Trail program a valuable asset

The county commissioners made the right choice in awarding the Gateway to Glacier Trail project all of the county’s remaining federal trails money.

The nonprofit trails group will get $845,811 to build 6.8 miles of trail along U.S. 2 from Coram to West Glacier, and plans to dedicate the trail to the late Jim Dupont. It’s a fitting tribute to Dupont, who lived in West Glacier, served as Flathead County sheriff for 16 years and was in his first term as a county commissioner when he died in March.

Gateway to Glacier volunteers have been working on the trail project extensively for the past couple of years. They’ve garnered huge community support throughout the Canyon and have raised roughly $59,000 toward the required local match for the project.

This is the last allocation Flathead County will make through the Community Transportation Enhancement Program, a federal reimbursement program that is being discontinued. From here on, the distribution of federal money will be called the Transportation Alternatives Program and local government entities will have to vie for the money on a competitive basis.

We hope the county will continue to keep trail development at the forefront, even though it may be more difficult to secure federal money for local trails and more money may have to come out of county coffers. Connecting our communities with safe walkable and bikeable routes is a wise investment.

 THERE ARE Christmas light displays, and then there’s Adam Birks’ Christmas light display. If you haven’t ventured into Northridge subdivision to see his impressive sight-and-sound show, now’s the time to get going.

Birks has devised a synchronized show of 15,000 mostly white and green lights set to lively holiday tunes. Motorists driving by in the evening can tune their car radio to 97.9 to listen to the programmed music and see the lights blink in time with the tunes.

Birks, a longtime molecular diagnostics supervisor at Kalispell Regional Healthcare, is using his decorating moxie to raise money for a good cause. He’s put out a collection box to raise money for the Kalispell Regional Healthcare Foundation’s pediatric fund.

The display is located at 139 Getty Drive, and if you can’t get there, check out a video clip of the extraordinary display at www.dailyinterlake.com.

ANOTHER impressive Christmas light display is back this year. The annual Rose Crossing luminarias will be lit at dusk on Christmas Eve. The Evergreen Fire Department has taken over managing the display, a long-standing community tradition in the Flathead.

Luminarias may be purchased for $5 each from the fire department (call 752-4636) and money raised will benefit the Evergreen School Fitness Teams. This is a wonderful way to participate in a Christmas tradition and help a good cause at the same time.