Letters to the editor - April 3
Recall petitions: a clarification
Last week’s edition of the Leader contained a letter from Sheila Vallejo concerning the recall petitions filed against Mission Irrigation District Board Members Jerry Johnson and Paul Wadsworth. In her letter Ms. Vallejo stated that, “The recall petitions were investigated and approved by Lake County Attorney Mark Russell. Attorney Russell found that these illegal violations had occurred, making the first line in their [Mr. Johnson’s and Mr. Wadsworth’s] rebuttal statements untrue.” Ms. Vallejo’s understanding and characterization of Deputy County Attorney Russell’s involvement is mistaken.
Recall petitions are governed by Title 2, Chapter 16, Part 6 of the Montana Code Annotated. There are specific statutory requirements relating to the form, content and timing of recall petitions, all of which must be met before those petitions can be put on the ballot. As is common when these issues arise, Lake County Elections Clerk Kathy Newgaard requested that the Lake County Attorney’s Office review the petitions and the responses filed by Mr. Johnson and Mr. Wadsworth. Mr. Russell’s review was limited to the issue of whether the statutory requirements had been met. It was not, and was not intended to be, a judgment on the merits of either the petitions or the responses. That judgment is left solely to the discretion of the district voters.
If you have any questions about this matter please contact either Mr. Russell or me at 883-7245.
Mitch Young
Lake County Attorney
On the CSKT water compact
After years of negotiation the CSKT Compact was created. None of the parties at the table got everything they wanted, but it was something they could live with. The Water Use Agreement for irrigators was also a hard fought negotiation. In the end the Flathead Joint Board had been part of two long hard negotiations that resulted in the project being turned over to the irrigators and the Water Use Agreement. The past commissioners felt they had done their job and protected our project irrigation water. Enter Western Montana Water Users and Concerned Citizens of Western Montana. They decided that the Cooperative Management Entity, the CSKT Compact and the Water Use Agreement were all illegal. The unrelenting attacks of those that oppose the tribes that have lead us to where we are now.
So where are we now? The smaller districts have been sued penniless by the Flathead Joint Board of Control and the Western Montana Water Users. The Joint Board no long exists, the BIA has done a full reassumption of the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project. People have lost their jobs, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on attorney fees, the tribe has filed a suit to clarify who owns the water right to the project, our water for future irrigation is in peril, and a vicious recall is being made for two long time water commissioners.
Please don’t recall the Mission District Commissioners. They have been commissioners for many years when no one else would take the job. They were part of two hard fought negotiations. They are your neighbors. Their total focus was on protecting water for irrigators not politics. If you have not been sitting in their shoes for the past 15 years you may not know what it took to get the job done.
Susan Lake
Ronan
Lake County’s Biggest Job Producer
What do restaurants, motels, vacation rentals, gas stations, grocery and retail stores, plumbers and real estate agents have in common? Their owners and employees all depend heavily on tourism for survival. Lake County Commissioners, through the County Parks Board, have developed a draft management plan to help guide parks and recreation activities to support this economic engine for the next 10-20 years. The 120-page draft plan is available for review on-line and at the county’s libraries. The comment period ends April 30. If you enjoy walking, biking, fishing, boating, and swimming or your job depends on visitors to the area that participate in these activities, please comment.
Unfortunately, a major challenge to the county is managing their recreation lands without dedicated funding. At times, this lack of funding and oversight has resulted in private property owners encroaching upon public lands. Other challenges managers face are development and maintenance of areas, parking, litter, and trespass on adjacent private property.
I would like to share one issue of special concern to our family, public boating access. There are some property owners adjacent to county access areas that have put pressure on our County Commissioners to sell or close access to these properties. Once these public lands are lost, they are most likely gone forever. Public access on the Swan River and Lake areas are probably the most threatened. This is especially unfortunate since there is already very limited public access. For example, there is only one non-fee public access on Swan Lake’s 10-mile eastern shore and two that support floating on 13 miles of the Swan River between Swan Lake and the Bigfork dam. Hopefully, we can work together and find solutions to protect continued and respectful use of our public lands.
Craig McClure
Polson
Thoughts on education
It’s that time of year when parents begin to consider the best education option for their children. Some look at public school as their only option because that’s where they attended and it is “free” while others are exploring the alternatives. I would like to ask you to carefully reflect on the thought process of approaching this incredible responsibility of educating your child.
