[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Page 25863]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING MAYOR JOHN O. COTANT

 Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President: I would like to pay special tribute 
today to a remarkable man who has dedicated the past 36 years of his 
life to the citizens of Chubbuck, ID. Mayor John O. Cotant entered the 
Chubbuck mayoral race the night before the elections in 1969. He won 
and has been mayor ever since. Through his dedication to youth and 
community improvement, Chubbuck has become the thriving town of 10,000 
it is today. Under his exemplary leadership, Chubbuck increased the 
number of city parks from 1 to 14. He initiated the construction of a 
monument to veterans of our wars and his love of sports inspired him to 
promote a thriving youth sports program for the city. He brought 
critical infrastructure improvements to the community, to position 
Chubbuck for the vibrant growth it is experiencing today. John and his 
wife of 59 years, Alice, are the proud parents of 3, grandparents of 13 
and great-grandparents of 19 children. He has been very involved in his 
church, serving as Bishop, the ecclesiastical teacher, of his LDS 
church congregation. At a robust 81, he says that he is going to pursue 
his personal interests of genealogy and a collection of city 
memorabilia, and make a point of not volunteering for anything 
controversial. I must say I understand the sentiment. Local public 
servants like John are the lifeblood of our civic community and our 
daily lives in rural towns not just in Idaho, but across the Nation. As 
a mayor of a smaller city, you are on duty and under the spotlight 24 
hours a day. It is quite a testament to John's character, energy and 
spirit that he has served for so many years. I congratulate him on 
three and a half decades of community commitment service and wish him 
and Alice the very best in the next exciting chapter of their life 
together.

                          ____________________