Community made bowling fundraiser a success
Editor,
On behalf of our Board of Directors and staff, I want to thank all the businesses who gave so generously to Bowl for Kids' Sake, all 46 bowlers who showed up on March 9 with their pledge sheets, and all the folks who sponsored those bowlers. You have all made it possible for us to continue doing what we do best — matching Bigs and Littles for friendship and support.
This week, those who raised the most pledges in the team, and the individual youth and adult categories, will be awarded prize packages. Many of the items in the prize packages were donated by local businesses and will be greatly appreciated. The Sportspage Bowl staff made everyone feel at home, provided excellent service and rode herd on stray pins. Of course, Wayne Fuchs and his dancing machine made it a true party and kept those rowdy bowlers in line.
Join us at Lucky Strike Lanes in Ronan on April 6 for another chance to earn great prizes, eat pizza and support BBBS.
I'm proud to be part of a community whose members value children the way we do and who give so generously of themselves to all the agencies that make this a better place to live. Bless you all.
Julie Wenner, BBBS
Executive Director
Polson
Solution needed to Pablo stray dog problem
Editor,
I'm upset and not sure where I'm supposed to turn to for help in this situation.
There is a stray dog in Pablo that authorities will not pick up. This dog is going into heat — again. She will have more puppies and continue to have them until someone does something about it. Yet no one seems to want to help with a solution. This dog will continue to have puppies that have been picked up at one time by the Tribal Dog catcher; however, they didn't pick up the mother, so she continues to roam, which includes the area in which my rentals are located.
My renters told me the dog is fed at the tribally-run building across the street. This dog had her last batch of puppies under that workplace as well. The tribal dog catcher said to me over the phone, "…we have picked up puppies from that dog before." Yet no one "owns" this dog. Why wasn't the mother picked up then? The tribal dog catcher told me they can't do anything about it because it's not a "vicious" dog nor does it roam in the tribal housing units.
Yet they had no problem in picking up the puppies? That does not make sense to me.
Polson police have no jurisdiction to pick up strays in Pablo. So I then stated that this dog is just going to keep having puppies that get picked up and more then likely taken to the Humane Society, which is already overrun with unwanted stray animals.
I was told "there are lots of strays running around in Pablo that are having puppies." What kind of answer is that? Does that mean that I and my renters have to "put up with" this stray dog in the area? I was then told that I could pick the dog up myself and take it to the Humane Society. Do I have to put myself at risk to pick up this stray dog when there are others trained to do this and have the equipment to handle a situation such as this? There is something dreadfully wrong with that.
I'm disgusted at the non-help that I have received. Who is to say that this stray dog will not bite one of my renters? What if it bites me if I try to pick it up? Who's to blame?
The answers that I have received are pathetic in trying to reach a solution. It's also pathetic that the Humane Society has to take the brunt of this apparently never-ending problem. Something needs to be done.
Jeanie Siragusa
Polson
Tradeoffs can be extensive, expensive
Editor:
Government regulation: Sounds bad. Privatization: Sounds good.
Government is too big and corporations do things better than governments can. Less red tape, more efficiency and better quality with a profit motive. Especially if they are not restricted by regulations.
Well, we are getting more and more of this. Today, our young men and women in uniform are dependent upon private corporations for much of what was previously the responsibility of the Armed Services. Too bad about the soldier in Iraq who survived combat but died while taking a shower.
The private contractor, Kellog, Brown and Root (a former Halliburton subsidiary), made a little more profit by installing a Chinese water pump that United States regulations prohibited from sale in our country to protect all our citizens from potential electrocution.
Too bad the Military complained to KBR about the shoddy work they were doing and had to wait months for action after paying millions for the work. Now the pump will be replaced with a safe one and KBR will probably make a profit on the replacement and it will only cost us a few mils per taxpayer — and one young man.
Bob Stone
Polson
Doesn't want to see homes lost to fire
Editor:
Open burning season has started and I know that a lot of people are happy for that.
But then there are the ones who go off back in the house and forget that they are burning old leaves or trash.
Then the wind starts to pick up and before they know it the wind has shifted again then the flames get away from that person who is burning leaves or the trash and cannot control the fire with just the water hose ends up calling 911 to dispatch the local fire department to come out and put out the fire before that person loses their house.
I'm writing this letter in regards to everyone in Lake County and here in the Mission Valley.
Please, if you are going to burn, at least do three things:
(1) Call the Lake County non-emergency number at 883-7301 and let them know that you are planning or are going to burn;
(2) make sure that the wind is not blowing; and
(3) Do not go off and just leave your fire unattended.
