Letters to the editor
Fortunate Food Pantry
Polson’s Food Pantry, Loaves and Fish is not only the beneficiary of Town Pump’s generous Match Program’s $58,000 but several local businesses have added “Match $’s” to this fund raising initiative. Les Schwab Tires, Treasure State Concrete, and WalMart pledged additional “Match S’s” to Polson Food Pantry’s fall fund raising efforts.
Polson’s Food Pantry now has $16,500 of “Match” money available to be captured by individual or business donations. lf realized, these dollars will help our community pantry buy necessary food items as well as pay for necessary operating expenses in 2014.Polson’s Food Pantry is an all volunteer operation and has no paid staff. As such the pantry’s volunteers give back to our community through their time and talent!
The “Match Program” campaign runs through Nov. 30th and anybody wishing to offer a helping hand to those in need can maila check to Polson Food Pantry, 904 1’t St. E., Polson or drop off a check to the same location. For additional information call 883-6864.
Thank you for your consideration of this vital community-based funding request.
Rose Marie Smith,
Polson Loaves and Fish Food Pantry
Appreciative for ACE
We are Polson residents who have two children that attend Mission Valley Christian Academy. They are able to attend MVCA thanks to the ACE Scholarship Program. This is our second year using the ACE Scholarship and are appreciative of the opportunity provided by the Gianforte family, who founded the program.
The Scholarship has meant that we are able to choose where we would like our children to attend school without our finances limiting those choices. Our children love MVCA and the camaraderie that has developed among all the children because of the school size. They all know each other, support one another and encourage one another.
As parents, we appreciate the student to teacher ratio. The smaller class sizes, we feel, enable the teachers to meet the kids where they are at academically, slowing down with some and in other cases offering more challenging curriculum. In addition, we value the opportunity for our children to learn in a Christian environment that reinforces our Christian values at home.
We are thankful and grateful for the ACE Scholarship Program for making it possible for our children to have the best education available to them.
Mark and Antonia Moderie,
Polson
Many thanks
On behalf of the Polson Youth Soccer Association (PYSA), I would like to thank the Live Locally Race Committee and Polson Running for choosing PYSA as the beneficiary of proceeds from the race this weekend. How heartwarming it was to see the dedication and enthusiasm these committees showed for our association, from the soccer-themed t-shirts and trophies, to the smiles that came to their faces every time we discussed PYSA and our plans for the future. Endless volunteer hours were spent on the planning and execution of this race, and we could not possibly be more humble or grateful for their support.
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, and its popularity is exploding in the United States. Polson is no stranger to this phenomenon with PYSA serving close to 300 youth, ages 4-18, on an annual basis. With the help of funds received from the Live Locally race, we look forward to giving back to our community by developing a brand new soccer complex in the coming years, where we will be able to host tournaments and invite out of town soccer families and fans to enjoy our stores, restaurants, hotels, and community.
The mission of the Live Locally race is to promote healthy living within our community, and PYSA plans to do just that. Thank you to everyone involved in this race, including the committees, participants, volunteers, and many generous sponsors, for entrusting us with this gift!
Sarah Beck Smith,
PYSA Committee
There is a way
Most people involved with the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project (FIIP) want to avoid litigation of FIIP water use. But the Flathead Joint Board of Control (FJBC) has outlined three positions, two of which will lead to exactly that—litigation over FIIP water use. They have taken positions over ownership of FIIP water that fly in the face of established law and they are now opposed to the water management board which is at the heart of the Flathead Reservation Compact (Compact). This means that they are intending to drag irrigators through millions of dollars and decades of litigation, without any benefit to the FIIP.
If there was a way to separate those who insist on litigation instead of the negotiated settlement that now exists, I would be all for it. If there was a way they could pay their own litigation costs without saddling the rest of us with exorbitant legal fees, I would be all for it. But wait—there is a way.
After the Compact is passed by the Montana Legislature, approved by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and then finally approved by Congress, it has one more step. Before it is actually implemented, the Montana Water Court must approve the Compact. At this final step, water right claimants can file objections and be heard in court. They can do this on their own, without burdening the rest of us with their legal costs.
Let’s do this: Approve the Compact and Water Use Agreement. Then, if you still have objections, use your opportunity to air those objections in front of the Montana Water Court. But do it as individual claimants—without dragging the rest of us into your anti-government, anti-Indian battle. Many of us are not buying the proposed litigation you are selling.
Ric Smith
Polson