Kudos for KRMC project

The expansion at Kalispell Regional Medical Center with a new $42 million surgical tower is certainly good news for the community.

It’s meant jobs for an extended period of construction — starting in March 2011 and going forward all the way to February 2013. It also solidifies the hospital’s role as a lynchpin of the local economy by making Kalispell a significant magnet for doctors and for patients.

In addition to the excellent new facilities for surgery in a number of specialties, the tower also includes room for future expansion of the emergency room from its adjacent quarters.

All in all, a very impressive project which will pay dividends to our community for years to come.

A $198,000 GIFT to the Whitefish Community Library was welcome news for the fledgling independent library.

Longtime Whitefish summer resident Harriet Glanville, who died Jan. 1, left the generous bequest to the library. Glanville was a physical education instructor in California and played golf competitively through the years. She began spending summers in Whitefish after her retirement.

The money no doubt will go a long way toward solidifying the library as an important community amenity for Whitefish.

The Whitefish Community Library opened July 5, 2011, and is owned and operated by the city of Whitefish. The move to an independent facility came after the City Council voted to end its agreement with the county for library services.

THE GENEROSITY of our local business community was also in the spotlight last week when volunteers from a number of businesses stepped forward to make improvements at Flathead High School.

The “Fix the Flathead” effort spearheaded by Tom Kern of Western Building Center is a bootstrap response to a recent failed $4.1 million levy that would have renovated the aging high school building. In addition to the volunteer labor, businesses chipped in about $12,000 worth of supplies and materials to make needed repairs.

As Kern noted, rural residents historically have put their own time and money into improvements that benefit the community. And in most smaller towns the schools are the heartbeat of those communities.