EDITORIAL: Extending protest period was welcome

The nervousness of Creston area residents about a proposed water-bottling plant is entirely understandable, and we are glad the state has agreed to extend the protest period.

Although landowner Lew Weaver followed the correct procedure for notifying the public with a legal advertisement in January, there was a groundswell of opposition that surfaced after a story about the project appeared in the Inter Lake last week.

The initial comment period ended on March 11, just four days after our story was published. That created a sense of urgency, which fortunately the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation understood and respected.

In order to give everyone time to educate him or herself about the complicated issue, the state will open a new protest period from March 23 through April 7. Protests submitted before then will not be accepted.

Be aware that objections to the project must be filed on an official form and need to be accompanied by a $25 processing fee.

The state has found no adverse impact from the bottling project on the existing aquifer. That remains to be seen, but there is no question that there would have been an adverse impact on public confidence in government if neighbors had felt shut out of the process, so we applaud the DNRC for heeding the request for more time.

Immigration success story

Today marks a banner day for Thao Huynh.

The woman who came to Montana from Vietnam in 2010 will take the oath of U.S. citizenship today in Missoula.

That benchmark represents a major milestone for Huynh, who provides living proof that hard work pays off.

Since she first arrived in the Flathead Valley, she built a new life here. She learned English, put herself through beauty school and worked extra hours at her relatives’ restaurants to pay cash for her first car. Huynh also learned the value of true friendship and the satisfaction of helping others.

Huynh admits that she suffered a rude awakening in leaving a pampered life in Vietnam to a less luxurious existence in Montana.

But through perseverance, her story became an immigration success story and she learned that, with determination and hard work, the American dream is attainable.