A well-deserved salute for vets

Whitefish Winter Carnival is always a great event for locals and visitors, but this weekend’s finale to a month of fun promises to be even more memorable.

There will be the usual cold splash of the Penguin Plunge and the excitement of the grand parade, but the carnival theme focusing on U.S. veterans promises to give a star-spangled boost to the time-honored midwinter celebration.

“Honoring Veterans” is the foundation of this year’s Winter Carnival, featuring not one but more than 20 veterans serving as grand marshals of the centerpiece parade.

As we salute the yetis, Vikings, penguins and carnival royalty, we can also give well-deserved salutes to those who have served our country.

Innovation good for valley

A successful tech startup in Kalispell had some good news last week.

ClassOne Technology, a wet-chemistry semiconductor equipment manufacturer, announced it has acquired two complete product lines and is moving the manufacturing of those products to the Flathead Valley. That means more jobs for local residents.

The company plans to add up to 15 positions this year and is on track to relocate to a bigger facility in the next 12 to 18 months.

ClassOne started two years ago by tapping into the tech talent of former Semitool and Applied Materials engineers to develop and produce new wet-chemical processing equipment especially for cost-conscious emerging markets and companies that traditionally have been underserved by bigger manufacturers.

We’re glad to see this kind of business expansion here, and are glad to have such an innovative company in our midst.

Can't we afford the patio?

The Flathead County commissioners should be commended for taking a sharp pencil to the South Campus Building project and finding $250,000 to trim from the projected $7 million price tag. It’s always a good idea to take a second look at the numbers.

We’re not sure it was necessary to toss out a $10,000 outdoor patio, though. This seems like a minor amenity that would give not only seniors but also county employees and others a useful space to congregate and get some fresh air.

Flathead County already has gone the distance to support the Agency on Aging by committing to a new building that will accommodate the agency and Kalispell Senior Center. Perhaps there’s room for reconsideration on the outdoor patio.