Letters to the editor

Wonderful teenagers

We just hope to show our community that there are some wonderful and giving teenagers here at Polson High School. RSVP Volunteer Center and Lake County Council on Aging would like to extend a big thank you. The boys came to Pablo and assisted the volunteers there in unloading commodity goods from the truck. They then went to Polson to assist unloading the truck there, and finally stayed and helped with packing the bags and reloading them for delivery. I heard several volunteers say things like, “this is great, and we usually have to do this.” The outstanding boys in our community choosing to serve were Colton Lenz, Riley Sampson and Drew Kvam.

Maxine Garcia

RSVP Volunteer Coordinator

Lake County

A new gathering place

I just returned from my first visit to the new “Big Sky Bistro & Art Bar” on Main Street, where I had a delicious sandwich lunch and a nice chat with Julie Berry, Executive Director of The Flathead Valley and Lake County “Coalition For Kids, Inc.” and visionary for this business. This is not just another eating place in Polson. This is truly meant to be a popular gathering place, and has all the earmarks of success in this direction, as far as I can see.

First of all: The Coalition For Kids’ mission is the driving energy behind this endeavor. This, in itself, is reason enough to gain tremendous community support with all the concerns about the many unhealthy enticements presented to our youth today.

Secondly: The bright and uplifting environment, with space for creative art projects, is a perfect adjunct to this business.

Thirdly: The food is excellent, the service is swift, filled with joy and good humor and the alcohol-free environment is so enjoyable and in harmony with the purpose and motivation behind Julie Berry’s inspiration for starting this business.

This was only my first visit to the Big Sky Bistro & Art Bar. There will surely be many more for me. In my opinion, it deserves full community support. Word of mouth advertising is important, for sure. And it would be my prediction that after a visit or two and learning more about what this place stands for, you will be eager to suggest it to your friends, too.

Bob McClellan

Polson

Winter roads

I know that in the winter when it snows and snows that the county roads that are school bus routes get plowed first, but what about when there is no school on the weekends? I understand that the MDT has to keep US Highway 93 clear of snow so why can’t the county at least plow the side roads like Airport Road, Hillside Road, Watson Road and Foothills Road here in Mission at least once? Because when the roads aren’t plowed it’s really hard to know where and how far the ditch is and where the middle of the road really is. I’m not saying that Lake County doesn’t do a good job when they plow the side roads, they do a great job plowing, but when they do plow the back roads like Allison and the other back roads they either knock the mail boxes off the posts or the flying snow spins the residents’ mail boxes around facing the other way, but at least the roads do get plowed.

Lynn Delecaris

St. Ignatius

Yeah! More government control

We have no wolf hunting because a stupid judge rules (all) with encouragement of brain-dead environmentalists.

My 14-year-old granddaughter published an article about how the wolves harm deer and elk. She is a country girl, so she knows. A very nice rancher offered her a chance to hunt elk on his ranch. This made up for the nasty comments she received on the computer from idiots. She is a tough girl. Just a week or so ago she and her younger brother were hunting with their dad. They went for a hike and when they were walking back to the pickup there were fresh wolf tracks in their tracks. When they stopped at the game check station, they asked the [Montana] Fish and Game if they were aware of the wolves in that area and they said there were five packs just in that area.

Did you brain dead ever see a 500 pound calf, hamstrung from a pack of wolves chewing and slashing it? It was still alive so the Fish and Game took photos. They admitted it was wolves. They cannot pay, though, because it was dead.

Did you ever have grizzly bears raid your ranch and kill a bunch of baby calves, then partially bury them until they came back to kill more? Actually leaving some calves barely alive? Does a child or person have to be killed by a pack of wolves, a lion, or bear before we wake up?

Stop government control! Stop these terrible useless wars and keep our boys from being killed and crippled. If you need a billion dollar trip to outer space or the moon, please take a few environmentalists, judges and politicians with you and leave them up there!

Maybe our country could then pull itself out of debt and at least take care of our own people, which they haven’t done for many years.

Wilma Bick

Ronan

Hometown woes

I don’t know what has happened to my hometown, Polson. I cannot find the things I want to buy in Polson. I cannot figure out if the merchants don’t care that they carry salable merchandise and a large selection. I either have to go to Kalispell or Missoula. And the streets in Polson, my gosh, there are so many potholes I can’t decide which side of the street to drive on. Thank goodness that there are at least tire shops in town to fix my tires. The snow plow also does not work on all streets either, and especially after this last winter storm. They must have designated routes and my street is not included.

And now, to top it all off, what is with this stop signs on every corner on Main Street? We had to wait for several weeks while Main Street was being torn apart and reconstructed. I thought I was going to go crazy trying to find my way through congested alleys to find shops. Lots of the shops did not have directions to find them via the alley and, of course, very limited parking. Oh sure, we could have parked 10 blocks away, but I know there are other seniors like myself that cannot walk that far. After a while, I finally gave up and went to Kalispell or Missoula.

Why didn’t the city fathers at least put a stop light on the corner of 2nd Ave. and 2nd St. where it is needed so very badly?

I feel sure your stop signs on Main Street are going to stop people from coming down Main Street to shop. I know I will. I will look for other ways to get around town.

Emy Atchley

Polson

Turkey Trot thanks

We want to give a special thanks to Dennis Duty and the residents of Mission Bay for allowing us to run through their community. Our volunteers from Polson Loaves and Fishes were great along the course, guiding runners and cheering them on.

We also have a few sponsors who are so great to help: Polson Running for organizing and hosting the race. Ric and Sarah Smith with Century 21 graciously offered their business for the race start and finish and a warm place to dry off and not freeze. They also helped at the registration, setting up, cleaning up, etc. Dr. Jeff Heninger from Polson Family Eye Care provided the pumpkin pies for our random prize drawing and sunglasses for the top male and female finishers. Marlee Seemann, a sophomore at Polson High School for our great shirt artwork. Total Screen Design for printing the shirts. St. Joseph Medical Center for their flyer copies and giving us some of their employees hours to make this happen. (Thank you Heidi Webber and Jennifer Forbis).

So many people help with this event it is hard to list all of them.

Without a doubt, if the community did not support us we would never have any success. Thank you so much to everyone who braved the cold weather and the snow packed trail, to kick off a great holiday tradition! We hope to see you on January 8 for our Jingle Bell Jog!

Tyana Smith

Polson