Well-child visits may be lifesaver

Those well-child visits to the doctor are for more than updating shots and checking a toddler's development.

Although those functions are important, taking the children to the doctor also can be a life-saving measure.

Witness the case of the 3-year-old grandson of a Kalispell nurse. During a routine doctor's visit, a tumor was discovered behind the boy's kidney, leading to quick treatment for the cancer.

Before the exam, the tot had no symptoms of any illness.

This may seem like an extreme incident, but it underscores the need for parents to take their children in for regular well-child visits. Most health problems, if caught early, are much easier to treat.

Well-child visits also are critical for health-care professionals to track development of children - and they are good opportunities for parents to get their questions answered.

A key legal point has been resolved in a 24-year-old Flathead County case - but there are still plenty of unanswered questions.

Last week Jerry Ambrozuk changed his innocent plea to "no contest" to negligent homicide for the 1982 death of his girlfriend Dianne Babcock. That plea effectively convicts Ambrozuk in the drowning death of Babcock after Ambrozuk landed a plane on Bitterroot Lake. The plane sank with Babcock inside; Ambrozuk fled and was a fugitive for more than two decades.

The next step in this long-running crime saga will be Ambrozuk's sentencing March 8. He faces a prison term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to $50,000. But the most important part of the sentencing hearing may be getting answers to the many questions surrounding the fateful 1982 plane flight - and Ambrozuk's subsequent flight from the law.

There are a host of questions that law enforcement, the public and, most importantly, Babcock's family would like to have answered.

We hope the truth finally comes out on March 8.

Another long-running saga has involved the county's new growth policy, which may be a month away from final passage.

The county commissioners OK'd a resolution of intent this week which gives people until March 9 to submit written comments on the revised growth policy. After that it's up to the commissioners to vote final approval.

Many people have concerns about various parts of the growth policy, but it should be stressed that those concerns still can be addressed after the policy is adopted. The policy is meant to be a flexible blueprint, so everyone involved can keep working to make it better.

Instead of the end of the process, the adoption of the growth policy is really the start, and continued public involvement is needed.