Simple actions help make firefighters safer

I would like to take a moment to both thank you and to also ask a favor of you.

First, I thank you for your exemplary support of our firefighters and the department in which we serve. Our community as a whole stands up and helps us out every time we ask you to do so, and frankly, words cannot properly describe how wonderful it is. And it is because of the fact that this community supports our operations the way it does that I know you will again come to our aid and deliver.

The number-two reason firefighters are killed in the line of duty in the United States (excluding 9/11) is because of vehicle accidents — vehicle accidents that for the most part could have been prevented. The portion of this statistic that is not published is how many civilian deaths occurred as a result of a collision with an emergency vehicle. If I was a betting man, my money would be on the civilian count being much higher than the firefighter count.

With this said, every day when I am driving with my lights and siren on to get to a call, I encounter an unusually high number of drivers that do the absolute wrong things, and even do nothing at all and just keep motoring down the road like it's no big deal. The livelihood of our firefighters and other emergency responders is a big deal, so I thought that it is time to address this topic, and see if we can work together to help make the situation safer for all of us.

Here are the common things people do when they encounter an emergency vehicle driving toward them with the lights and siren on: Stop in the roadway (sometimes as a result of slamming on their brakes), pulling into the center turn lane as opposed to the far right, accelerating to stay in front of us, changing lanes to the right lane but maintaining their speed, running red lights and stop signs, and my two personal favorites, passing us to the right when we are trying to turn right and U-turns in front of us because the driver doesn't want to sit in the stopped traffic.

The Montana Driver Handbook is very clear about what we are supposed to do when there is an approaching emergency vehicle with its lights and siren activated, and this is a quote: "You must yield the right-of-way to a police vehicle, fire engine, ambulance, or other emergency vehicle using a siren or air horn, and a red or blue flashing light. Pull over to the right edge of the road or as near to the right as possible when you see or hear an emergency vehicle approaching from any direction. Follow any instructions given over the emergency vehicle's loudspeaker. Also, stop and remain stopped until the vehicle has passed. If you are in an intersection, drive through the intersection before you pull over and stop." Sadly, this is routinely not happening, and our emergency responders continue to have their lives placed at risk because of it.

Here is the favor I am going to ask of you. When you see or hear an emergency vehicle coming your way, simply pull to the right and stop. It does not matter if you are going the same direction as the responder or not, just pull over to the right and stop. If everybody does this, it will allow for the roadway to be wide open, thus keeping everybody safe.

Now, I realize that pulling over to the right and stopping is not always practical, so here are some recommendations for the circumstances I noted earlier.

When you realize that there is an emergency vehicle behind you, please do not hit your brakes. Instead, turn on your right turn indicator, and when it is safe to do so, pull to the right and stop.

Do not ever pull into the center turn lane thinking it's OK; we still have to pass you to the left which now means that we have to oppose oncoming traffic. There have been instances of emergency vehicles passing to the right, and then the citizen turns right into the path of the responder because they were simply trying to do the right thing and get to the right.

Don't accelerate to try to stay out in front of us; it will only get you two tickets instead of one — failure to yield and speeding.

To folks that like to pull to the right but maintain there speed: Here is why that will lead to disaster. Emergency vehicles are safer when we run out toward the middle of the street; therefore, when it comes time to turn right into a side street or driveway, we are frequently doing so from the middle of the street, and if you are maintaining your speed, it's a sure thing that we are going to meet each other. No offense, but I'd rather not meet you that way.

If you are sitting at a red light or at a stop sign, please do not move. Stay right where you are unless you are given instructions to move somewhere else. Also, keep your foot on the brake pedal because that let's us know that you intend to stay right where you are at.

And last but not least, if you are in a line of traffic that is not moving because there is an accident in front of you, please be patient and just sit there. If you feel that you absolutely have to turn around because your schedule is more important than our safety, please make sure that there is absolutely nobody coming up to the scene of the emergency in the lane that is wide open. We usually do a fantastic job getting you safely around accidents, but sometimes it takes a while.

To those of you that already live by these recommendations I applaud you. To those of you that have fallen into one of those categories I mentioned earlier but will change your practices in order to help make our firefighters safer, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. For the few that will keep doing things their way, I have a warning — I have asked the local law enforcement agencies to step up their failure to yield enforcement, so keep checking your mirrors.

