Trouble with a capital 'T'

It was kind of like a scene out of “The Music Man.” You just need to change the lyrics a bit to get a sense of the “terrible, terrible trouble” confronting Evergreen:

“Trouble, oh we got trouble,

Right here in River City!

With a capital ‘T’

That rhymes with ‘P’

And that stands for Pool...”

Substitute Evergreen for River City, and Bingo for Pool, and you are aware of the “caliber of disaster” that was narrowly averted by the state’s Gambling Investigation Bureau recently when it cracked down on the Evergreen PTO’s — shudder! — family bingo night.

Forget about the fact that it was a fundraiser. Forget about the fact that admission was by donation only. Forget about the fact that everyone had an equal chance to play and thus to win. It was still Gambling with a capital G and that rhymes with T and that spells TROUBLE!

Or maybe it was just plain and simple bureaucratic overkill.

Apparently the state hasn’t learned much in the three years since the gambling police raided a Whitefish antique store and hauled off two Old West-style roulette tables and other assorted “collectible contraband.” That case needed a new law to set matters right, and the same outcome may be needed this time so that “family night” is no longer seen as a threat to the social order.

Evergreen community members are working to get the state to reconsider its gambling laws so that children can participate in bingo again. We wish them luck.

IT’S ELECTION TIME in the Flathead Valley.

Although the official election day is June 8, balloting began on Monday with the first mailing of absentee ballots to voters. That means voting is well under way.

For the past three weeks, the Inter Lake has been running a series of stories detailing the choices voters face in the primary election. Go to www.dailyinterlake.com and look through the Local Elections section for the complete coverage. We encourage voters to look carefully at the candidates in all the races.

There are important choices to be made from the legislative level to the judiciary, where voters will narrow the field for Flathead County’s new district judge.

And in the contest for sheriff (one that has become interestingly contentious lately), the winner of the three-person primary is unopposed in the general election.

CONGRATULATIONS to Raleigh Flint and his crew at the Columbia Falls Pizza Hut. The restaurant has been ranked the best Pizza Hut in the country, beating out 6,200 other franchise restaurants for the top honor.

Flint started as a delivery driver for the Kalispell Pizza Hut in 1989 and has worked his way up the ladder to general manager of the Columbia Falls restaurant. His management style of taking care of what he refers to as the “three C’s” — customer, crew and company — has proven to be a winning combination.