Letters to the editor, Oct. 14
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Connect with kids
I would like to comment on the town hall meeting that was held on Oct. 4 at the Joe McDonald Center at the Salish and Kootenai College in Pablo. I want to thank those of you who attended, especially the youth.
The focus of this meeting was to address the issues of teenage binge drinking, DUIs, and what we can do as concerned parents and citizens and law enforcement to help prevent our youth from the dangers of alcohol. Different strategies and ideas that came up were to have more parent involvement with their children, educate parents and children about the risks and consequences of binge drinking and drinking and driving. We need to encourage parents to be models for our children and display responsible drinking.
Everyone who sells or serves alcohol should be required to take the Responsible Alcohol Sales and Service class. The court system should be required to make DUI offenders accountable and stiffen the laws, so maybe people will begin to think twice about drinking and driving, as they know the law will not allow them to manipulate the system.
The young people that were at the meeting commented that having more for them to do would be a deterrent to the youth drinking issue. I was pleased at the input from the audience. We have a valley of concerned people that want to keep our children safe. We need to look at every child and teach them to see their strengths.
We are all responsible for our children. Let’s connect with our kids, I am sure they will make you smile.
Julia Roberts,
Prevention Specialist, Polson
The roots of bullying
Rutger University student Tyler Clementi’s suicide has sparked a whole nations attention on “bullying.” Well, I say that trying to address bullying is not the primary problem we have in this nation concerning this tragic event.
Yes, bullying is something all schools, churches, families, and whatever organization or group involved with teaching our youth should be addressing. But the primary issue, the root causes of bullying needs to be addressed, and it is getting swept under the rug.
Today, October 5, on CNN’s Political Ticker was this report: “Senator Jim DeMint was speaking at a church rally in Spartanburg, SC, and said that openly gay individuals and single mothers who are involved in a sexual relationship should not be teaching.”
Now, whether it is Senator DeMint or any other adult ranting and raving about gay rights, sexual orientations, or DeMint’s almost too funny, if it was not so serious, comment on single mothers involved in sexual relationships, the point is this: Every time we adults spew forth such comments about “sexual orientations,” our children and youth are listening. They are learning from what we say; what we debate and argue about; what we write in the news media and what is constantly put forth by the “talking heads” on television.
And from what they learn, they now project it into their own environments with others their own age, and think, speak and act accordingly. And sometimes it results in the very actions which prompted Tyler Clementi to commit suicide.
We can attempt to curtail bullying until we are “blue in the face,” but until we, the American adults, decide to let “lifestyle” issues be the private decision for each and every individual, and not make it a political, social, religious or public educational issue to be debated, acted upon and legislated, we will continue to have events such as the bullying of Tyler Clementi.
A “bully” has formed his or her attitudes from us, the adults, the mentors, the care-givers, the parents, the teachers and the religious leaders to whom they look up to with wondering eyes, open hearts and developing minds.
Bob McClellan
Polson
Kendley for Sheriff
I, like many of you, have heard of the investigations related to the Sheriff’s Department and, like many of you wonder, who can I trust? I also know that most of the state knows and is watching what happens. So what are we to do?
Many of you have come to me with your similar concerns and asked if you could vote for me as a write in candidate. Although I appreciate your support, I don’t think that will make a difference. So, I analyzed things and asked myself the question, “Who is the best person to correct the problems and lead the Sheriff’s Office for the next four years?” If you take emotion out of it and think about it objectively, I believe the answer is clear. The answer is Steve Kendley.
I know all three candidates and know that none of them are perfect. That means I know that Steve Kendley is not perfect, but heck, who of us is? However, Steve Kendley shares a passion with me and many of you, to hold people and officers alike accountable for their actions. Steve Kendley is also a strong supporter of your constitutional rights and will defend us against unreasonable federal interference, including gun control. However, Steve is not the radical he is being portrayed to be. Steve Kendley has been under fire by some for reporting potential officer misconduct to the Montana POST Council. I have also spoken to the POST council about this. The fact is that I want a leader who is willing to stand up, even in the face of adversity, to do the right thing and not someone who tries to hide things. The only person with those leadership skills is Steve Kendley.
Gen. Norman Scwarzkopf once said, “The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.”
