þ Money move good news for Sun Road

Finally, it appears the money s in the bag for Glacier National Park s Going-to-the-Sun Road.

A whopping $50 million for Sun Road reconstruction was approved by Congress last year, but went missing because of an error in the legislation s wording.

After months of recent legislative wrangling, the funding was restored last week as part of a government pensions bill that was sent to the president for approval.

Without that money, the biggest maintenance project to come along in Glacier in decades would have been in limbo.

Sun Road has been kept up through patchwork repairs since it was built in 1932. The reconstruction project is long overdue and so is the money to pay for it. The revival of the $50 million means Glacier now has 70 to 80 percent of the money needed for the massive road job.

The largest segment of the three-phase Sun Road reconstruction goes to bid this fall, with work to start next spring. Improving Glacier s famous alpine roadway can t come soon enough.

One has to wonder every now and then whether Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., knows he is in a tight race for re-election.

Burns recent tirade against grunt firefighters at the Billings airport is exactly the type of behavior that a candidate should avoid at all costs. But Burns didn t, and he has since paid a price, coming off as an armchair fire boss who has never picked up a Pulaski.

Burns has been lagging in the polls against his challenger, Democrat Jon Tester, and this outburst certainly isn t going to improve things for him.

IT WOULDN T be summer in the Flathead without the Northwest Montana Fair. This year s theme, Summer Days & Country Ways epitomizes the weeklong celebration and its connection to our rural heritage.

Horse-racing fans are no doubt disappointed that racing has been canceled this year, but fair officials have gone the extra mile to fill in with new and expanded activities.

The long-standing Indian relay races will be jazzed up with a powwow, and draft-horse competition expands to two days. Country music lovers have a choice of two top-notch concerts this year: Neal McCoy or Mark Chesnutt.

All of the old favorites still will be there the carnival rides, funnel cakes, cotton candy and animal exhibits. The fair is one of our best social events of the season.

We ll see you there.