Letters to the editor
Pool funds take off
I am writing with wonderful news that Mission Valley Aquatics has reached the goal of raising $200,000 by the end of 2010. Pledges and donations are coming in daily and support for the swimming pool project is high. This means the MVA Board of Directors will feel confident in setting a construction date for the summer of 2011. We will continue to fundraise through the spring and summer of 2011 to be able to enhance the facility as much as we can.
The Monday night meeting with the City Commissioners went well with the Commissioners passing a motion to give Mission Valley Aquatics a $100 a year lease if it is decided that the pool should be built on the five acres in the Kerr Dam Fields area. Next, we will gather more information and input from the community by holding a public meeting in January. So, as the community and the MVA board processes the location of the facility, please be assured that construction will begin on the swimming pool this summer.
Special thanks to the Polson Elementary School children for raising $825 with the “Pry Open Your Piggy Banks for the Pool” fundraiser. An additional $92 was raised with a bake sale at Cherry Valley School.
Thanks for your continued support. Hope you have a wonderful holiday season.
Tana Seeley
Polson
Special contribution
Good fortune exists in a community that has reliable sources of communication like newspapers, radio and TV stations. Hopefully these institutions are appreciated as a forum to solving problems and finding answers to questions.
Over the past year and especially in recent days we have received thoughtful donations and many gestures of goodwill toward our efforts here at the Boys & Girls Club. The other day we received an envelope with only our address and several colorful Christmas stickers creatively placed on the outside. This particular card had no return address. Opening the envelope I found inside a beautiful card with a Christmas message and a crisp $50 bill. The card was signed: A Gift from Jesus.
I try to be diligent in writing a note to thank those who so generously donate to our cause. Since I had no return address, I want to use this community format to make sure I get this personal thank you note to the right place.
Thank you for your contribution to our club. It helps our staff provide the direct benefits to several hundreds of youngsters throughout the year. Our board works hard to help pay the bills and the staff comes every day to make sure the kids are safe. This donation adds to the many, many wonderful contributions that have come in from the caring, thoughtful people who value our younger generation, you included.
John Schnase
Boys & Girls Club
Ronan
Making a difference
I just returned from visiting the Polson Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry. I feel very compelled to write on how your dollars, small and large, make a difference in peoples’ lives on both sides of the equation — the one giving and the one receiving. You must take a tour of the new facility. Wow! I could tell from the end results of the construction that there was a lot of volunteered time, expertise, ingenuity, donations and thoughtfulness from our local community volunteers and businesses to make the plan come together. For the past four years, I have helped Community Bank organize the “Community Spirit Basket” event and I want to personally thank all our Polson and Ronan merchants and organizations and our community for your continued support in these difficult economical times. The hard times are unfortunately not only through the holidays, as you know, but throughout the whole year. Keep spreading the “spirit” throughout the year. Happy holidays to all.
Geri Herreid
Polson
Give-A-Way thanks
Dayton Proctor Park and The Christmas Give-A-Way Program would like to thank all the community members, Rosauer’s patrons and anyone else who donated or bought raffle tickets for the Christmas tree this year. The raffle included all ornaments, the tree, tree skirt and two stockings.
This is the group’s third year and our best. We will be able to help 10 families this year due to the raffle and a grant from Town Pump. Thank you Town Pump for helping us with our goal.
I personally would like to thank the community members who have joined the group and helped gather all the goodies for the families. It is true about many hands lessen the workload.
Pam O’Mara
Dayton
Happy New Year, 2011
Here we are, once again saying, ‘goodbye’ to the old year and welcoming in the new; which of course means that we are one year closer to the end of our lives. Morbid thinking; far from it; it would be extremely foolish for anyone to go through life and not consider their death, the grave and the resurrection. This past week, I attended a memorial service for a long-time resident of Lake County; during the service a good friend of mine read some lines from the Bible about our mortal bodies becoming immortal and these corruptible bodies that we now have becoming incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15, the entire chapter is about the resurrection of Jesus and subsequently, our resurrection.
The writer vehemently insists that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is our guarantee that we will also be resurrected). We ought to give thought to the words which Jesus spoke to Martha, the sister of Lazarus, on the day He raised her dead brother’s body from the tomb, Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying,” John 11:25 (New Living Translation).
People have been thrown into jail for teaching the resurrection of the dead, Acts 4:2-3; however, without the resurrection, death would be a hopeless end. Jesus promises eternal life to everyone who receives Him, John 3:16, John 1:12. I read some time ago about a tombstone in a Wisconsin cemetery that had this inscription: “To all who pass by, as you are now, so once was I; as I am now, soon you will be; prepare to die and follow me.” Some very wise person scratched on the stone below the inscription, “To follow you, I’m not content, until I know which way you went.” Death, the grave and the resurrection are common denominators for all us; some will be raised to eternal life (heaven) and some will be raised to eternal death (hell), Revelation 20. Our relationship with Jesus in this life determines our final destiny. As we say farewell to 2010 and welcome 2011, we’ve grown a year older; hopefully, wiser; and better prepared for death, the grave and our resurrection.