Are you intentional in your family educational decisions? What outcomes or goals do you have for your child? What qualities would you like to see grow in them in the next two, five or eight years? What is the most important character quality they should possess and how will you get them there?
These questions are for parents to decide, not any school or organization. The big question is not “where” your child is educated, but “how”. I encourage you to be actively involved in the progression of each aspect of your child’s growth, moral and intellectual development. You don’t have to have all the answers, nor even know all the questions. Partner with your school, teacher and administrators if you feel that public school is the best route for you. Ask the hard questions and don’t settle for “pat” answers. Maybe home schooling is the best decision for your family. Rest assured there are many resources available for that course of educating your child. Remember that there are several private schools operating in the valley as well.
The best part of this process is that you have a choice! Yes, you are not stuck with any one way to approach education. “How” you choose to teach your child is one decision that you shouldn’t take lightly.
Now is a great time to visit possibilities for your family. Look into kindergarten “round-ups”, school open houses or make an appointment to visit a class to see if it is a good fit for your family. This is a huge investment so take the time to research before you decide. If you are not pleased with the current situation your family is in, please consider other options. Don’t just assume one school is better than another if you haven’t visited or researched them.
Chris Bumgarner
Polson
Remember Easter
Last week as Joyce and I drove north from St. George, Utah on I-15, we enjoyed seeing the newborn calves and lambs in the fields. Our parents were ranchers; we were in 4-H activities in Ronan and in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, before our teen years. Joyce’s parents had their Hereford ranch on Mud Creek just west of the Ronan Airport, she attended Ronan schools from grade one to twelve and graduated in the class of 52’; my folks raised Shorthorns on Mud Lake Trail north east of Pablo, I graduated from Polson High in 51’. Since our marriage in 1955, we have lived in small towns and big cities; we’ve missed the ranch but we’ve served “the Lamb”.
Like John the Baptizer, who introduced Jesus to the multitudes of people who came out of the towns and cities to hear him, John said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29 NLT); Joyce and I left the ranch to go into the towns and cities (more than forty countries) to declare this wonderful Easter message, “the Lamb of God (Jesus) takes away the sin of the world”.
When Jesus is called “the Lamb”, we are reminded of his character; his purity, his gentleness, his meekness, the simplicity of his life, etc. He is indeed the “Lamb”. There is nothing harmful, harsh, or haughty about him. To those who know him, he is as sweet as a little lamb. However, the fact remains that when Jesus is called “the Lamb of God”, the reference is not primarily to his character, but to his substitutionary sacrifice as the world’s sin-bearer. John makes it so very clear, “he takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus did this when he died that first Easter weekend. “He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins – and not only our sins, but the sins of all the world” (I John 2:2 NLT). This Easter, we celebrate Jesus, “the Lamb of God”.
Harvey A. Town
Polson
A national philosophy?
On Facebook March 24, a friend of mine shared a John Ryder’s photo of a pretty young lady with long blond hair. Here is her provocative story:
“I am a Danish schoolteacher, making about $65,000 a year. We get free education, you don’t have to pay for going to a doctor, the hospital, and also are paying our students for getting the education they want.
We can afford to have our own house, a car, we all get 6 weeks vacation a year, and women get a year maternity leave when she has a baby, every time. ... Fathers get maternity leave too, just not that long. Everybody gets a pension from the age 65. I have lived in the U.S.A., but prefer the Danish way of taking care of everyone. Some may say we pay high taxes, maybe, but we get so much more than you get in the U.S.A.
You pay on average $8,500 per year in deductibles and many fees for healthcare. Your higher education is over $21,000 a year. We pay our students to learn. You have no job security, vacations, or any other benefits that we do.
Everyone in the world wants the American dream. Every Dane has that opportunity.”
I can just hear the voices and see the response letters saying: “Great, Bob, if you don’t like it, leave it!” I am only reporting here. I am not expressing a preference. I am just pointing out a very dramatic difference in a national philosophy in establishing policies and laws under which its citizens are to live. We, The People, each have the capacity to think for ourselves. Sometimes, however, even those majority thoughts and opinions are not represented in national policies and laws.
Bob McClellan
Polson