Shoshone County receives Thanksgiving gift
WALLACE –– A local mining company has stepped up to help the county cover costs with a significant project.
Last week, Grant Brackebusch with Idaho Strategic Resources (ISR) contacted Shoshone County Public Works Director Jessica Stutzke to tell her that ISR would like to cover the cost of replacing the heating system in the county’s District 1 Road Shop.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the heating system within the shop had catastrophically failed and any attempt to repair the system could end in disaster. Stutzke went before the Shoshone County Commissioners, who approved spending $11,266 to replace the system with a similar one.
“Grant contacted me after reading the News-Press article about the need for our furnace replacement at the Murray shop,” Stutzke said. “He let me know that his company is very thankful for the work that the District 1 Road Crew performs, and his company would like to support their community and pay for the entire cost of the new furnace.”
ISR, which operates the Golden Chest Mine near Murray, relies heavily on the roads in and out of Murray, which sit squarely inside District 1.
District 1 covers all county roads from the top of Dobson Pass north to the Shoshone Mountain Retreat, to the Montana state line, down CDA River Road to Graham Creek, and on the Old River Rd side to MP 11. They’re responsible for plowing snow, patching holes, painting, clearing debris, and any other work necessary to keep the hundreds of miles of roadways cleared.
The past few years have been challenging for the county financially. Along with budgetary concerns and rising costs, the county has been working diligently to ensure its employees are being properly compensated.
“Shoshone County is so very appreciative of this generous donation,” Stutzke said. “The furnace failure was unexpected, and therefore not previously budgeted for. Prior to this surprising contribution, we were planning on pulling the money from elsewhere in our budget.”
The Murray-based has four year-round employees who work out of it, who have currently been utilizing small, inefficient electric heaters that provide minimal warmth. And with the snow already flying, getting the new system paid for and installed will make a large difference for the county.
“This is a wonderful example of the kindness and generosity that our community is known for, and why the Silver Valley is such a great place to live,” Stutzke said.
The Golden Chest Mine is currently the only producing hard-rock gold mine in Idaho. It lies within the Murray Gold Belt. The Murray Gold Belt is north of the renowned silver belt deposits of the Coeur d’Alene Mining District. Idaho Strategic Resources (IDR) recently consolidated the many historic gold mines, and prospects within the Murray Gold Belt to form an impressive land package consisting of 1,500 acres of patented mining claims and 5,800 acres of unpatented claims.
The Idaho Pit of the Golden Chest Mine in Murray.Courtesy photo