Steve Kendley has stood up because he wants a Sheriff’s department to be proud of and so do I. That is why I am voting for Steve Kendley for Sheriff and you should too.
Thank you and God Bless!
Arthur D. Walgren,
Assistant Chief of Police
Ronan Police Department
Ken Toole for PSC
The State of Montana provides us citizens with a Public Service Commission (PSC) to regulate the electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, water and sewer, transportation and pipeline safety of natural gas and petroleum in our regions. There are five regions in this state, each of which is overseen by your current PSC commissioner. In our region 5, Ken Toole has served the Flathead, Glacier, Lake, Pondera, Teton and Lewis and Clark counties for the past four years.
As you can tell by the broad array of utilities that are regulated by the PSC, it is important to have experienced and effective commissioners to serve us. As our commissioner during his four year tenure, Ken Toole has excelled in his responsibilities to us. His leadership on the PSC led to a $16 million rate reduction by QWEST for Montana consumers. Ken opposed the buy-out of Northwestern Energy by a foreign investment bank, which is no longer in business. And thanks to Ken Toole, QWEST agreed to extend broadband service to 28 rural Montana communities.
We consumers need protection against the hidden agendas of big corporations that are profit-driven despite the excessive costs that their practices pass on to us Montana customers. Ken Toole led the effort before the PSC to require disclosure of utility executive salaries in Montana. He stood up to corporation lobbyists to protect us from the failure of energy deregulation when he chaired the legislative Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee.
As our PSC vice-chairman, Ken gets results for Montana consumers and small businesses. He has no conflict of interest for this job while his opponent, Bill Gallagher does. Consider who will keep your utility bills down and promote new clean, efficient sources of energy that are critical for our stable, affordable energy future. Please vote for Ken Toole to work for you. Re-elect Ken for PSC on Nov. 2.
Sheila M. Bell
Polson
Vote!
When you go to the polls next month, please learn about the candidates. My understanding is that the position for the sheriff is non- partisan. All the candidates are advertising their political preference.
So, when you go to vote, please do not just vote for someone because they have your political preference on their slogans. Learn about them. Hopefully they are all telling the truth about themselves and what they will do for the people. That goes for any candidate running for any position. You want someone in the position that will help the people. Candidates do not bash each other, that really turns the voters off. Just be truthful about everything.
Voters, let’s get people into the positions that care about the people and the county. Please get out there and vote.
Your vote does count!
Kelly Bailey
Valley View
Balance key to sound decisions
Please support Judge Nels Swandal for Montana Supreme Court. As one of its seven voices, he would bring balance to the Court. Our court needs clear-thinking members who have experienced and defended our cherished way of life. Judge Swandal is a third-generation Montanan, and embodies sound Montana philosophy.
Judge Swandal’s experience speaks for itself: He is the only candidate with district court judge experience, having won elections in 1994, 2000 and 2006. In June, 26 current and former District Judges joined retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Turnage and former Justice John Warner to publicly endorse Swandal in this campaign.
Judge Swandal has a wide range of life experience including being named “Judge of the year” in 2009 by the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), the organization that advocates abused and neglected children in the court system.
Carmine Mowbray
Polson, Montana
Fleming for HD12
I am a conservative who desires a more responsive, less intrusive government. One which uses our resources wisely. Long ago, I learned that neither political party embraces that agenda. There are individual candidates within both parties who do. That is why John Fleming gets my vote as House District 12 representative again.
Mr. Fleming has been to my home to discuss his beliefs and hear mine. I learned that he has been to over 1800 households in Lake County so far and will visit many more before election day. During his first term, Mr. Fleming acted upon the beliefs he had discussed with me during his campaign. He is honest, straight forward and he listens to his constituents.
A recent letter to the editor stated that Mr. Fleming voted for the Medical Marijuana Act. In fact, that act was the result of an initiative passed by the voters. The legislature did not act on it, so Mr. Fleming did not vote on it. Mr. Fleming supports our Second Amendment firearms freedoms and voted for three of four bills on that issue. He did not support a law legalizing the use of silencers on hunting rifles. I agree with him on that issue.
The last budget of the State of Montana was pretty big, but so are the services we expect of the government. On the other hand the State of Montana’s budget balanced with revenue. Thank you Mr. Fleming.
John Fleming deserves your support this November.
