landscape.