Unnecessary use of fire department
To the editor,
During the evening of July 15, 2008, there was a fire call in the vicinity of Belton Point Road and Highway 2 near the SanSuzEd RV Park. The Coram-West Glacier Quick Response Unit (QRU) visited the scene. The fire chief stated in a letter that pursuant to an on-site investigation the night of the fire call, the smoke seen from Highway 2 was instead road dust arising from the unpaved, privately-used Belton Point Road, which runs through land belonging to the U.S. Forest Service.
When QRU's Frank Kellenbeck visited SanSuzEd in response to the "fire" call, he witnessed the RV Park's evening campfire, which is small and confined with a concrete border more than 10 feet in diameter. A photo taken of the campfire the night of the Forest Service road-dust mistaken as a fire can be seen online at www.pbase.com/crichter/image/100618824, along with its full camera-settings data showing the date and time the photograph was taken.
Neighbor Jim Dupont has suggested that road dust from the Forest Service's Belton Point Road is but an irritation. However, when fire department resources are utilized unnecessarily, the significant of Belton Point Road dust is increased. Furthermore, a goodly number of studies have documented that the breathing of road dust is unhealthy.
When vehicular traffic on Belton Point Road is sufficiently heavy that dust causes a fire to be suspected, then people in the locale are at increased risk for exacerbations of problems such as asthma and other pulmonary problems. Solutions for the dust problem on Belton Point Road are available from Cypher International Ltd at www.cypherltd.com/ and should be acted on promptly.
Catherine Richter
West Glacier
Mother says son treated unfairly
To the editor,
I am an irate Columbia Falls mother. My son was issued two tickets for no insurance and no driver's license. Both were solvable issues, which my son tried to explain in court but wasn't given the chance. He took time off of work to appear in court to pay the fines and explain the situation. He was thrown in jail, had the fines increased from $90 and $120 to $500 each, and his father had to post bail of $1,000, all because he tried to explain the situation.
The judge stated that this was her courtroom and she can do as she pleases. Talk about hot flashes; it's people like her that make good kids turn bad!
I feel this is unprofessional and she should have given him the opportunity to speak. He is a kid that has never been in trouble with the court system and should not have been treated in this manner. WE are pleading NOT GUILTY!
Vicki Gove
Columbia Falls
Does Wilson know something more?
To the editor,
Maybe Larry Wilson has 'discovered' the county commissioner's plan for the North Fork Road.
Trail Creek area residents are fortunate to already have an alternate 'escape and avoidance' route. More southerly North Fork residents are using the Glacier National Park Camas Road to avoid as much of the bone-jarring, vehicle rattling, dust bowl-like conditions now prevalent along the entire North Fork Trail. (Might as well call it what it has become.) Tourists who use it once in a lifetime view it as a wilderness 'experience.' Other than residents using the trail out of necessity, recreation seekers are probably the only masochistic group still voluntarily and repeatedly riding the trail. Some of us have pleaded with Glacier National Park officials to make a few improvements to the Inner North Fork Road so we can have a Polebridge area escape and avoidance route. Admittedly a long shot, but desperate people seek desperate solutions.
The county commissioners and associates are apparently determined to let the North Fork Trail continue to deteriorate. Soon, only hikers, mountain bike and four wheeler enthusiasts and mule skinners, will be able to effectively use the former road. Of course, the never-ending fleet of government vehicles fueled and replaced by your tax dollars along with powerful SUV owners typified by the 'brie, chablis and me' crowd will always have the resources to hump the trail. Problem solved. Those of us really caring about clean air and clean water, known as whiners, "move out," as suggested by the Republican county commissioner nominee. The county can now continue to cater to important down valley interests uninterrupted by an unimportant tax base with little voting power. Nature wins a temporary stay, troublesome humans lose, and the so-called environmental community couldn't be happier.
Now, how do we deal with that pesky Canadian mine issue …?
Robert A. Grimaldi
Polebridge