Tim Skinner
Ronan
The Gallagher difference
Are you concerned about paying higher energy rates? If you are, you need to become part of the election process and get out to vote. We have two candidates for Public Service Commission with opposite views on the issues.
One candidate, who is the incumbent Ken Toole, long time energy and human rights activist, is in favor of government mandates which will require energy suppliers to provide a proportion of their energy using “green” energy. “Green” energy is wind, solar and geothermal, but hydro or power from dams are not included in their description. The problem with this mandate is power lines would need to be run to accommodate these new energy sources, energy will be lost in the transmission, and when unreliable wind and solar stop producing, you need the backup sources of energy which are generally very costly. That will have an impact on local cost which will be passed on the consumer, you. Mr. Toole has also supported HB-641 to bring co-ops under the control of the Montana Public Service Commission which will add three new surcharges to co-op customers. How do you feel subsidizing large, green energy cartels?
The other candidate is Bill Gallagher, who unlike Ken Toole, is not a career politician. He believes local power suppliers should have the ability to provide the customer with clean, local and inexpensive power. He is also against Cap and Trade programs, which moves money around at taxpayers’ expense and does nothing to clean the environment. Vote Bill Gallagher and conserve your hard earned money.
Andrew Speer
Polson
Re-elect Toole
There’s a stark choice between Ken Toole and Bill Gallagher in the race for Public Service Commission, which oversees utilities and shapes all-important energy policy in Montana. In the 1990s, Toole was Montana’s leading opponent of energy deregulation, which proved to be a disaster.
While Gallagher now claims he supports “re-regulation” (a proposal Toole initiated), Gallagher contradictorily advocates weakening public regulation of the industry. As Commissioner, Toole helped citizens take action against the QWEST Corporation for taking excessive profits, forcing QWEST to give $16 million in rate reductions and to extend broadband service to 28 rural Montana communities.
Toole wisely blocked the takeover of Montana’s biggest energy provider, Northwestern Energy, by a foreign investment bank — which subsequently went bankrupt. Defending the public right to information, Toole advocates requiring monopoly utilities to reveal the salaries of top executives. Gallagher vehemently opposes this policy, believing we should remain in the dark.
Gallagher owns a water utility near Helena, called Aqua Flo, which is owned by another company, called Aqua Sierra, which is incorporated in Nevada. Why? To avoid Montana income tax, while garnering Montana profits. Gallagher also refuses to reveal who his co-investors are. How can we expect Gallagher to fulfill the PSC’s duty to make utilities transparent and accountable to the public? Gallagher doesn’t believe climate change is occurring and doesn’t advocate cleaner sources of energy. Toole is dedicated to better energy conservation and efficiency and helping us take advantage of the opportunities in emerging renewable energy markets.
Ken Toole has earned our support for re-election.
Tom Smith
Charlo
Yonkin for Sherrif
Dan Yonkin came to my house on Oct. 26, 2008 at about 10 p.m. to investigate my wife’s unattended death. He was very tired after a days work as a detective-coroner with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department. That morning he had investigated a murder and suicide that took place in Arlee.
As exhausted as he was, Mr. Yonkin was kind, compassionate and sensitive during the investigation and questioning. He did not leave until he made sure that the mortuary took my wife’s body from our home and that I could be left alone. He did not leave until 12:30 a.m.
I believe that Mr. Yonkin, with his many years in law enforcement, is the best candidate for the Lake County Sheriff’s Department. He is kind, knowledgeable, experienced and has maturity in making tough decisions. He is independent in his thinking as a moderate and will work well with all of the citizens of Lake County.
I recommend Dan as the very best and qualified man for the job.
Kenneth Kinucan
Polson
Vote smart
Do you know this man? Do you really know this man?
The Montana Conservation Voters say he supported them 91 percent of the time in 2009, buzz words used by this group are: Environmental concerns, open spaces, conservation principals and so on. How about NARAL Pro-choice Montana who say he supported them 100 percent of the time in 2009 or the Montana Environmental Information Center where he supported them 90 percent of the time in 2009 or how about the Montana Educational Association-Montana Federation of Teachers whom he supported 100 percent of the time. By the way, these are all lobbyists. If you’re truly interested in voting for the best man for the job, spend time finding out who that person really is.
