Wanted: Someone to adopt big bridge

Does anybody have a use for a 111-year-old bridge?

This isn't some Internet scam: The Montana Department of Transportation is advertising for anyone who wants to adopt the Old Steel Bridge near Kalispell.

It's free, and the state will chip in around $50,000 to help pay moving expenses for the 500-foot-long bridge.

What's the catch?

In a sense, it's free only to a good home; the state will only give it to someone or some group that will use it and maintain it, not just cut it up for scrap metal.

The challenge, of course, is finding a suitable spot for a 79-ton arch of history that was the first steel bridge spanning the Flathead River.

It will be interesting to see if some enterprising bridge fans can come up with a way to preserve the Old Steel Bridge.

If not, the 1894 structure will be taken down by a contractor when a new bridge is built in the next few years.

It's not just law officers and soldiers who can be heroes. Lots of ordinary citizens have the opportunity, too, but we don't know how many of us would have been as quick-thinking as Mark Macy was the other day.

Macy, a 19-year-old box boy at Smith's in Kalispell, was working Wednesday night when he saw what looked to be a purse snatching. He chased down the apparent culprit and recovered the purse for the woman in her 60s who had been robbed.

Police have already honored Macy, and we encourage others to also take the time to thank Macy for getting involved when he could have easily just looked the other way. Good job, Mark.

Hundreds of Flathead Valley students got an eyeful and an earful this week.

They were on hand for fast-paced multimedia presentations aimed at addressing teenage alcohol use.

The shows were sponsored in a collaborative effort by a variety of local groups. It's all part of a worthwhile effort to change the attitudes of people - particularly children - about drinking.

It's never too soon to teach people smart lessons in hopes they can avoid the hard ones.