Letters to the Editor

Kudos to cafe

As a merchant in the Village it is often difficult to keep current with the developments on Electric Avenue. It isn't until late summer that I can poke my head out of my shops and do a little exploring. This morning I took the opportunity to enjoy a quick breakfast at the River Street Diner & Pub. Walking in I was immediately struck by how beautiful and spacious the diner is. It is lovely, clean, open, comfortable — everything one could want in a restaurant. The staff was fast and friendly, the menu full of favorites like french toast, burgers, a Reuben sandwhich and so much more. My breakfast was moderately priced and delicious. Now I know where to send the hundreds of people who ask me where to get breakfast in town, or what's a good spot for a later lunch.

I do not know who the owners and operators are, but I am grateful to them for upgrading what was a very dreary and fairly scary dive bar to an attractive and inviting spot for breakfast and lunch — a welcome and much needed addition to to the Bigfork Village family!

Bridget Michlig

Bigfork

Highway 35 lights

Just this summer, I wrote to both the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks AND the Montana Department of Transportation suggesting that navigation lights be placed on the Highway 35 bridge, making nighttime navigation and access from Flathead Lake into Bigfork Bay easier for boaters.

While authorities are not releasing details regarding the circumstances of last week's boating accident, it is possible that effective lighting on the Highway 35 bridge would greatly assist boaters who enjoy Flathead Lake even after the sun goes down.

Responses I received from FWP and the Highway Department were educational: FWP said that the responsibility for lighting the bridge belonged to the Highway Department. The Highway Department stated that lighting was solely the responsibility of FWP.

I've boated on Flathead Lake for several decades and strongly believe that navigation lighting is a must on the Highway 35 bridge.

Steve Armstrong

Bigfork

Healthcare or boondoggle?

How many people have read H.R. 3200, the 1,017 page bill the U.S. House of Representatives will be voting on in September? Have all congressmen who will be voting on it read and understood it? Are the alarming things we are hearing fact or fiction?

Linda Sauer, Practice Administrator for Rocky Mountain Heart and Lung at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, and retired physician, Dr. Irvine Milheim, have read this cumbersome, unmanageable and ambiguous document.

They will share their analysis and try to answer questions at the Lake County Republican Women's luncheon at Papa Don's Grill at the golf course at noon on Monday, Sept. 14, in Polson. Any interested individuals are invited to attend. For a lunch reservation, call Mimi at 849-5944 or Dorene 883-4446 by Thursday, Sept. 10.

The Lake County Republican Women's Web site is htpp://lcrw.home.bresnan.net.

Mimi Milheim

Dayton