Eagle sculpture marks the sign of a °AEnew beginning°O for Libby

By CAROL HOLOBOFF Western News Reporter

Lincoln County Commissioner Rita Windom reminded the crowd that gathered for the dedication of the Eagle Gateway Arch on Saturday, July 7, that it would be another century before the date 7/7/07 came around and said it was a perfect day for Libby to move forward in a new direction.

°)()(This town has emitted negative images around the world for the last eight years and we have been caught in the grips of depression and division. Today Eagle City has been born and we too can have a new beginning.°+/-

Libby Cafe provided muffins and coffee for the upbeat crowd that began arriving early. Roxanne from For HIS Glory Photography had free colored photographs for anyone making a contribution to the project.

Trent Oelberg from Libby Mainstreet attempted to name and thank the many individuals and businesses that had helped in one way or another to make the Eagle Arch Gateway possible.

Windom bought the first of Todd Berget°Os eagle sculptures in 1997. His second bird went to West Glacier but when Todd first sold the one dedicated on Saturday to Post Falls, Libby Mayor Tony Berget thought they should stay in Libby and he bought it and brought it home.

Terry Andreessen and Windom presented the idea to put it on Main Street and it only took about 8 weeks to make the idea a reality. Todd estimated that if the project had been done in a large city, like Seattle, the costs could have reached $100,000. The expenses for the Eagle Gateway arch are about $27,000 and already contributions of $24,000 have been received.

It could be said that Mayor Berget rose out of the bowels of the earth to be part of the dedication and it could also be said that he didn°Ot mind being teased about it. While installing the gateway structure the crews tapped into the sewer line from the Evergreen Motel and Tony was in the trenches until 10 p.m. helping fix the line.

Louise Rice, executive director of the Libby Chamber of Commerce said the project showed just what Libby could accomplish when everyone worked together.

Todd Berget, the sculpture and hometown artist, challenged the citizens of Libby to add their ideas and talents to the Eagle City theme. He said he was so excited about the enthusiasm and energy of the town and that he would have been just as excited with an Elk City or a Tree City. Todd said Libby is in the most beautiful setting in the world and the town should make use of that natural theme. Todd said Libby has many talented people who could come forth and add more murals to the buildings like the wonderful painting done on the Libby Sports Center or put up more sculptures like the Elks at the Antler Restaurant. He said that plans are already being made to erect totem poles at the shopping center and some very talented teenagers will be painting more building murals.

Todd concluded the celebration with this statement;

°)()(The eagle has been removed from the endangered species list and we are going to see that Libby is too.°+/-A6P5