Harvey A. Town
Polson
Power of love
I awoke this Winter Solstice day hearing an NPR interview with a member of Congress. She was asking him if he supported the START treaty for modest reduction of nuclear weapons in Russia and the U.S. The rather short conversation went something like this: Interviewer: “Do you favor passing the START treaty?” The congressman’s answer was: “No, I do not.” The interviewer asked why. The congressman said: “Because the American people have spoken in the last election.” The interviewer than asked about the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell legislation. And the congressman said: “I did not favor passage of that either, for the same reason.” The interviewer had no further questions.
There are troubling aspects to this exchange that I believe bear looking at squarely. And I am just talking about national politics, not state and local.
First: The vast majority of the American people favor both the START treaty and passage of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The recent elections were not focused on those issues. In fact, if you had asked the average American about the START treaty, I would venture that 90 percent would not have known what you were talking about. A couple months ago, I probably would have been in that 90 percent.
Second: This congressman was obviously basing his opinions on what he thought to be ‘party line’ rather than doing his job as representing ‘we the people’ who are his constituents.
Third: “We the people,” the American’s who pay taxes and go to the polls have one political power. That is the power to elect people to positions of political leadership. After that, our power seems to end and whomever is elected often falls into the powerful clutches of politically motivated greed, big money interests and concern about the next election.
So, the Winter Solstice did not start out real well for me, but later when I played the piano for an hour with my friends at St. Joseph Retirement Community, Assisted Living, I began to feel much better. We laughed together, sang together, and had a good time. This brought back to me the power of music, the power of togetherness, the power of love...The only REAL POWER there is!
Bob McClellan
Polson
Accident fees
I have been following the Polson Rural Fire District on it’s effort to collect hourly fees on district residents if they are involved in an auto “accident”. These calls can be billed any where from $400 to $2,200 dollars per hour as deemed by the fire chief! This bill would go to the car owner/insurance company.
Out of curiosity, I called my insurance agent and was told they not and will not pay these type calls! I called two other insurance agents in Polson and got the following stories: One said outright their company would not pay for these calls and that they had been following the story both in Polson and the Rural District! The second agent had not heard of it, so they called their central office - the message returned to the agent was that in most cases they would not pay! The only way they might pay was if the car was on fire and possibly going to damage other property, and even this would be considered in a case-by-case basis. All three agents did say that if this becomes a tread that our insurance rates will go up to pay these types of expenses. In other words “no free lunch” from the insurance companies! It would appear if a resident has an accident and receives this bill, the resident (that already pays taxes), would also buy the lunch for the fire department!
The other interesting part is that the Fire Chief will make the call on the amount to be paid. One obvious problem with this plan is that there is a constitutional requirement of equal protection under the law, such as fees or taxes, it has to be applied equally to everyone, or it’s illegal. I’m sure this should bring some interesting lawsuits!
Sounds like a program written for some lawyer’s dream case!
Jerry Peterson
Polson
Political Pretzels
In many years of observing politicians, I have been annoyed when they twist themselves into a pretzel trying to convince taxpayers that “someone else” will pay for some new service. A current example is the Polson Fire Department’s plan to bill you and me directly for responding to traffic “incidents”. But wait! You won’t really pay: if you already pay taxes to the fire department, or maybe if you have a “15” license plate, or maybe if the Chief says so, or maybe if your insurance covers it, or maybe if... Seeing this pretzel being made is like watching sausage being made.
Despite the pretzel making, in the end it is you and I who pay – either directly, or indirectly by higher insurance premiums.
Don’t buy this pretzel! Let your voices be heard.
Tom Eddy
Polson
Wreck response
Isn’t it a little disingenuous to say we don’t pay for the “wreck response” now? What have the taxes been paying for all these years? Also the fire chief indicates the fees are expected to be between $435 and $2,200 but fails to report the fee is by the hour. The chief also indicated he needs the extra funding as in 2015 he may loose funds from the Kerr Dam project. It sounds like the Obama health care, charge now based on some future needs.
Lastly, in the letter from the Polson Rural Fire Board, the assertion was made that the latest rescue equipment may cost $8,000 but fails to mention the Jaws of Life were a gift to the county and are currently shared with the City of Polson. Surely half of this expense could be paid out of the last three years of budget surplus and the other half paid for by the City of Polson.
Leanna Fillman
Big Arm
Blatantly contradictory
As quoted in the article, Fairchild says “We are not trying to charge them extra on top of what they pay, we’re trying to collect for a service nobody pays for right now, except through the budget.” What? So, let’s see, we are paying through the budget (our taxes) now, but this new charge is not “on top” of what we already pay? Also the chief expressed concern about his “dwindling budget”. This contradicts the fact that for the last three years, the Rural Fire District has received substantial excess revenues relative to its budget. And again for this fiscal year, it will receive a revenue windfall relative to its budget. He laments that the loss of $30-40,000 is “a huge whack to my budget,” but fails to mention the roughly $70,000 extra the department received last year!
Another troubling statement by the chief is that he hopes he will “have some discretion over whom to charge”. Really? The thought of any one person making this determination should scare everybody!
In my opinion, this plan is not ready for prime time. I hope the Rural Fire District and the city make the “contract” public before implementation and allow plenty of time for comments.
I also, hope the projected revenues are stated together with how budgets will be reduced and tax refunds be given.
Tom Eddy
Polson