Yippee! Farmers Market is back

Welcome back, old friend!

The Kalispell Farmers Market is back, after two weeks away. For the many hundreds of people who count on the market as part of their weekly spring and summertime ritual every Saturday, it was a very long two weeks indeed.

The market had lost its lease at the Kalispell Center Mall, but came up with a winning location that may be even better — in the north parking lot at Flathead Valley Community College.

Thanks to the college for a community-based decision in making this space available at a very reasonable rate, and thanks to the Farmers Market board for making sure a longtime tradition will continue to provide hours of family fun into the foreseeable future.

Railroad project on track

Here’s hoping for success for a local grant application for money that could bring a major railroad project to fruition.

The city of Kalispell and Flathead County Economic Development Authority are pursuing a fast-track grant application for federal transportation funding.

The money could become the linchpin in the ambitious two-pronged plans to remove railroad tracks that bisect Kalispell and build a rail-served park at the east edge of town.

Whether or not the city and the authority get the grant — and there is plenty of competition across the country for that money — the rail-park process is moving along at an encouraging pace.

There may be big developments soon in the rail area that will be welcome news locally.

A lesson in love

Leave it to a 5-year-old to figure out how to make life a little brighter for young cancer patients — give them a teddy bear to hug.

We’re so impressed with Emma Anderson of Kalispell, who is the small force behind the Cuddle Bear Project, which is gaining momentum. She has been buying stuffed bears with her allowance money and sending them to patients at the University of Washington Cancer Center, where a good friend of her family was undergoing treatment.

Emma is now adding bears (new, not used) donated by community members to her shipments, and hopes to send bears to other hospitals as time goes on.

This young girl displays the kind of empathy and compassion we need more of. She’s gently reminded us that the spirit of giving is what truly matters in life.

Got bears to give? E-mail Emmascuddlebears@hotmail.com

Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.