Fire hall upgrade is necessary

Inter Lake editorial

The Evergreen Fire Department is hoping voters will see the need for a new $4.4 million fire hall to handle a growing number of fire and emergency calls in that district.

If the proof is in the numbers, then it certainly seems like support for the project is warranted. The number of calls to the Evergreen department has grown from 88 in 1997 to 903 in 2007. Evergreen is on track for a record year, with 789 fire and medical calls already logged during the first seven months of 2008.

The idea of raising taxes isn't popular anytime, and it's even more difficult during tough economic times. But what voters need to remember is that a new fire hall is not frivolous spending. Having sufficient space to house equipment and personnel that are on the front lines of saving lives is as basic as it gets.

A group of Columbia Falls Girl Scouts needs a round of applause for giving the LaSalle Grange Hall a much-needed facelift. The girls are working to earn their Gold Awards, the highest honor offered by the Girl Scouts.

The grange hall has a long history in the Columbia Falls area and is worthy of some sprucing up. Inter Lake readers consistently ask us to write good news about local teens, and this is a great example of Flathead youths doing their part in the community-service arena.

It didn't get a whole lot of attention, coming out in the midst of political conventions, but a major milestone has been reached in Iraq that is perhaps the best evidence of success for the U.S. "surge" strategy.

The Marine commander for western Iraq, Maj. Gen. John Kelly, announced that there will be an incremental troop drawdown from Anbar Province, where some of the bloodiest battles in Iraq have been fought. Anbar used to be Exhibit A for those convinced that Iraq was a lost cause.

But a combination of developments, arguably spurred on by the surge of U.S. troops into the country last year, have changed things in Anbar.

Kellly did not specify numbers or timetables, and he should not be expected to, but he did say that, "the Marine force will be smaller soon" in Anbar.

Troop levels have been drawn down elsewhere in western Iraq, from 37,000 in February to 25,000 now. This is good news, and even those who vigorously opposed the surge should admit it.