Letters to the editor

Parental advocacy

I am disappointed by how much criticism Lori and Mark Russell have received since their letter and article in the paper. Unfortunately, I’m not surprised.

My child is a graduate of Polson. Did he get the best education he could have? He got the one I advocated for by my actions as well as my inactions. Now we live with the results.

Too often as parents, we don’t want to “upset the apple cart.” Our kids don’t want us to “make a big deal” about anything at school. And we go along because we want them to be comfortable in their classrooms.

I know Mark and Lori and they are active, involved parents in their children’s lives. All they did last week was go public with the fact our schools weren’t giving their kids what they believe they need to succeed. Despite their ongoing advocacy, nothing was changing for their kids. Doesn’t every parent have the right to do that? Shouldn’t every parent be doing that?

I hope they continue to speak up for their kids. And our schools should be listening. After all, isn’t the school district’s mission to ensure the success of those very students?

Theresa Taylor

Polson

Soup’s On

I wonder if your readers know about the compassionate work going on at Polson’s “Soup’s On,” where dedicated volunteers serve free midday meals four days a week. In a rural area like ours, we face tremendous challenges; many folks suffer the pain of poverty and social isolation. “Soup’s On” is an oasis of warmth for all. So far, “Soup’s On” and its affiliate programs have served over 12,000 meals to the people in Polson and provide over 300 shelter days per year. “Help Us Help Others” is the theme for this year’s annual fundraising campaign.

They have erected a teepee in their front yard and are sleeping out in the cold winter nights to highlight the need to house our homeless as well as feed our hungry. “We’re not coming in until we raise $8,000.00” reads the sign on the gate as you enter the Wander Inn, home of the Soup’s On Project. Volunteers are willing to brave the cold February nights in order to reach their goal.

Please check it out Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Wander Inn, located across the street from Dempsey’s Pawn. Enjoy a wonderful hot meal and consider giving a cash donation, offering your skills, or contributing food and other needed items. You can send your donations to Soup’s On, 101 - 7th Ave. West, Polson 59860, or you can call 406-871-1109.

Sandy Farrell

Polson

Random acts of kindness

Recently, we had an early dinner at Ricciardi’s on Main St. Among other things, we discussed that we could consider the dinner a late birthday or anniversary celebration for us. After we finished our entree, the waitress brought us two very nice desserts. We told her that we hadn’t ordered dessert. She explained that a lady at a nearby table had overheard our conversation, and had sent us the desserts by way of celebration.

To the lady who very kindly provided us dessert that evening, we thank you very much. It made the evening complete. It appears you follow the precept: “Practice random acts of kindness.” We hope we can pass on the favor to someone else.

Olga Lincoln

Bob Bushnell

Polson

What integrity?

I am confused, following all the articles in all of the local newspapers concerning the issues of “who dun it” in regards to the Lake County Sheriffs office. It is my understanding that the primary job description for law enforcement is to “serve and protect.”

It seems to me that the primary job requirements for these same law enforcement personnel are “honesty and integrity,” beyond necessary technical training. If we can’t trust them, how can we be expected to believe they will perform their function properly and to support them in that endeavor? When these individuals break the public trust, through obvious and admitted lack of personal integrity for their work (displaying a pitiful sense of personal character), why should they be treated any differently than any of us in the private sector?

Forget criminal offenses and statute of limitations on punishable law infractions; let’s just focus on pure integrity to perform their work.

So, a deputy sheriff claims to have knowledge and experience (that he doesn’t possess) and is promoted to a special position, receives more pay and special consideration and then later admits (after his untruth is discovered) that he ‘misrepresented’ himself and was not actually qualified for that work. Where I come from, that’s called lying (and stealing), displays a total lack of integrity and one would have been summarily fired. Not the deputy sheriff; he’s held to a different level of personal character – much lower than mine, in aviation. He carries a gun; how safe does that make me feel?

I don’t want him tried in court for being a liar and a thief, I want him removed from the public payroll and replaced with someone who actually holds and displays a better sense of character and honor. The entire saga, as printed in the papers, reads like a bad children’s bedtime story. The county attorney and sheriff (past and present) appear bent on sweeping it all under the rug. Man up and hold this department to a standard we can all respect; stop the quibbling over psychiatric misevaluations and statutes of limitation. Simply do what’s right.

