State efforts pay off at Lone Pine

There's nothing easy about coming up with money for new state park lands, and in the Flathead, there's nothing easy about finding the land itself.

But Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has, commendably, pulled it off at Lone Pine State Park.

The park is now 40 acres larger, thanks to a recent acquisition of neighboring property that comes on the heels of a 40-acre purchase in 2001. State officials also were successful in getting money to modify and expand the Lone Pine Visitor Center and carry out a forest health project on 70 acres at the park.

It's impressive, considering there is fierce competition for limited funds for such endeavors.

And it is worthwhile: Lone Pine is an increasingly popular state park because of its proximity to Kalispell. The recent investments in the park are entirely justified.

It is worth noting that the traffic light at U.S. 93 and Montana 82 has now been installed.

It is a beacon of hope for Somers residents, who implored the state to install the light after the death of 14-year-old Dane Shattuck as he tried to cross the wide U.S. 93 highway on his bike last July.

The hope clearly is that no one else will needlessly perish.

As our community grows, it is important that we adapt to changing requirements for safety. This intersection was clearly dangerous, not just for bicyclists and pedestrians, but also for vehicles turning left onto U.S. 93.

The danger cannot be eliminated altogether, but the money spent on the new traffic signals is a small price to pay if even one life is saved in the future.

Kim Jones is an Army mom on a mission.

Her mission is to get all 200 men and women in her son's infantry unit "adopted" by people in the Flathead Valley.

That adoption means sending letters and care packages to ensure that no one returns to the tent empty-handed day after day.

Jones' aim is to make mail call more joyful during the unit's 15-month deployment in Kalsu, Iraq.

To that end she has been distributing names of soldiers to people willing to send letters or packages and establish a connection between soldiers and their homeland far away.

This is a great way to show support for our troops.