EDITORIAL: Luminarias are bright Christmas tradition

There are many treasured traditions that accompany the holiday season, and here in the Flathead Valley we look forward to the luminarias that line Rose Crossing on Christmas Eve. The votive candles in sand-filled bags create a peaceful display on a very special night.

The luminarias are also an important fundraiser. Five years ago Evergreen Fire Rescue took over the project that originated with the Lister family decades ago and involved many neighborhood volunteers through the years. Memorial luminarias are being sold for $5 at the Evergreen Fire Station to honor the memory of departed loved ones. Proceeds go toward an EMS scholarship for Evergreen Junior High School alumni enrolled in paramedic or emergency management programs at Flathead Valley Community College.

A giving spirit

Koby Isles’ spirit of giving is downright infectious. After watching his older brother help out a family in need, the Helena Flats 8-year-old decided to do his own good deed and began collecting small toy cars to give away to others who need “a little smile.”

It wasn’t long before his collection of Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars topped 500, and he intends to keep the project — Koby’s Happy Wheels — moving forward. Those attending the Christmas at Our House community dinner last weekend were among the first recipients of his generosity. This is one little boy who already knows the value of “paying it forward.”

The end of an era

We were saddened, as were probably most of our readers, to learn that the two majestic spruce trees that have graced the front of the county courthouse for the past century are slated for retirement.

Unfortunately, when trees are retired, it is with a chain saw.

The idea of starting over again with a couple of young saplings is daunting, but we’re realistic enough to know that to everything there is a season, and 100 years is a pretty good season for trees along the public boulevard.

Now that one of the trees has been shown to have extensive rot as a result of damage from a runaway vehicle a few years ago, the county’s decision to take out the towering trees just makes sense.

We’ll miss them, but we also know that the necessity of change is the one thing that is unchanging in our world. As Heraclitus said 2,500 years ago, “Everything changes and nothing remains still... you cannot step twice into the same stream.”