No-name bridge does the job

Inter Lake editorial

Once again, you can get there from here.

Last week, drivers could cross the Flathead River east of Kalispell for the first time in months when a new bridge opened across the river.

The completion of the 740-foot-long, $8.8 million span was a relief to drivers who since spring 2008 had to follow a circuitous route after the Old Steel Bridge was closed and while the new bridge was being built.

The sparkling new bridge is notable not just because it cuts travel time and gives people a more direct route from east to west, but it also features the largest drilled shaft ever sunk in Montana for a project such as this - a 12-foot diameter tube of concrete poured 140 feet into the ground near the east end of the bridge.

Now all the bridge needs is a name. Old Steel Bridge was fitting for a 114-year-old piece of history, but it doesn't quite fit for the new river crossing. Any ideas?

FOR SOME TIME, there has been talk about a possible new main Flathead County Library.

Now there's something to look at - conceptual drawings for three possible sites drawn up by local architectural firms.

The drawings, featured in the Inter Lake last week, are to be displayed in branch libraries into October.

The next move is up to the public, to review the drawings and let library officials know what they think.

In the words of a member of the library facilities committee:

"What does the public want? Do they even want a new main library? And if so, which drawing from the architects is closest to what they want? Or is it a combination of them?"

It's sort of a People's Choice situation, particularly important considering that the people would be paying for a new library if one were to be built.

FLATHEAD COUNTY has finally been hit with swine flu.

It hasn't been devastating certainly, but it is worrisome at the least, considering the kinds of problems that have been encountered in other locales - including overworked medical institutions and a depleted work force.

No one knows whether H1N1, as it is officially known, will ever evolve into a more serious threat to public health and safety, but we can all take precautions to make sure that it doesn't.

Follow normal healthy practices if you develop flu symptoms, such as frequently washing your hands and avoiding hand-to-hand contact with other people. Also, treat yourself and others with respect by staying home and taking care of yourself if you become sick. There's no reason to spread the flu to those who don't have it yet.

Use common sense, and we will probably all get through this without a problem.