Honoring our local soldiers called into action

Although we may not hear as much about Iraq as a few years ago, it remains an active war zone where Americans continue to put their lives at risk, just as they do in Afghanistan.

This week, as many as 500 Montanans got word that their Army National Guard units are being mobilized for a one-year stint that will include 10 months in Iraq. Between 30 to 40 of those young soldiers will be from the Flathead Valley.

Montana Guard Brig. Gen. John Walsh announced Monday that he had received the order mobilizing this fall the 163rd Cavalry Regiment and the Company E -145th Forward Support Company.

The 163rd Cavalry functions as part of the 116th Brigade Combat Team based in Boise, and provides security to convoys moving supplies for the Overseas Contingency Operation.

We salute our local soldiers and pray for their safety as they go into harm’s way.

IT IS POIGNANT and so very fitting that the first public use of Whitefish’s new Emergency Services Center will be for former Whitefish Fire Chief Dave Sipe’s funeral on Saturday.

Sipe, who died April 25 after a 3 1/2-year battle with cancer, was a consummate firefighter who led by example and no doubt still would be fighting fires if illness hadn’t forced him to retire in 2008. He loved his job and his community, and Whitefish reciprocated by naming him City Government Worker of the Year four years ago.

He’ll be deeply missed. Community leaders and all-around great guys like Dave Sipe don’t come along often enough these days.

HIGH SCHOOL music makers aplenty have been tuning up the past two weeks for this weekend’s festival in Helena.

Top musicians perform their solos and ensembles today and Saturday in state competition.

More than 300 band, choir and orchestra students from Northwest Montana earned the right to perform in Helena by getting “superior” ratings on their efforts two weeks ago at the District Music Festival in Whitefish.

That festival, with 1,200 students from nine high schools, was a whirlwind of musical activity that featured 16 concert bands, 21 choirs, four orchestras and seven jazz bands — plus hundreds of soloists and small ensembles.

Now the best musicians from that festival move on to the finale in Helena.

Congratulations to all these hard-working young musicians (and their directors, teachers and parents).