No easy task replacing county emergency manager

By JOSH MCDONALD

Staff Reporter

Shoshone County has began the process of replacing Cory Foster in the position of Shoshone County Emergency Manager.

Foster recently stepped down from the position to pursue other potential opportunities.

The Shoshone Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met with Jay Baker with the Idaho Office of Emergency Management to discuss how they would go about finding Foster’s replacement, but they both acknowledged that it wouldn’t be easy.

“Cory (Foster) was so good at his job,” commissioner Mike Fitzgerald said. “There is a lot that goes into this position, but you also have to be able to look people in the eye and explain to them when things get tough and Cory could do that.”

Baker echoed the group’s fondness of Foster.

“He had everything we want in a emergency manager,” Baker said. “His military background, he had management skills, and he successfully navigated an emergency situation (a reference to the 2015 wildfire season). He was really coming into his own.”

One of the more difficult hurdles the group faces is finding someone qualified for the position but is interested in only working part time.

Given the area’s proclivity for flooding and fire emergencies Baker believes the position, while not mandatory, is definitely needed.

Fitzgerald and the BOCC spitballed a few ideas of Baker to get clarification, but the idea that every seemed to think could really work was born out of pure circumstance.

After Foster announced his plans to resign, Benewah County’s emergency manager did the same a day later.

The BOCC wants to discuss the idea of finding one emergency manager to work in both counties.

“We share a lot of area and when something is happening here, it usually means that is happening there too,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ll need to talk to the Benewah Commissioners and see what their thoughts are the matter.”

Having one person for both counties would create one full time position and could potentially attract a candidate similar to the type the BOCC will be trying to replace.

As for Foster, he is thankful for having had the opportunity to work with the various agencies, both local and at the State and Federal level.

“It was my honor to work for the county as their emergency manager,” Foster said. “I had the privilege of working with many different federal agencies such as FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers, USFS and the Bureau of Land Management. I had the pleasure of getting to know on a personal level our counties first responders,” Foster said. “They are a great group of individuals and strive to serve our county the best they can with what resources that they have available.”

Lastly, Foster thanked the BOCC and Baker for giving him the chance to serve his home community.

“I would like to thank the Shoshone County Commissioners for giving me this opportunity to serve the county in this very important role,” Foster said. “I would also like to thank Jay Baker from the Idaho Office of Emergency Management who assisted with all the work that is required of an Emergency Manager.”

As of this time the BOCC has no specific timetable for filling the position, but the SHoshone News-Press will continue to update the story as it progresses.