Watch out, Palmer; all that complaining just might work

Frontiersman editorial board

Boy, those pesky Palmerites sure like to worry, don't they? They can't stop fretting about all the what-ifs when it comes to this coal-bed methane issue. They acted surprised and incensed when they discovered their legislators were stripping away their personal property protections, and they simply jumped out of their skin when they discovered subsurface mineral leases were being sold by the thousands -- many of them overlapping subdivisions. Come on, Palmerites, that's how we do things here. You should know by now that you own the dirt, but some Outside corporation owns anything worth anything underneath. Besides, some of those compressor stations are kind of quaint looking if you string Christmas lights on them.

Palmerites also wanted to ask a bunch of questions before they signed off on the deal that will turn a gravel pit into an industrial landfill and then into part of the State Fair property. They liked the idea, but they wanted to make sure drinking water wouldn't be compromised before signing any dotted lines. How selfish!

When Fred Meyer decided to build a new store in Palmer, the persnickety Palmerites had all sorts of demands. They wanted to make sure the new store didn't cause traffic headaches, and they didn't want a new supermarket that was an eyesore in the middle of town. They even had demands about what kind of sign the store could erect. A lot of people started shouting about how those pernicious Palmerites were going to scare off all the potential businesses the Valley needs so badly. "They're anti-growth over there," people shouted.

Strangely, the deal to clean up the gravel pit and expand the fair went through. Inexplicably, legislators are backpedaling on some of the legislation that originally trampled the property rights of Valley residents. And one senator had to quit his job working for the primary developer. Coincidentally, Fred Meyer decided to build in Palmer after all, and the traffic flows better, if anything. Palmer also landed the sewer and water contract for the new hospital, which might be a positive sign to other businesses pondering a move to the Valley.

If we didn't know better, we'd say all that worrying and carrying on is somehow helping Palmer improve and grow at the same time -- at a manageable pace, no less. If we didn't know better, we'd say Palmer is setting a pretty admirable example.