Why is anyone admitting they’re a Democrat? For months now we have discovered just how many Communists, progressives and Socialists are in the Democratic party, we understand clearly their goal is to overthrow the Constitution of the United States but let’s be honest here, the Republicans aren’t much different, so, what’s my point?
You are about to vote in one of the most important elections of your lifetime. Are you following the same path you followed during the last election? Are you a party line voter or are you an informed citizen who votes principal over slogans? Are you an “I’ll vote for the person with the most yard signs” or are you a voter who hungers for the truth and will search for it? Do you really know who is running for House District 12?
Forget the handouts. Visit the web site Project Vote Smart — American Government, Elections...type in your zip code when asked for it, then, scroll down until you find your current representative. Each organization he supports and who supports him has a web page listed. Read about them, look for specific words, understand who and what you are voting for. If you don’t educate yourself and only rely on friendship, slogans or printed signs you really don’t know this man or for that matter anyone running for office. There is more than one candidate in the race for House District 12, do you really know this man? Do you really understand how important your vote is to the United States of America?
Robert L. Starks
Saint Ignatius
Tea Party
The Tea Party movement (TPM) in the United States emerged after a confluence of events, including the culmination of eight years of Bush economic leadership which produced the failure of Wall Street, the bank bailouts, lost retirement savings and the housing market crash. This, when Bush inherited from Clinton the largest financial surplus ever. Combined with this was the election of Barack Obama, the first Black American president in U.S. history.
Creation of the Tea Party was sparked by CNBC announcer, Rick Santelli, who reacted to Barack Obama’s presidential victory with a rant that slurred him as, “that half-breed Muslim.” This was followed up by Dick Armey and Steve Forbes creation of the Washington, D.C.-based arm of the Tea Party called FreedomWorks.
The Tea Party’s issues are budget and taxes, followed by strong dislike of President Obama and opposition to healthcare and immigration reform, a jobs program, unemployment benefits and unions. The Tea Party is also against federal civil rights legislation. The aforementioned are all issues that are related to social justice. And, although the Tea Party says they are “populists,” they don’t behave like any stripe of populist, a term synonymous with social justice.
Regarding the Tea Party desire for economic reform, they continue to blame President Obama for eight years of Bush-administration mismanagement that will impact our country for generations no matter what party you affiliate with.
We seem to be a nation with “fast-food” expectations and expect to get everything we want “right now.” The Tea Party plays into this adolescent thinking by winding up their base with the belief that “Obama should have fixed all these problems by now.” Any thinking adult understands that the problems facing our nation are complex and demand a thoughtful, multilayered approach from both sides of the aisle as we work to solve them.
The men like Dick Armey and the men behind FreedomWorks are multimillionaires. They know that the average Tea Party member is actually an economic democrat, but these white men with wealth, power and privilege have swayed public opinion toward their cause and their respective “bottom lines,” with an appeal to the “moral conservatism” of their constituency.
Tea Party proponents talk about the moral high ground of their views with pride while the average Tea Party member is white and they are not economically strapped Americans hitting out at political scapegoats. They are usually slightly older, middle class with few financial problems and are not unemployed. The Tea Party rhetoric sounds like it is populist and for the underdog, but their agenda is anti-social justice and the poor.
The most abhorrent of the Tea Party tactics is to take over meetings in large numbers in many areas of the country, using racial slurs that attack President Obama, insinuate that Obama has an Islamic agenda to take over our country, attack all Muslims, compare Obama to Hitler’s Nazi regime, and far worse, using words I would not want to print in this letter. The reason that this is occur ring harkens back to the resurgence of the radical right extremists who have been invited into the Tea Party wholeheartedly. Is this what you want for your country or our community?
It is time to begin reading about the issues from multiple sources, not just the literature you buy at Tea Party rallies. Find out where the focus group leaders were educated. Find out why they believe what they assert. Ask yourself what you believe instead of listening to and parroting the sound bites and catch phrases of the Tea Party. Please, for the sake of your family, community and nation, you owe it to yourself to decide on your own who you want to win the upcoming elections.
Finally, I want to thank President Barack Obama for his courage and wisdom as he governs our great nation. He has caused all of us to wake up and care about our country, and to become active in the political process for the first time in decades. All sides of our political process are involved and this is what our nation was founded to protect.
Sheila M. Bell
Polson