I know from experience that you will rally behind us to help make us as safe as possible, and I appreciate that. If you have any questions about this or any other thing that involves the Columbia Falls Fire Department, please call me at 892-3911.

Bob Webber is fire chief of the Columbia Falls Fire Department.

Time to overcome partisan bickering

To the editor,

Two months ago, on December 10, I made a public announcement of my intention to run for the State Senate in Senate District 2. This is to confirm that on Feb. 1, I officially filed for the office with the Secretary of State. I am looking forward to running an open, honest, clean campaign, and listening carefully to the good ideas and genuine concerns of the citizens of Senate District 2.

I am an independent-minded Democrat who believes it is time to overcome the partisan bickering that slows progress for all Montanans. It is possible to stand firm in your principles while reaching out to those who might not always agree with you. I believe Republicans, Democrats and Independents all want what is best for the majority of Montanans, and it is time we put party politics aside to accomplish what Montanans want and need.

I have been a permanent resident of Coram for 23 years, owned property here for 30 years, and since 1985 have been working all over the Flathead Valley to make our community stronger.

I am beginning my fourth year as executive director of the Northwest Montana Historical Society and the Museum at Central School in Kalispell; am a 22-year veteran firefighter with the Coram-West Glacier Volunteer Fire Department; worked 13 years as a social worker with Lamplighter House and the Western Montana Mental Health Center in Kalispell, serving adults with serious mental illness; worked five years as a guest teacher in all grades K through 12, and all subjects, in the Columbia Falls School District; worked seven years as the debate coach at Whitefish High School; and served five years on the Flathead County Library Foundation Board of Directors, the last three years as President of the Board.

I have a Master of Arts degree from UCLA and a Bachelor of Science from California State Polytechnic University. I can go the distance, both figuratively and literally, having completed 31 marathons (26.2 miles each), one 31.2-mile 50 K, and one 50-mile run, covering more than 20,000 miles training; I've been racing since 1993.

I will represent you with enthusiasm and compassion. Together we can make Montana even better. I want to hear from you — I'm listening.

Gil Jordan Coram

Helping small business helps country

When President Bush outlined his principles for an economic stimulus plan, he emphasized the need to help small businesses. He reiterated that theme in his State of the Union message.

There's a good reason for that: Small businesses are creating the bulk of the new jobs in this country.

You might have missed that news amidst the recent front-page reporting of economic gloom and doom and headlines about interest rate cuts. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees actually added 66,000 jobs in December. During 2007, small businesses added a total of 716,000 jobs, according to the ADP National Employment Report, which tracks the payroll data of several hundred thousand businesses. In fact, the firm says that in 11 of the past 12 months, small businesses added more jobs than medium- and large-size businesses combined.

If American small businesses were a separate economy, it would be the world's third-largest, trailing only the U.S. as a whole and Japan. Small business produces roughly half of the private Gross Domestic Product and, as the numbers demonstrate, clearly continues to drive our economic growth.

At the same time, entrepreneurs read newspapers and watch television like every other American, and there are indications that they're starting to get a little unnerved by the economic news. So it's a good time to consider an economic stimulus package to avoid a recession, which Congress is now doing.

One of the most important provisions included in the stimulus package is doubling the dollar amount for small-business expensing limits from $125,000 to $250,000. This will allow small-business owners to immediately write off investments in their business and will help small-business owners expand their businesses, as was demonstrated several years ago when expensing was increased to $100,000.

Another key provision included in the economic stimulus package is a 50 percent bonus depreciation deduction. Bonus depreciation is another incentive for businesses to invest in their business now, providing an immediate deduction for half the cost of the investment.

These are both good starts and policymakers are right to want to move quickly to get this package passed.

In addition to action on the economic stimulus plan, Congress intends to consider overhauling the tax code later this year. At that time, Congress should act to give permanent relief to small-business owners.

In addition, entrepreneurs are treated differently than Americans who receive their health care benefits from a corporation. They are not permitted to deduct health care costs from their wage base for self-employment taxes. Simply put, they're forced to pay higher taxes because they're self-employed. This tax bias should be eliminated to help make health insurance more affordable.

These are just two more ways that Congress can encourage the growth of small businesses in America, as well as ensure that entrepreneurs continue to invest in their businesses and create the new jobs we need. Let's all hope, for the sake of our economic health, that they keep that in mind.

Todd Stottlemyer is president and CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business in Washington, D.C.