Two ways of seeing

Tom Hess / Hungry Horse News

One of my new friends gave me a Friday-afternoon tour of Columbia Falls last week. What a wonderful, lovable city, my friend said. And as a newcomer from Colorado, I couldn't agree more. But I've heard a few critics, too, and they just can't seem to help themselves. They complain about the timber industry, the aluminum plant, the railroads, the tourists (as opposed to hikers and cyclists), hunters, gun collectors, snowmobilers, you name it.

I guess it all depends on how you choose to look at things.

Look, for example, at Plum Creek Timber Co. and you might think, as some environmentalists do, that it's time to put the timber industry out of business. Or you could remember that the company's sawmill, plywood and particle-board facilities supply dozens of Columbia Falls families the money they need to pay the rent and fill the fridge. Or you can think about Plum Creek and Stoltze products shipping all over the country. And for those who care about carbon "footprints," Plum Creek just announced that it will save 3.7 million kilowatt hours annually at its Medium Density Fiberboard plant, earning a rebate of $337,000 from Bonneville Power.

Look at Columbia Falls Aluminum Corp. (CFAC) and you might think of it, as some do, as a rusting relic of a bygone era. Or you could appreciate this resourceful, never-say-die employer's efforts to re-open by negotiating a new power deal with Bonneville.

Watch the BNSF trains roll through town, horn blasts echoing through the Flathead, and you might wish, as some do, that their day will soon end. Or you could remember that railroads like Great Northern made Glacier National Park possible, and that trains will provide clean, efficient shipment of freight for years to come. Warren Buffett just bet #34 billion on the railroad.

The Hungry Horse News is unashamedly enthusiastic about the people, livelihood and history of Columbia Falls. We'll offer a positive outlook on our town's future. That's our job as a newspaper, but it won't always make some people happy.

After all, anytime you join in our nation's wide-open conversation, you could end up on somebody's enemies list.

Media outlets that resist political correctness don't always receive public affection.

Just look at all the grief Glenn Beck and Fox News got simply for reporting what some Obama aides said — whether it's admiration of a mass murdering narcissist (Obama communications director Anita Dunn on the late egomaniac Mao Tse-Tung) and or belief that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney plotted 9-11 (Obama green jobs czar Van Jones), or defending solicitation of gay sex with a minor boy (Obama Department of Education official Kevin Jennings).

Truth-telling can be a tough business, and it won't buy you love, but someone's gotta do it.

At the end of the day, I want the Hungry Horse News to be a voice you may or may not always agree with, but one you can trust and can't do without.

Tom Hess is managing editor of the Hungry Horse News.