Get informed at GOP debate

Politics may not be for everyone, but voting is — and being an informed voter is the primary responsibility of every citizen.

The Daily Inter Lake — along with the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce, KCFW/KECI-TV, the Flathead Business & Industry Association and the Flathead Building Association — will co-host a debate featuring the GOP candidates for governor on Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center.

So far, five candidates have accepted the invitation — Rick Hill, Neil Livingstone, Jim Lynch, Ken Miller and Corey Stapleton. It promises to be an informative and important afternoon. The Inter Lake’s managing editor, Frank Miele, and Steve Fetveit of KCFW will be on hand as moderators, and audience members may be able to ask questions as well, depending on time availability.

There is a charge at the door because the Politics at the PAC sessions always begin with a lovely catered lunch. The Chamber asks that you RSVP by Monday at 862-3501 if you wish to to attend lunch.

Sometimes, it does take a village to make a difference in the life of a child.

The child is Caleb Speed, a 6-year-old Evergreen youth with cystic fibrosis. The village is Glacier High School, which undertook a project to remake Caleb’s bedroom as part of the Special Spaces program.

From painting to sewing to fundraising, hundreds of students, several different classes and a variety of student organizations were involved in making the room a reality.

And last weekend teachers and administrators were hard at work putting the finishing touches on the project.

The project was boosted, too, by generous donations of labor and materials from local businesses and civic groups.

On Sunday, the finished product — a motocross-themed dream room — was unveiled for the Speed family.

From the checkered floor to the red dressers embellished with metal diamond plating and casters to mimic Snap-On tool chests, this room was created from the ground up.

This was a great community-service project for all involved. The lessons students learned from this exercise in altruism are bound to be more powerful than most book learning.

While on the subject of Glacier High School, we should give kudos to Glacier senior Kendrick Lee and his singing ability.

Lee is headed to Washington, D.C., in June to sing with the All-National Honor Ensembles mixed choir. That choir puts Lee in pretty exalted company among the top high school singers in the country.

One more reason to cheer for our local students, who always seem to go one step beyond.