Relay for Life is all about hope

If you're in need of inspiration, head to Legends Field this evening and cheer on cancer survivors as they make a ceremonial lap around the track to kick off the annual Relay for Life.

Talk to some of them afterward and listen, really listen to their stories of survival. Chances are you'll be moved to help support the fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society.

The national organization estimates there will be 1,372,910 new cancer cases in the United States this year and 570,280 cancer deaths, or about 1,500 per day.

Cancer is certainly a disease still to be reckoned with, but tonight, as relay participants spend 14 hours walking to raise money for cancer research, it's all about hope: hope for new cures, and hope for more and more survivors to beat the odds.

There were tears and cheers Wednesday in the Columbia Falls High School gymnasium.

But instead of being for teams on the court, the emotional outpouring was for the funeral of Larry Schmautz, the beloved teacher and coach who was at the center of the glory days of girls basketball in Columbia Falls.

It was in that gym where his teams captured the hearts of the community on the way to capturing a state championship. More than a few people were misty-eyed while reminiscing about the exploits of Larry and his girls.

Schmautz was remembered fondly as a coach, teacher, friend, father and husband.

And for most of the hundreds who gathered for him one last time in the gym, it was clear he had left us too soon.

It seems that frequently these days we report eye-popping numbers reflecting the pace of growth in the Flathead Valley.

But an unusual number surfaced this week: 12,000.

That's the number of used appliances (refrigerators, dishwashers, stoves, washers, dryers, etc.) that have piled up at the county landfill - in one year.

Considering there are around 34,000 households in the valley, that means a discarded major appliance for an average of one in three households.

We can only assume that most of those 12,000 were replaced with newer appliances, which would spell a pretty good economic boom for appliance retailers, too.

The big pile of old appliances is being smashed into desk-sized blocks by a compactor, and the 800 to 900 tons of material will go to a refinery to be shredded and mostly recycled.