EDITORIAL: Donations aid shelter's mission
A generous grant will make life better for the animals and the veterinarians who treat them at the Flathead County Animal Shelter.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals gave $50,000 that’s helping the county build a shelter addition to house veterinarian services. A trailer that’s hard to heat in the winter has been used for a number of procedures such as spaying and neutering, surgeries and clinical examinations.
The shelter will keep the 28-foot trailer as space for emergency animal situations.
Flathead Shelter Friends has provided some funding for the shelter addition, too.
We applaud the county for investing in a project that will improve conditions for both veterinarians and animals. A good facility will now be even better.
Right note for the future
Establishing high-paying telecommuting jobs in places such as the Flathead Valley makes all the sense in the world. Kudos to Bozeman tech entrepreneur Greg Gianforte for starting an initiative to lure prospective telecommuters to the Big Sky State.
The Right-Now Technologies co-founder just mailed 15,000 letters to Montana State University graduates with the message: “Come to Montana (and bring your job with you).”
Scenic places like the Flathead, with Glacier National Park at its back door, already are home to many telecommuters. Bringing attention to this area of the work force has a great deal of potential to grow our local economy.
Gianforte is contemplating a run for governor next year, and initiatives like his “Bring Our Families Back” effort certainly will resonate with voters.
Thinking outside the box
A few eyebrows no doubt were raised when the Inter Lake reported earlier this week that Flathead County is eyeing the old Wal-Mart building in Evergreen for a possible expansion of the county jail. The county has made an offer on the 130,000-square-foot building, but no deal has been made yet.
It may or may not be feasible to turn the building into a jail, but we commend the commissioners for thinking outside the box and exploring all options as they look for a solution to solve a long-running problem of overcrowding at the jail — even if it means buying a former box store.