Rosa Parks was example for us all

She was just a seamstress on a bus, but her resistance to racism sparked a revolution in America.

In 1955, Rosa Parks was told by a white man to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Ala.

She said no.

That simple act of defiance challenged the laws requiring separation of races in the South and sparked civil-rights activism that eventually brought down legally sanctioned racial discrimination.

Parks became known as the mother of the civil rights movement.

Parks died Monday at 92, but her legacy lives on.

These are not cheery numbers from a government loan program following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks: Roughly $1 of every $5 in loans is in default.

Thats $245 million in default of the $1.2 billion the Small Business Administration loaned out to more than 10,000 companies that said their business was hurt by the terror attacks.

The loans written off, according to The Associated Press, include $620,000 to a Maine broccoli farm, $986,000 to a Florida boat dealer and $992,000 to an Atlanta hotel.

One has to wonder just how much these varied ventures really were feeling the effects of 9/11. On the other hand, the purpose of the loan programs was to make sure that the economy stayed active despite the increased terrorism threat. It will never be possible to determine what positive effect the program had either.

Quick action by a pair of sheriffs officers saved a mans life last summer.

Sgt. Brad Stahlberg and deputy Ray Young tackled a man as he tried to jump off the Old Steel Bridge with a rope around his neck.

Young and Stahlberg deservedly received lifesaving awards last week for their heroic rescue.

The community can be proud we have them working for us, Sheriff Jim Dupont said.

We are indeed proud of them.

We are proud, too, of the efforts of our local National Guard unit deployed to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast.

Soldiers of the Kalispell-based 495th Motor Battalion have been delivering the goods in New Orleans.

Specifically, 495th members have delivered 3.8 million bags of ice, 4 million gallons of water, 2 million regular meals and 800,000 military Meals Ready to Eat.

That was just part of their official duties. In their off time, our Guard soldiers found time to help a Louisiana Guardsman whose house had been clobbered by the hurricane.

We salute their humanitarian mission.