The generosity of the Flathead

When it comes to being generous, one might be hard-pressed to find a place as benevolent as the Flathead Valley.

Here are some recent examples of selflessness that affirm that status:

- A Kalispell art collector has donated more than 40 paintings, with a value of more than $200,000, to the Hockaday Museum of Art. This is the largest single donation of artwork the Kalispell museum has ever received and includes prominent pieces of Western art.

- The plight of millions of tsunami victims was heeded by many across the valley. From the student-led efforts at nearly every school (Bigfork alone raised more than $5,300 in a single day on Wednesday) to the thousands of local dollars pouring into the Red Cross, to community events such as concerts and auctions, Flathead people are putting their money where it counts.

- And don't forget the recent success of fund-raising campaigns for the Boy Scouts' Melita Island and the local United Way.

All of these instances of philanthropy large and small are evidence that generosity in this valley knows no bounds.

It was reassuring the other day to see the Montana Supreme Court conclude that Flathead Valley Community College can finally go forward with construction of the campus expansion approved by voters in December 2002.

The court slapped down the latest attempt at obstruction from plaintiffs who have again and again been rejected by lower courts.

Could this be the end of the college's long legal nightmare?

We would hope so, but we also know that those who have been challenging the college bond issue are not easily deterred by legal rejection. They seem far more motivated by publicity.

College opponents clearly don't have the law on their side, but seem to have endless resources for mischief, so we would not be surprised to see them back in court again.

Two former Kalispell men have been indicted on 12 felony charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering involving investments in a high-tech business.

The criminal charges are the latest and most serious in a long line of legal sanctions leveled on David Tacke for his VenueTech Systems business and subsidiaries.

As far back as 1985, he was reprimanded by the state of Montana for questionable securities practices. At one time, he was facing lawsuits in five states and Canada.

And Alberta in 1995 ordered Tacke to stop trading, citing violations of Canadian securities laws.

The response each time, apparently, was just to change the name of the company and continue selling stock.

Now Tacke and Curtis Barton have been indicted by a grand jury over what is alleged to be an ongoing securities scheme, collecting $4 million from investors.

We don't know how many investors may have been hurt by the alleged financial chicanery, although hundreds of people bought securities in Tacke's venture.

The lesson in these criminal charges - as we wrote two years ago when the state ordered a halt to the sale of unregistered securities by Venue Tech - is simple: Investors need to do their homework before shelling out money to supposedly promising companies.