Unwind at the wooden boat show
Take a trip down memory lane this weekend at the Whitefish Woody Weekend II antique and wooden boat show to be staged at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake.
The weather is cooperating for this year’s event, and there’ll be no better place to relax and unwind than on Whitefish Lake. Spectators can view a parade of the vintage watercraft as they cruise around the lake tonight from 8 to 9 p.m., and on Saturday boat lovers can get an up-close look at the various classic “woodys” from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at The Lodge.
Thanks to the Big Sky Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society for gathering these beauties for all to enjoy. And mark your calendars for the classic boat show Aug. 3-4 in Lakeside. That’s a dandy show, too.
Matt Tokarz: A leap ahead
Congratulations are due to a top track performer who hails from Kalispell.
Flathead High School athlete Matt Tokarz leaped into history this spring and now has been named Montana’s top prep athlete in his sport.
Tokarz was named the 2012-13 Gatorade Montana Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Last month, Tokarz not only won the Class AA long jump but uncorked the longest triple jump in Montana high school history — 48 feet, 9 1/2 inches — to win that event as well.
Tokarz, who graduated earlier this month from Flathead, is heading for Montana State University on a track scholarship. We expect we’ll be seeing more great achievements in college: His winning high school triple jump last month would have won the Big Sky Conference championship — by a foot and a half.
Fiscal prudence & just deserts
Our three county commissioners, all of whom campaigned on a platform of fiscal responsibility, were quite generous this week, giving county employees an even bigger pay raise than the recommended cost-of-living increase.
They gave themselves and other elected county officials a 3 percent raise as recommended by the Salary Compensation Board, and opened the checkbook even wider to dole out a 3.5 percent raise for the rest of the county workers. Traditionally, both groups of employees have gotten the same raises out of fairness.
We should note that these decisions came before a wage and salary study — probably to be completed early next year — that truly will gauge where county pay levels should be.
Granted, times are a little better economically now than they’ve been for several years, and county employees have suffered through belt-tightening. But so have the rest of us. We’re willing to bet most businesses haven’t been able to keep pace with cost-of-living adjustments but have found ways to do more work with fewer people.
Flathead County is fortunate to have a work force that is efficient and hard-working for the most part. We encourage the commissioners to always be mindful of what they promised — a well-researched and prudent budget.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.