An 'uphill' battle resolved

Whitefish Mountain Resort’s move to loosen restrictions for the winter uphill hiking activity known as skinning seems like a reasonable compromise to an earlier policy that many recreationalists had deemed heavy-handed.

After considering a wealth of public comment over an initial policy change that had restricted skinning to one route, the resort has provided increased opportunities for participation in this popular winter pastime.

Increased reports of recreationalists getting dangerously close to grooming machines and winch cable systems prompted resort officials to rethink the policy in the first place. Now that Whitefish Mountain Resort has agreed to soften the restrictions, it’s up to those who choose to hike up the snow-covered slopes to respect the rules and follow the guidelines. That way everybody wins.

GOOD NEWS for parents and students who need to get to Glacier High School from town — the long awaited “access road” from Reserve Loop to the school’s parking lot will finally be built.

Thanks to a confluence of good karma, the road will be built for a lot less than the $400,000 originally foreseen when the school was being built.

That’s partly because of lower construction costs, but also because of an innovative partnership with Flathead Valley Community College that. Students from the college’s’ heavy-equipment operator program will do most of the work as part of their training. There’s also a grant of $22,500 from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to throw in the mix.

All of that together means that by the time October rolls around, people visiting or attending Glacier High will have a much easier time of it.

A KALISPELL woman’s frugal ways will go a long way to benefit future students at Oklahoma Baptist University. Faye Hughes Van Sickle, who died in January, left a gift of $857,000 to the university for scholarships and an academic position.

She attended the school as part of the class of 1947, and always saw the value in a university where students can get an education in a Christian environment small enough for students to get to know their classmates.

OBU Vice President Will Smallwood summed up Van Sickle’s gift saying “there will be people in the kingdom of God who Faye never knew who will be there because of her legacy.”

A gift that has the power to transcend this world is indeed noteworthy.