Will Dupont be a 'good neighbor' if elected?

To the editor,

Letter to Mr. Jim Dupont:

You are running for county commissioner, and I would like you to tell us how you will help the people in any area in solving problems. You have a problem in your back yard and do not want to be a "good neighbor" and do not want to help solve the half mile of road that you cross on Forest Service road going in and out.

The dust from this road (Belton Point Road) with company and workers going in and out creates a terrible dust problem. I have contacted others and they are willing to work with the Forest Service to solve this, and you do not want to take part. Jimmy DeHerrera, district ranger in Hungry Horse, is willing to work with us.

How are you going to help other people with their problems when you will do nothing in your back yard? The dust comes down over the trees and on the highway and people stop and ask if I know where the fire is. This could cause an accident on the highway. It is that bad. The others in your area are willing to be "good neighbors" and help, but you do not. Can you explain this to the voters? How are you going to solve other problems? We are waiting for your reason on why you do not want to help. We did not have this problem until you people moved in.

This always brings more problems. Remember: We kept your dog that was running around loose and got away from you until the animal control came and picked it up for you. We are just a good neighbor. How about you?

Are you going to be a good neighbor?

Catherine Richter

West Glacier

Jim Hale, North Fork folks will miss you

To the editor,

After dark one in night in 1981 a Cajun, by the name of Jim Hale, came roaring up on a snowmobile to help my wife and two young children shovel our way into our cabin. He had heard our plight, that of a stuck vehicle, while sleeping in a tent a mile away. He had just begun to build his cabin along the North Fork River, about three miles North of Polebridge.

Jim became an icon up here as he shared his Cajun culture while helping many more North Forkers over the years. We all learned and grew from his generous giving. He and his lovely wife, Carol, and friends, brought their Cajun cuisine each fall and shared it with 60 to 70 of us. They have done this now for each of the last 26 years on the Saturday evening prior to Thanksgiving.

Last Friday, Jim had a sudden heart attack and passed on to a more splendid hunting season. All who had the honor of sharing his time will miss him.

Thomas G. Sluiter

Polebridge

Red Cross office staff termination takes toll

To the editor,

On behalf of the Flathead County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), I wish to emphatically state our deep concern about the decision to terminate the services of the professional staff of the Kalispell Red Cross office. Although dedicated local Red Cross volunteers will remain active, the absence of highly-trained professional staffers will take a heavy toll on the services that the agency can provide.

The continuing presence of a fully staffed Red Cross in the northwest Montana region is critical for a number of reasons.

Foremost, the Red Cross has been an indispensable NGO partner in working with county, state and federal agencies in dealing with the consequences of natural disasters that have occurred in the region in recent years. From much-needed training to forest fires to floods, the services that the Red Cross has provided have been essential in enabling the greater community to deal with the successful evacuation of imperiled citizens and subsequent services needed to meet their needs during their time of displacement from their homes.

Secondly, the Flathead area is Montana's most rapidly growing region. It is also an area that is particularly prone to such seasonal emergencies as those caused by forest fires and flooding. It is obvious that in the future, the needs of the Flathead, in terms of the kinds of services the Red Cross is best equipped and trained to respond to, will only increase. The needs are growing, not diminishing. This simple fact makes the decision to eliminate the professional presence of the Red Cross in the Kalispell area all the more troubling.

For your information, the LEPC is a local committee comprised of approximately three dozen members representing key area emergency services and law enforcement agencies, critical industries, the public and private health sector, and other NGO and corporate entities that have roles to play during natural or human-caused disasters.

We look forward to any opportunity to communicate with you directly to see if there is any way, through mutually agreed upon methods, that the Red Cross can be encouraged to reestablish the presence of a professional staff in the Flathead region of northwest Montana. The needs are great, and they must be adequately addressed before the next disaster strikes.

Mark Holston, chairman

Flathead County LEPC

Commissioner responds to 'doughnut' lawsuit

To the editor,

Just a quick response to the article last week titled, "Columbia Falls may bite into doughnut lawsuit." First of all let me say from the outset, the County has no issues with the City of Columbia Falls Growth Policy or its way of handling the "doughnut" area around the city. I trust City Attorney Kaplan to review the facts of the case between the County and Whitefish and make the right recommendation to the Council. When the City of Columbia Falls worked on its Growth Policy, the board members stated they didn't want to "over-regulate" in the doughnut from what the County had in its own Growth Policy and Subdivision Regulations, exactly what the intent was from the beginning.

There is a current action from the City of Whitefish against the County to void our recision of the interlocal agreement with them. It is true if the County prevails, the interlocals with both cities will be voided. It is extremely important to point out that the planning decisions taken since 2005 in no way will be voided nor would any fees have to be returned. After the ruling I will propose to the City of Columbia Falls that we sit down and re-negotiate the interlocal to basically have a yearly review and a six-month option-out clause and any other language proposed to make it an agreeable legal document.

