Letters to the editor, July 8
*Editor's note: The Leader welcomes letters to the editor but reserves the right to edit for grammar and space. Letters are due by Monday at noon for the Thursday paper.
The final deadline for all letters regarding the North County Public Library District will be noon on Monday, July 19.
Yes for Library
To be sure, the Polson City Library offers a lot of cool, free stuff: Wi-Fi access, public computers, scanners, copiers, CDs, DVDs, LCD projectors, microfilm readers, newspapers, magazines and, of course, books.
Though many library users may be familiar with much of this, one under-appreciated and often overlooked service that the library provides is its community meeting room. Numerous community organizations and non-profit groups regularly make use of this important gathering place.
The Mission Mountain Audubon Society, for example, has utilized the library's meeting room on a regular basis for the past eleven years. Our monthly educational programs, which are free and open to everyone, inform and entertain hundreds of people each year on a variety of topics including wildlife, conservation, outdoor adventure, scientific research, world cultures and, yes, birds.
And it's plain to see that "we," young and old, nature lovers and urban dwellers, conservatives and liberals alike, have all benefited from these special programs which would not be possible without the library's meeting room.
But there's much more. For perhaps our library's most important service is its invitation to lifelong learning offered to each of us. By promoting the love of reading, especially to youth. The library introduces everyone to a world of ideas that, in the long run, can only make us and our community better.
So vote yes to create the North Lake County Public Library District.
Jim Rogers
Mission Mountain Audubon president
Save the library
You have seen the signs. You may have attended one of our powerpoint informational presentations or heard one of our radio ads. Last week you received a "please vote" postcard. All these to remind you that our Polson Library is in jeopardy.
Now is the time for us all to take up the challenge of preserving our wonderful library for future generations. Just as a forward-thinking group helped establish our library here in 1912, we are asking you to invest in the future of our community by voting "yes" for the North Lake County Public Library District, and for the levy to support it.
You will receive a mail-in ballot soon after July 8. Please consider carefully what our library means to you and help save our library.
Jackie Gran
Chairperson, Polson City
Library Board of Trustees
Support the library
Of course no one wants to choose to raise their taxes. But for less than I would spend on two lattes a month, it's overwhelming what I get in return if the library mill levy passes.
I would see the library hire extra staff to keep the library open later in the evening; I get access to more research materials either in the library itself or from the convenience of my home computer; I know my library will have a budget with which to plan new book purchases; if I become homebound, the possibility of home delivery, the list goes on, but the bottom line is that my small contribution, when added to everyone's small additional amount, is basically only pennies a day.
My family, my community and I get the benefit of a sustained, progressive library right in my hometown. Please join me in support of the levy. Balloting ends July 27.
Carmine Mowbray
Polson resident
Vote Yes
A dentist will tell you if you ignore your teeth they will go away. If you ignore our library, it will also go away, or at least it will have to cut many of the services or eliminate them entirely. What a shame this will be for Polson.
None of us want more taxes - period. However, many people have banded together in the past to work on projects that have made Polson grow and prosper. Please, let's not go backwards. Just to name a few successful projects due to the foresight, hard work and contributions of many people, we now have: a new well-equipped hospital; a new facility for Loaves and Fishes; our beautiful hanging baskets, flowering planters and trees on Main Street and well designed landscaping at the court house; the Salish Point project which has docks, a safer boat launch area, a swimming area marked off by a line of buoys to protect the children and adults. In addition, there is a grassy picnic area.
Our library is funded by the city, county, state and gifts. The largest of the funding is the city which has had to reduce the money appropriated. The library relies on 35 percent of its budget from gifts, which unfortunately are not a reliable source of funding. The county and state monies are minute. New books, new services, building repairs, building upgrades all must be put on hold unless this levy passes. And alas, we go backwards.
I know this library is a means of entertainment for many young families who cannot afford other types of entertainment. I know a family who uses the computers at the library for school projects because they do not have a computer at home. There are 300 computer users each week at the Polson Library.
Day cares and preschools are delivered programs and books from this library by the Story Shuttle. If this levy passes, shut-ins could benefit from shuttle delivery. As of June 26, 1,060 people of all ages have signed up for the Summer Reading Program.
How can we not vote for this when so many people benefit right now? Even more people will benefit when sustainable funding is voted in with the passage of this levy.
Please remember , vote yes and mail in your levy ballot between July 8 and July 27.
Zina Swanson
Polson resident
Vote no for library
The property tax payers and residents of North Lake County will get to vote on July 8 to see if they again would like to pay more taxes to support the library. There are several reasons we should vote no on this ballot.
First, we already pay taxes to support the library. In fact, property taxes went up 110 percent just last year, the highest in the state. Have we not had enough already?
