Vietnam wall a moving experience
The half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on display in Whitefish is a moving tribute to those who perished in the Vietnam War.
It’s a wonderful opportunity not only to pay our respects to those who served so gallantly, but also to hear the stories of surviving veterans and reflect on a war that took the lives of 58,272 military personnel from 1957 to 1975.
Whitefish VFW Post 276 is hosting the four-day display at Grouse Mountain Lodge that runs through Sunday. Many other military organizations are helping out to make sure this “healing wall” is a poignant experience for all who attend. Our thanks to everyone who helped bring this moving memorial to Whitefish, and to all who have served, or are serving their country in military service.
The airport issue
If you want to know more about the debate over Kalispell City Airport, a meeting Tuesday is the place to be.
The Kalispell Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Tuesday at the Red Lion Hotel Kalispell will feature perspectives on the airport from Jim Lynch and Chad Graham.
Lynch formerly was director of the Montana Department of Transportation while Graham heads the Kalispell Planning Board and led a petition drive to get the airport question on November’s ballot.
Kalispell voters are being asked whether or not to uphold the City Council’s decision to upgrade the airport.
The discussion on Tuesday, sponsored by the Daily Inter Lake, promises to be an informative opening salvo in the run-up to Kalispell citizens’ decision in November.
Contact the Chamber at 758-2803 for reservations or more information.
Lease reversal welcome
The outpouring of opposition to oil and gas leases on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation may have helped convince tribal leaders to do the right thing: cancel the leases.
The tribe surely has the right to develop its resources as it sees fit, but fortunately the Blackfeet people regard Chief Mountain and the area around it as a sacred site. For many folks off the reservation, the prospect of oil rigs less than two miles from Glacier National Park also is not appealing.
We recall former Glacier Superintendent Chas Cartwright describing how Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota drastically changed because of oil and gas development on that park’s perimeter. For Glacier, a good degree of separation from oil and gas development is appropriate, and about 2,200 tribal members who signed a petition opposing the leases seem to have a similar opinion.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.