Vote early or late, but vote smart

The election is upon us already.

Early voting started Wednesday for this fall’s municipal elections for Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish.

Whitefish is conducting an all-mail-ballot election, so ballots went out Wednesday and need to be returned by Nov. 5.

For Columbia Falls and Kalispell, absentee voting began Wednesday. At-the-polls voting will be Nov. 5.

All three cities have city council positions up for election, plus Kalispell voters are being asked whether or not to repeal a 2012 City Council decision to pursue an expansion of Kalispell City Airport.

That ballot question makes Kalispell’s election a little more important than usual as voters decide the future direction of the airport.

For Whitefish voters, candidate choices represent an overhaul of the council. No incumbents are seeking re-election, so Whitefish will fill half the six-member council with new faces.

While early voting has been a growing trend in the Flathead Valley, filling out your ballot early doesn’t absolve you from responsibility to become informed before you vote. There’s always the danger, too, that in voting too early you might miss out on important information that keeps developing until Election Day.

Those who want to receive absentee ballots can go online to http://flathead.mt.gov/election/voter_information.php or stop by the county Election Department.

A separate election concludes Tuesday.

Ballots are due by 8 p.m. that day for voters weighing in on West Valley School District’s $6.8 million bond request to expand the school.

One man’s benevolence

Sometimes gifts come from unexpected circumstances. That definitely was the case when the congregation at Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish learned Sunday that a longtime resident who kept to himself left the church $1 million in honor of his mother.

Roger Wold lived a simple, reclusive life prior to his death last year. The former railroader quietly had amassed a lot of valuable property in and around Whitefish. He loved buying real estate and lived on a shoestring to be able to afford his land purchases.

Wold’s generosity went beyond the church; he gave to many nonprofit groups, not only in his will but also while he was still living.

We hope he realized the far-reaching benefits of his benevolence.

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