Second, the public library is close to being obsolete. With the ever-changing electronic era, we can now access the Internet via our cell phones and read any book, any time, any place with e-books. The information available on the Internet is up to date and is widely available at any time, day or night. You don't have to wait until the library opens at 11 a.m.
Third, the written material available from the public library is grossly outdated. Current material needs to be sent in from a different library and your wait time could be weeks.
Fourth, the public is able to view pornography at the library. Yes, friends, pornography. I was told by a friend that she had witnessed this and was shocked, as she has young children that utilize the library. Having gone to the library about a month ago, I, too, witnessed the same scene. I happened to glance down as I passed by and noticed large breasts on the screen. That's something I don't think any child should be exposed to at the public library. The schools have blockers in place, not the public library.
It's time for the library to consider some alternatives to their high dollar mill levy.
First, the library should charge a nominal fee for computer and Internet usage, as the majority of taxpayers have their own set up. Why should we foot the bill for those that choose not to pay for it themselves? The library currently uses only 1/3 of the building for the library. Perhaps the computers should be relocated into the recently vacated space that the Sandpiper Gallery occupied. In that way, they could be better monitored and the public would not be subjected to bypassing glances of pornography.
Second, it's time the library makes necessary budget cuts and adjustments to exist within the current taxpayer provider funds. A similar proposal came up in the November 2008 general election and was defeated. At that time, they wanted a $10 mil levy, equivalent to $19.87 for a home or property valued at $100,000. They are asking for even more this year, an $11.14 mil levy, equivalent to $20.63 per year for that same property. This is even more than the street department wanted last month, which was defeated.
The public library does not need saving. It is not going away or closing. The programs that exist have existed for several years and have done so with the current taxpayer funding and grants for the summer reading program. If they need more help, ask for volunteers. Volunteering is a resourceful way to boost operating hours and programs without taxing the already overtaxed residents of Lake County, and would instill a true sense of community involvement, especially for some of our unemployed or older citizens. If they need money, apply for a grant, hold an auction or do some fundraising. The Boys and Girls club sell raffle tickets, the Mission Valley Animal Shelter has a thrift store and the churches have the Country Store. High schools hold car washes. What about instituting a community-wide set fee for each household in North Lake County, regardless if they own or rent, regardless of the value of their home.
Save the taxpayers. This mil levy deserves a rational no vote.
Pamela Sandall
Polson resident
No to Library district
If the Library District Levy is going to be so wonderful, why is it that not all of Lake County be included?
What about the Ronan Library? Ronan has a library and should benefit from the Library District levy as well, should it pass.
Are we not concerned for all citizens of Lake County and the services provided by the Ronan Library as well? All of Lake County contributes to the library now through county taxes, haven't we been taxed enough? This is a permanent tax increase.
The information provided to "explain" the Library District levy explains that with these fund they will be able to expand their hours, buy more books and offer technical programs.
Volunteers can help with expanding hours. Technical programs are offered through adult continuing education programs at the public schools and at the local college.
Buy more books? Why? When you need a book that the library doesn't have, you can access the Montana Shared Library Network, from home 24/7, to request any book. The library will continue to function with existing taxpayer money and continue providing many services that have existed for a while without increasing taxes.
Why is it during the economic downturn you want to raise taxes when we just had a huge tax hike? Many families are on a "fixed" income, now more than ever, and cannot afford to carry the burden for all non-taxpaying residents. Can we not find a better way to support the library without raising taxes? Many residents have library access and yet pay no county taxes.
Please save our taxpayers and vote no for the library district.
K-Ann DeLong
Charlo resident
Search and rescue thanks
Committed, devoted, loyal, dedicated, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and heroic are only a small few words I can use to describe search and rescue volunteers.
I have been a member of Lake County Search and Rescue for five years this coming August and have met some of the finest people in our county and have worked close by with neighboring volunteers. They truly have become my extended family.
Volunteers are a special group of people with whom I hold on the highest of levels. Putting their lives at risk, asking their families to go without them for training and extended searches are only some of the things that weigh on their shoulders while out searching.
I would also like to thank all of their employers for letting them search and understanding the importance of their absence. Many people, businesses and families are affected by volunteers going on searches and Lake County Search and Rescue greatly appreciates the sacrifice these entities go through to allow this to happen. This is another thing our community does to stick together by supporting our searchers, not only financially, but with time and understanding.
I am amazed at the level of teamwork multiple agencies pulled together in the search of a plane and its four occupants. My heart and prayers sincerely go to the family and friends involved in this terrible incident.
Tara Carvey
Logistics Officer/SAR Volunteer