There is more to do then just burning leaves or trash — you need a water hose, you need a old barrel cut in half to use to burn old papers and stuff, plus you need to be where you can see it and be able to go put out the fire before it gets away from you.
This letter is from a citizen of Lake County and the Mission Valley who doesn't like reading in the paper that someone lost their home to a fire that was left unattended duing open burning season.
Lynn Delecaris
St. Ignatius
'Our citizens being lost'
Editor,
On March 19, 2008, the United States experienced its fifth year in the Iraqi Conflict.
As of that date, the U.S. had experienced the loss of 3,391 servicemen and women.
As a retired military officer, every death and every casualty is a personal loss. Unfortunately, other than writing comments and carrying on dialogue with friends and acquaintances, there is nothing you or I can do about this war.
The state of Montana has experienced the loss of 10 of its finest young men.
Each was laid to rest with dignity and full military honors, plus all the respect that their community could give.
Yet in this same time frame, a war has been going on in the state of Montana in which 10,767 innocents have lost their lives.
None of these children were buried with honor and dignity. Their names never appeared on the TV or were featured in the newspaper. They came from every county in the state. Most of our citizens never even knew they existed.
This is a tremendous casualty loss in that Montana has the 44th largest population in the U.S.
Imagine what it is like in the larger states.
This is a war in which each resident of Montana can participate.
This is a war that each citizen can make a contribution to see that casualties are depreciated and ultimately stopped.
Constitutional Initiative 100 (CI-100) affords each registered voter an opportunity to go to Life2008.org and download a copy of the petition and the affidavit.
If your petition has only your name on it, you have done your duty.
Hopefully, you will have family and friends who would also like to participate. The name of each registered voter is one step closer to meeting the requirement of 44,615 total signatures. You, as an individual, can make a difference. This is our war; these are our citizens being lost.
I became personally involved in pro-life about five years ago when I realized that more innocents lose their lives every year than all the men and women killed in action in the 234 years of our great nation's history. And then, when I begin to realize that the United States has passed the genocide in Cambodia, South Vietnam, and Laos; the loss of 20 million Europeans by Hitler; the death of 35 million Chinese under Mao and rapidly approaching the 65 million Soviets eliminated by Stalin, I felt that "enough was enough."
After Stalin, the only barbarian more ruthless is Genghis Khan.
I pray that you too will share my belief that "enough is enough." The life that we have is our gift from the Almighty.
What we do with that life is our gift to Him.
Become a member of this campaign and do the right thing; sign the petition, get your affidavit notarized, and forward it to the address at the bottom of the petition. This is your gift to the Almighty.
Jim Van
Sickle COL (ret)
Stevensville
Who will challenge the powerful?
Editor,
Friday, March 14, the Fed bails out Bear Sterns (BSC), postponing its well-deserved bankruptcy.
Sunday, March 16, the Fed has J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) buy BSC for $236 million, including a $30 billion Fed bailout loan, and extends borrowing privileges to investment banks.
Old J.P. must be beaming from his grave.
Even his steel and railroad monopolies can't rival this heist.
Thirty billion in cheap Fed cash for less than a penny on the dollar while using the Fed's easy treatment to recover $22 billion in JPM's value in two days.
I have to wonder, why no public outrage?
Entrepreneurs create more jobs than multi-nationals eliminate, forestalling unemployment rivaling the Great Depression.
Must Americans tolerate a system that requires fixed responsibility from all but the richest?
Mismanaged ordinary firms are rightly eliminated. Multi-nationals are TBTF (too big to fail). They arrogantly take risks that expose the entire society. Why? Because TBTFs can count on bailouts when their gambles fail.
This is hardly new. Consider:
? Chrysler, Continental Illinois & First Republic Bank — $10 billion in 1979, 1984 and 1988.
? Savings and loans, $519 billion, 1986-1995.
? Airline industry, $15 billion, 2001.
Just these have cost over $500 billion.
Now the "sub-prime mortgage meltdown." This $30 billion for JPM is a down payment. I shudder at the cost, possibly over $1 trillion.
The multi-nationals have privatized profit and socialized risk. Essentially, the wealthiest receive an increasing share of profits while everybody covers any losses.
Paul Volker: "Why should the weight of the Federal Government be brought to bear to help out a private investor?"
When billionaires are deified like Roman emperors, "why?" is irrelevant. As wealth flows up while most slide, only "for whom?" matters.
Our era rivals that of the Robber Barons and the Roaring '20s, when Republican TV and Democrat FDR led us back from the brink; each helped to save capitalism from itself.
Both parties are now bought and paid for. Neither will challenge the powerful. Who will?
