Generosity makes valley better place

Generosity is the lifeblood of a small community. And even though the Flathead is growing, it's still a small community.

Therefore we would like to salute a couple of recent examples of generosity.

One is from Loren Kreck of Columbia Falls, who donated easement rights on his riverfront property to provide a route for a public trail.

It was Kreck's way of affirming his support for public access, and the easement - 370 feet along the entire length of his property - opens the way for a major link in the Columbia Falls recreational trail system.

The second incidence of philanthropy comes from Annette and Harold Simmons, who are donating $1 million to help build a new breast-cancer facility at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

The new center will be designed to integrate the many different specialists involved in treating breast cancer.

This promises to be a worthwhile addition to the valley's medical offerings.

We appreciate the generosity involved in both these donations, which undoubtedly will help make the Flathead a better place.

The spate of fatal traffic accidents in our area recently (as well as many other serious crashes that weren't necessarily tragic) should give pause to everyone traveling our busy highways and streets this summer.

The culprits range from drunk drivers to reckless drivers to distracted drivers (Hang up your cell phone!) to those who simply disregard basic rules of the road such as stopping for stop signs. Sometimes, it's true, the weather can be a factor, whether from fierce storms or equally fierce heat - but weather shouldn't be an excuse for poor driving.

It takes longer to get to places around the valley during the summer, when there are a lot more motorists on the road.

So take some more time, slow down a little and be careful out there.

It has been a long week for weather effects in Northwest Montana, with people alternately broiling in the heat and then getting battered by severe storms.

There's still plenty of cleanup left from last week's storm blast - downed trees are still scattered around yards and undoing the effects of the ill winds may take a while.

But it was refreshing to see that people's sense of humor managed to survive the storm.

In Libby, where the town's landmark drive-in theater screen was leveled by high winds, the theater sign (at least it still was standing) was changed to read:

"Now Playing: Gone With the Wind."