The original intent of allowing the two municipalities planning authority was to have a say in the areas that might eventually be annexed into the city. It has since been discovered that it is unconstitutional to grant legislative authority to another governing body. It obviously didn't work out with Whitefish but I believe, based on our continued positive relationship, it can be easily worked out with Columbia Falls. Stay tuned…

Gary Hall

Flathead County Commissioner

Celebrating National Volunteer Week

This year, more than three million men, women and youngsters nationwide will volunteer their time and talents to the American Cancer Society and its mission to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. I am proud to say we have our share of these terrific individuals right here in Flathead County, and with National Volunteer Week now upon us, what better time to recognize and honor them.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of the American Cancer Society. Here in Flathead County, we depend on our many volunteers to help plan and staff our Relay For Life and Daffodil Days events in Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish and Bigfork and our many advocacy, educational and patient service programs, such as Road To Recovery, Look Good Feel Better and our Cancer Resource Center at KRMC's Radiation Oncology. And for those who have visited our Society office in Missoula, you have probably met one or more of the volunteers who assist us with our many clerical projects.

Cancer continues to be defeated, primarily through the advancements in research being accomplished throughout our nation. The American Cancer Society can continue to direct its financial resources to this research because of the unselfish gifts of time our millions of volunteers continue to offer.

Again, a sincere "thank you" to our many volunteers in Flathead County. One week a year is not nearly enough time to express our gratitude for what you do.

Janell Kuhn

Community Relationship Manager

American Cancer Society

Thanks for support in FEC election

To the editor,

I want to thank all the people who voted for me for trustee of Flathead Electric Cooperative, District 8. Also thanks to all the members of District 8, whose positive response, encouraging comments and genuine enthusiasm for my candidacy is very much appreciated.

Thank you for your support.

Bob Chrysler

Yellow BayNolan supported for West Glacier School Board

To the editor,

West Glacier School will be holding an election on Tuesday, May 6. As a proud, former school board member and board chairman, I know the importance of having board members of the highest quality and professionalism. Gerry Nolan is such a person.

A professional educator and fair minded, Gerry has already established himself as a valuable board member. Gerry will help continue the tradition of excellence long established at West Glacier School.

Please write in Gerry Nolan for the two-year position on the school board when you vote on May 6.

Marge Schwede

West GlacierTaxation without representation in Hungry HorseHungry Horse, Montana will never be the same. Nor will Badrock Canyon. The new Hungry Horse Villages Phase I-IV Subdivision preliminary plat was unanimously approved by the all-volunteer Flathead County Planning Board and will be sent on to the three County Commissioners for their final decision on approval/disapproval. The local residents are shell-shocked. They are in disbelief. Their peaceful, tranquil, laid-back way of life is going to be shattered. They don't know what to do about it. The man they elected to be their representative as a county commissioner, Gary Hall, has betrayed them. When is the next election?

It should be noted that no one from Hungry Horse or the rest of the Canyon sits on the volunteer Flathead County Planning Board. In fact, in my six years living in Badrock Canyon, as positions for the board came open and were advertised with public notifications, all applications for appointment to that board from Canyon residents were summarily denied. Why? The employed Flathead County Planning and Zoning Staff members willing to comment (privately) averred that Gary Hall would never allow anyone from the Canyon to serve on the Planning Board. Of course, as we all know, the turnover on the Planning and Zoning staff is constant and workloads continue to pile up waiting for replacements to be hired. It is never-ending. Perhaps they should not speak so candidly in an open-government policy, sunshine state atmosphere?

Many Hungry Horse and other Canyon residents wrote letters to the Planning Board and appeared before them to give testimony at public hearings, but none of their arguments against this new development were enough to deny unanimous approval by the board. Was anybody listening?

Not even the Montana Department of Transportation's labeling of the Hungry Horse Bridge and U.S. Highway 2 narrow, winding, unlit corridor to Columbia Heights as a "high-crash corridor," the worst in the entire state of Montana, was enough to deter the decision. There are (approximately) eight to 12 white crosses along the corridor demarking traffic fatalities (deaths, not merely accidents) with the current traffic usage. What will tripling the traffic volume do to the fatality statistics? Who wants to accept the responsibility for the additional deaths?

Not even Bill Shaw's (city manager of Columbia Falls) apprehension of the overly dense housing plan in a place like Hungry Horse carried any weight with the board. Just whom will this board listen to?

There were so many other complaints presented to the Planning Board that space in this column does not permit listing them all. Some were: Hazardous/noxious fumes from the technologically new proposed sewage plant; loss of wildlife corridors; loss of recreational access; impacts on the District 6 school system; overwhelming housing density and parking problems; what will eventual developer/builder final plat approval actually yield architecturally and structurally; cost of mandatory hook-up to new proposed water and sewer lines by current homeowners; higher property taxes for current residents; will there be enough local water supply/flow to fight fires; new housing night-lighting visible from inside Glacier National Park; danger from possible Hungry Horse Dam failure/seismic events; increased crime rates from a huge housing increase with no increase in police patrols; additional roaming dogs and troublesome teenagers; and too many others to mention in this space. How on earth can this sale of National Forest land to a private investor for this development have happened?

Hungry Horse residents, as well as the rest of the Canyon residents, are required to pay property taxes, but they are not allowed participation in county government. When I studied civics in school that was called "taxation without representation" and resulted in the famous Boston Tea Party incident. Where is the tea?

Bill Baum lives in Badrock Canyon.