Local teams make hometowns proud
Another year of prep sports has drawn to a close, and once again Northwest Montana has gotten a healthy share of championship trophies and banners.
Congratulations to the Polson boys for claiming their first ever Class A state tennis championship, sharing the title with Billings Central. And kudos to Whitefish for claiming the eighth boys track championship in school history.
Logan Harwood had an outstanding individual performance for the Whitefish boys, winning the 200- and 800-meter runs along with anchoring the 400-meter relay win, and also finishing fourth in the 100. A truly inspiring performance.
Sprucing up Kalispell
Kalispell is taking the right step by offering a new facade improvement program to help spruce up downtown storefronts.
Property owners within the Kalispell Downtown Business Improvement District can get matching grants of up to $5,000 for a wide variety of projects, from replacing awnings to repairing hazardous sections of sidewalks.
The downtown area is vitally important to the city, not only from an economic standpoint but also from a historic perspective. Some of the facades downtown are in desperate need of being spruced up, so whatever improvements can be made to enhance and preserve the beauty of that area will be well worth the investment of time and money.
Take bears seriously
Whitefish city leaders would be wise to respond to recommendations about how to address a growing trend of bear/human conflicts in the city, because it’s a trend that’s likely to get worse if no action is taken.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks bear specialist Erik Wenum recently urged the City Council to expand an ordinance that prohibits residents on the north side of town from putting out their garbage before 4 a.m. on pickup day. Wenum suggests that the ordinance needs to be applied citywide and to be better enforced.
Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial correctly noted that the almost constant presence of bears in town is really not a bear problem, it’s a people problem. Getting residents to do everything they can to remove potential bear attractants is the solution.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.