Thank a hero from search and rescue

Is there any way to adequately thank someone who rescues people we love?

Local search and rescue members volunteer their time, their training, their gear and a lot of hard physical work. They sacrifice time with their families, time at jobs that actually pay, and the comfort of a warm bed to do what they do.

What they do is often invisible to the community. Rarely do we get to see the actual results of a long, successful rescue as we did last week when two teenagers from the Midwest emerged from the wilds of the Jewel Basin.

Because they were young and strong, they survived two brutal nights in the woods virtually unscathed. Rescuers were able to take them straight to their waiting parents for a reunion that tacitly describes why these hard-working volunteers answer their pagers when they're needed.

If you know someone who is a member of one of the local search-and-rescue units, tell them "thank you."

Antiwar activists holding their Saturday peace vigils in Depot Park have become part of the fabric of Kalispell life over the past two years. Rain or shine, snow or wind, the small but faithful group has demonstrated on the street corner, carrying signs that plead not only for peace but also for an end to the war in Iraq.

One has to admire that level of conviction.

These self-described patriots carry American flags to symbolize their commitment to the United States, and their mission is clear: Make peace, not war.

Issues of peace and war are never as clear-cut as they seem. It gets complicated. It gets political. Sometimes people even take views that are unpopular and are criticized for it.

But one thing is clear. We should be ever mindful that our ability to come together and peaceably protest our government's actions is a right that should not be taken for granted.

Even if you don't like the protesters, you should respect them.

We first heard of Will Hammerquist a few years ago when he was a freshman at Montana State University and made a public cause of of preserving Kalispell's Old Steel Bridge.

Although he was unsuccessful, it was obvious that the young man would have a future in some kind of public service. That career has now commenced, as Hammerquist, 25, is now a policy adviser on the lieutenant governor's staff.

And he is joined in Helena by his boyhood chum, Adam DeYoung, who was hired as a policy adviser with the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity. DeYoung is a graduate of the University of Montana.

Both men grew up in the Fair-Mont-Egan neighborhood, and they attribute their interest in politics and public service to their upbringing in an area with a strong sense of community.

It demonstrates once again that Montana values are what make us strong, and it gives us hope that those values will continue to be passed from generation to generation.