Producers' meeting help appreciated
Editor,
The staff of the MSU Flathead Reservation Extension Office thanks those who supported and/or attended the annual Producers' meeting in Ronan on Oct. 12.
The generous sponsorships and donated door prizes from local businesses and organizations helped make the event a success!
We also thank the Mission Valley FFA Chapter for all their help with the setup and post-meeting cleanup at the Community Center.
Thank you!
Rene Kittle, Anna Dupuis
Polson
Appreciates Dr. Palmieri's care
Editor
Dr. Steven Palmieri, I wish to thank you for the wonderful care you have given me for five years. I trusted you and know that I didn't have to worry about your judgment concerning my health.
Barbara Basulto
Polson
Dare we ask, 'Are we there yet?'
Editor,
Watching a program on the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire brought me back to a vacation spent in the Neapolitan area of Italy in 1950. It was and is a beautiful area with a lot of ancient history.
I visited Pompeii and observed Mount Vesuvius, its peak still belching out small amounts of smoke, but not lava. At its base were ancient baths in the ruins of Pompeii, decrepit but in the process of rejuvenation. Large murals on the walls of the bath house depicted the erotic lifestyle of the Roman rulers, which left little to the imagination. Imagination is now not required.
Across the Bay of Naples, lies the tiny island of Capri, an exclusive haven for the powerful and rich in those times, now a tourist Mecca.
It was not small enough to escape the eroticism and corruption of the period between 14 A.D. and 37 A.D. Consuls, senators and the affluent went there for their orgies. Emperor Tiberius brought young boys there for sexual purposes. When his desire for the unfortunate youths faded, he tossed them over a 200-ft. cliff to the jagged rocks below.
His successor, Cato Caligula, was just as cruel and corrupt, but differed in that he preferred women. Apparently all the senators, consuls, and military were sexually and financially corrupt. This activity spread to the general population. An empire which controlled France, Britain, Spain, North Africa, Palestine, Turkey, Greece and the Balkans slowly but surely lost their empire, which had existed for hundreds of years.
The program concluded that the decline in morals and values, political corruption, financial corruption, public health and the desire for power were the real cause of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.
Do these conditions exist now in the United States?
Today, we have a confrontational Congress with its share of financial and sexual corruption. Some elected to office are in prison for corruption.
There is hardly anyone in Congress to whom the word statesman can be applied. Old pols hang onto their seats mouthing the same old rhetoric with little bearing on the needs of the present, nearly all trying to be generals, giving aid and comfort to the enemy by their statements.
We have seen the leader of the senate tell us we have lost the war, even before the surge began. We have seen the leader of the House go to the Middle East and fail to carry a correct message from Israel to Syria.
We read of bribery and corruption in city and state governments. School boards and school principals prevent students from naming Jesus in speeches in the name of political correctness, which has now become the god. We see mayors and council members being prosecuted for accepting bribes; we see clergy being convicted for the most heinous crimes against children. We see officials in charge of children and old people being accused of neglect and worse.
Hollywood produces movies that do nothing to uplift us. The same can be said of the TV industry. Their stars provide no good example to our young people. Nudity and sex and violence are paramount. We cannot display Christian symbols in the name of political correctness.
Add to all of the above, parental apathy, drug use and sex, even among our 12- and 13-year old children, and we have a formula for destruction. When one looks back to the reigns of Tiberius and Cato Caligula and compare lifestyles, we are forced to ask, "Are we there yet?"
Tom O'Halloran
Polson
Striketime Racing had great season
Editor,
First, I apologize to both our local publications for not doing this earlier. It was not an oversight, but with our race schedule and then the reopening of the bowling alley in August, time just got away from us a little.
Our entire family and everyone connected with Striketime Racing thank both of our local papers for doing the feature articles on us after our win at the Legend Thunder at Kalispell Raceway Park last summer. It was truly the highlight of our racing career to not only race with that caliber of cars from all over the United States, but to actually dominate the entire weekend — it was beyond description!
Our trip to Las Vegas was, however, slightly uneventful. In Thursday's practice, our times were in the top 15 but during the fourth practice session, we blew our motor and spent all Friday getting it rebuilt. Thanks to a whole bunch of friends, they got the car ready for Saturday's final race, but we had to start 33rd out of 33 cars.
Five laps into the race, we got into some oil left on the track from a wreck, banged up the front end a little, then raced with an ill-handling race car for the final 33 laps finishing 25th. But even with all the problems, it was a great experience for everyone and we can now say we raced in the national finals — and finished!
Plus, while we were in Las Vegas, we learned our car was selected as the "Best Appearing Car" for the Legends class at KRP.
A huge thank you goes to Bill Webster for painting the car and Dan Roullier at Rocky Mountain Signworks and his "Make It Look Cool Division" for doing the decals.
Again, we appreciate the newspapers for the articles and also our friends and sponsors for helping our race team.
Tim Corbett, Lisa Jennison and our families
Striketime Racing
Ronan
Town Pump will match donations
Editor,
The Bread Basket wishes to express its gratitude to the many members of this community who support our endeavor to feed the hungry without whose support we would be unable to continue to keep our doors open.
A quick update shows the countless hours volunteers put in; the backing of our landlord who is assisting in our effort to make sure we have enough storage; the businesses who have run promotions for us; the ranchers and farmers who generously give of their produce; the schools, churches and other organizations who continually aid in our collection of food as well as many others who donate of their time/resources regularly.
Once again the Town Pump, Inc. of Butte is helping the people of Ronan, Charlo, Pablo and Moiese by sponsoring their 6th annual "Be a Friend in Deed" campaign. This year the company will match every dollar collected for the Bread Basket up to $3,000 continuing through the end of November. In addition our local Town Pump will match every dollar donated at their store. We would appreciate any financial donations given at this time to help meet the goal.
The Bread Basket is an Emergency Food Pantry, which means that we provide each eligible family enough food for four days, each month. Approximately 40 percent of our recipients do have jobs, but they are not making enough money to be above the poverty level, according to state income guidelines. Many of our recipients are also elderly and are unable to work.
In addition to the regular fare, each family who visits the Ronan Bread Basket during December will receive a holiday basket of turkey or chicken, dressing mix, sweet potatoes, cranberries, J-ellO, fruit cocktail, canned vegetables, cake or pie mix and fresh fruit, if available. We depend on your donations to be able to supply this holiday gift.
Our annual food drive goes through November and all of December. Food can be dropped off at the Bread Basket on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 pm. Other drop off points include: Ronan Senior Citizens Center, Ronan Radio Shack, Ronan Telephone Company and all churches. All food items and monetary gifts are very welcome.
Please mail monetary gifts to: Bread Basket, 10 6th Ave. SW, Ronan, MT 59864.
If interested in volunteering, please call Barbara at 676-3699, or Cheryl at 676-8014.
God Bless every one of you for your generous support. We could not share food with these needy families without you.
The Bread Basket Board:
Sherri McDonald, Nona Fuhrmann, Gloria Kramer, Barbara Jolley, Nancy Williams, Cheryl Erlenbusch, Chris Shrider, Yolanda Matt