Jay William Preston
Charlo
Polson participates in MDA campaign
Editor,
As chairperson of [Muscular Dystrophy Association] Shamrocks Against Dystrophy, I want to take a moment to thank businesses and patrons in the Polson area for their generous participation in our 2008 campaign.
I'm delighted to say that this year's fundraising efforts were a great success.
Those little green and gold Shamrocks mobiles sold by local businesses help support MDA's vital programs of research, health care services and public education right here in Polson and across the country.
On behalf of all the individuals and families coping with muscle-wasting diseases, I send a big warm "thank you" to Polson residents — you've certainly put a smile in these Irish eyes!
Maureen McGovern
Beverly Hills, Calif.
Ronan Irish parade winners listed
Editor,
The Ronan Irish Community thanks all the participants and spectators in the 19th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade.
The following participants were judged winners in categories listed: Best float, City of Ronan; best kids' float, Ky Bartels Mini Whinnies; most Irish animal, Denny Palmer's green horse; Best walkers, Girl Scouts; First timer, Miracle of America Museum; Most Irish, O'Leary's Old Ladies; Greenest, Doty's Green Bug; Most shamrocks, Ronan Ambulance; Most likely to spend the night in jail, Kim Aipperspach.
Start thinking about next year. It will be the big 20th — let's make it the best ever! Thank you again.
Carlene Bockman
Ronan
Ron Paul is still in the race
Editor,
Attention, all Ron Paul supporters out there. Yes, he is still in the race for President for the Republican nomination. Do you see other candidates' signs anywhere? No, only Ron Paul signs.
So keep informing people about him and his message. The mainstream media has ignored him from day one.
He is the only candidate who, when he talks, says we or us, not I or me. He is referring to all of us, including all of us, helping all of us.
A Ron Paul presidency will: Let Americans keep more of their own money. End the IRS. Stop the central bankers "inflation tax." Stop unconstitutional spending leading us to bankruptcy. Stop the financial dependency on China, Saudi Arabia, and other foreign governments. Oppose trade deals and groups that threaten American independence.
Protect our privacy and stop the national ID card. Protect our constitutional rights and end the "Patriot Act." Secure our borders and end illegal immigration. Bring our troops home from no-win "police actions."
If you want a President who will really help America, then you should vote for Ron Paul, and get involved not only by voting but by caring on his message. Then, you should think about your families, your children, your grandchildren. You want them to have a better life, don't you?
It is time to make a difference and not just talk about it. Let's make America better. Our Ron Paul meetup group still meets at Glacier Brewing on Mondays at 7 p.m. — or go to RonPaulmeetup.com and find a group near you. Come make a difference for our futures. Go to RonPaul2008.com or RonPaulForPresident.com and check out the right man for President. Or call 1-877-766-7285.
Remember, he took second in the Montana caucus and the one who took first dropped out. Register to vote by May 5.
Follow your heart for freedom and vote Ron Paul on June 3. Let's make Ron Paul our choice in Montana.
Kelly Bailey
Polson
Most TV analysts 'don't have a clue'
Editor,
It has been interesting these past weeks, while soaking up some sun in Mesa, to watch and listen to the presidential campaign rhetoric and TV media talking heads explaining to us outsiders just exactly how we should be interpreting what is being said and shown either directly or by innuendo
In my opinion most of them have not a clue as to what one candidate in particular is really standing for and advocating.
And that candidate is Barack Obama.
Let's look at three recent news items which all stem from the same political base-line attitudes of fear, greed and military power:
1. The picture of the cutest little nine-year-old Iraqi boy you would ever want to see killed in the Blackwater shooting in Nisour Square, Baghdad, on Sept. 16, 2007. The family was just offered $20,000 by Blackwater in compensation for his death. The family refused the blood money. This story is an example of fear, greed and military power at its worst.
2. Barack Obama's Chicago pastor Jeremiah Wright's extreme and fiery pulpit palaver which was being laid at Obama's feet. This is fear-based for sure.
3. The multiple breaches of Barack Obama's passport file. This involves a fear-based power at our highest levels of government.
Add to these three things the many other examples of political dishonesty, cover-ups, greed, fear and misuses of power endemic to our present political scene and you have the very reason Barack Obama is running for President of these United States.
He knows he has the will, the wisdom, and the leadership ability to change these base-line destructive attitudes to constructive programs leading to meaningful dialogue, diplomacy, compassion, fiscal responsibility and true leadership.
This will be an interesting year to observe whether the American public is truly ready for such dramatic change.
Change does not usually come easily, and resistance to change is often our first response.
Bob McClellan
Polson