College leaders deserve extra credit

Flathead Valley Community College may have had a change of luck.

After spending the last two years tied up in court over a lawsuit that tried to stop the long-overdue expansion of the campus, FVCC moved ahead last week with a bond sale to fund several new buildings and a variety of other improvements.

Congratulations to college President Jane Karas and the board for sticking to their guns during a tough fight.

Another bit of exciting news also surfaced at the Feb. 17 board meeting. Developer Phil Harris is proposing a land swap with the college that could greatly expand the size of the campus.

Harris, owner of Signature Theaters, is building a commercial development between Target and the college. He wants 25 acres which the college owns to the north end of its existing campus, so he could expand his project.

In return, Harris would give the college cash plus 109 acres of Stillwater River frontage that runs along the eastern border of the college to West Reserve Drive.

Negotiations are under way to determine the final shape of the exchange, but it looks like a significant opportunity for the college and the community to improve.

It's homecoming time again in the Flathead Valley.

If all goes as planned, the 117 soldiers of the 639th Quartermaster Company of the Montana National Guard will return from Iraq next week.

This will be another chance for the Flathead to give a big welcome home to its citizen-soldiers who have been deployed since December 2003.

Miles of yellow ribbon already have been strung, and businesses and others are preparing welcome-home decorations.

Now all that's left is the grand parade, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday (due to security concerns, the precise arrival date hasn't been confirmed).

We encourage everyone to come out and cheer on our neighbors returning from the war zone.

Kudos to Flathead High School choir director Kevin Allen-Schmid.

Moved by a news story last summer about the river rescue of a 3-year-old child, he arranged an entire concert about the event. It is creative, powerful, and original. Tonight at 7:30 p.m., choirs from the high school and Kalispell Junior High School will present their musical illustration in the auditorium of the high school. Admission is a free-will offering to Kalispell Regional Medical Center's ALERT helicopter, which helped save the little boy's life.

This concert is intended as a tribute to rescuers and medical professionals, but unintentionally sings the praises, too, of a talented and creative teacher and his very gifted students.