Mayor to take part in television 'Dialogue'

The Daily Inter Lake

Kalispell Mayor Pam Kennedy will be in Boise, Idaho, on July 13 to take part in

the taping of "Dialogue: The Fire Next Time."

Kalispell Mayor Pam Kennedy will be in Boise, Idaho, on July 13 to take part in the taping of "Dialogue: The Fire Next Time."

The program, produced for Idaho Public Television, will pick up where the documentary left off.

Kennedy will be joined by Martin Goebel, the president of Sustainable Northwest; John McCarthy from the Idaho Conservation League; and a mediator from New Mexico. They will talk about methods for working through contentious situations in communities.

"This will be an informal conversation, a dialogue with other communities in the Northwest," Kennedy said. "It will teach other communities methods for what you can do when things become divisive."

She believes "The Fire Next Time" was a catalyst for improved understanding among competing interest groups in Northwest Montana.

"With growth comes change, and that is difficult for some to accept," Kennedy said. "'The Fire Next Time' brought forward a group of people determined to find the means by which we can continue the conversation and capitalize on growth through courteous, civic dialogue."

Flathead on the Move, an organization working to reduce community stress during times of growth, was created as an extension of the discussions that followed the local "Fire Next Time" screenings.

The group includes Kennedy and other elected and appointed Flathead Valley leaders, as well as representatives of organizations as diverse as Flathead Valley Community College, The National Parks Conservation Association and Montanans for Multiple Use.

"Dialogue: The Fire Next Time" will be shown on MontanaPBS on July 14 at 7 p.m. and July 17 at 5 p.m.