Michael Gale

Ronan

Speak Up

Montana is in the process of redistricting its legislative districts. Redistricting is the creation of new political boundaries so legislative districts include the same number of residents. Montana had a population of 989,415 in 2010. Since Montana has 100 House seats, each House district must contain as close to 9,894 people as practicable. The redistricting commission, which is made up of five members, is in the process of drawing up the new districts. Information about the commission, its members and copies of preliminary maps is available on the Internet at www.leg.mt.gov/districting

The residents of Lake County have an opportunity to provide the commissioners input during a public hearing on Wednesday, March 14 at 1 p.m. in Pablo at the Tribal Council Chambers.

I would encourage you to provide input to the commission either at the public hearing in Pablo or by sending a letter to the commission. Please review the preliminary maps on the Internet and provide the commission with your views on how these maps best fit your view of our county and the state. The maps will also be available for viewing at the public hearings. These preliminary maps are not final so please provide the commission with ideas on how the new legislative districts should be re-drawn. Some of the criteria to be used will be compact and contiguous districts, geographic boundaries, and keeping communities of interest intact.

The commission needs input and views from local residents or we may just end up with lines drawn on a map to meet the required population within a district. So please participate to make sure Lake County will have our share of representation in the new districts.

Greg Hertz

Polson

Coming together

One of the many joys of living in a small community is how the residents come together to work on, or donate to, projects that will improve the whole community. Big Arm is a great example of this “coming together” attitude.

For the past two years we have been restoring the historic Big Arm schoolhouse to be used as a community center. The restoration work is almost complete, we are now in the process of building an annex which will house bathrooms and a kitchen. We hope to have this annex useable for our summer community events.

Over the past few months, many Big Arm residents have generously sent donations, local businesses have donated materials or have given discounted prices, and dozens of volunteer have given thousands of physical hours to help complete the community center. A very special thank you to everyone involved, Big Arm really is a great community!

Although not completed yet, we are using the historic school for monthly community potlucks. At the February potluck we were delighted to host Ray Nickless, from the National Weather Service out of Missoula, who spoke about the El Nino and La Nina weather phenomenon. It is very reassuring to know that hydrologists, like Ray, are dedicated to their research and through their analysis are able to forecast flooding and severe weather in our beautiful valley. Thank you Ray!

If anyone would like to help in the building process or would like to donate some funds or materials please contact Alison at 849-6628.

Alison Meslin

Big Arm

Oath of office

City and county officials, before taking office, must first pledge a sworn commitment to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution and the Montana State Constitution. This sworn commitment is known as the “Oath of Office.” This is a very serious matter and at this time one which deserves further attention and examination.

The constitutions are intended to be “limitations” put upon the power of elected officials and are not intended to be a grant of power. Therefore it is essential that sworn officials understand the content of the documents they swear to uphold. The question is, do they? And if they don’t, just who is it that is holding them accountable for their actions?

To be sure, it is not necessarily easy work understanding these documents. Much study is needed. Our courts have made the process even more difficult by teaching us that these documents are “living” open for manipulation. Nonetheless, it is important that the official be knowledgeable in them so that his decision making process is informed by the limitations imposed upon him by these constitutions.

Many newly-sworn officials and even many presiding council members have never had any formal training, nor have they done any independent research and study into the meanings contained in these same “limiting” constitutions. The oath is pulled off the shelf, dusted off, administered with very little fanfare and is then quickly put back on the shelf so that the decision making can proceed, many times uninformed by constitutional limitations.

It is not surprising that we see so many decisions being made by these local city and county councils that are not informed by things constitutional but rather informed by the sectarian influences placed upon them by either local organizations, or local organizations who work closely with national and international conglomerates and foundations who provide funding.

Statutorily there are several ways to violate the “oath of office.” One of those ways is to allow oneself to “succumb to the pressure of those who would engraft the sectarian tenets and personal values of some onto the laws which govern all.”

I would like to give credit where credit is deserved, and that is to say that public service is not always rewarded in the ways we might think it would be and should be. That being said, the reward for violating the oath of office seems to have the equal lack of attention and fanfare.

Where is the public? Why has the public decided to sit on the sidelines, not even watching the game as it is played out. These are our constitutions, our sacred documents that are intended to put limitations on the ever expanding nature of the thing we know as government.

John Swenson

Ronan