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Bygren for board

Flathead Electric Co-op, the board of directors, co-op members and the entire co-op service area will benefit very positively with the addition of Jerry Bygren to the board. I say this in all due respect of a man who has been so successful in the past 40 plus years I have known him.

The co-op board position will require an immense amount of individual devotion, skilled work ethics, and knowledge of business practices, all of which I have personally witnessed. I have seen his relentless, year after year work as a member of the Roundup for Safety, his commitment and involvement in projects to make Bigfork a better place to live and his professional abilities to communicate with people in a positive manner.

Jerry Bygren, I am confident, has all the necessary tools to learn from and carry out the responsibilities of the position he has committed to and hopefully will be elected as our new Flathead Electric board member. I urge you to vote for Jerry Bygren in the upcoming election. —Vern Childers, Bigfork

Legislators who voted against mail-in ballot

Flathead legislators who don’t care about wasting $750,000 statewide voted against SB 305 to vote by mail in the special election are Randy Brodehl, Matt Regier, Carl Glimm, Steve Lavin, Mark Noland, and Derek Skees, all Republicans.

These Flathead Republicans disregarded the will of your Flathead County commissioners who voted to support the bill and save Flathead County $100,000. These Republicans also disregarded the Flathead County clerk and recorder and the 46 of 56 county clerk and recorders that supported the bill to save their budgets and run a smooth election. While many citizens had traveled to Helena to testify at the House Judiciary committee hearing, there was limited testimony allowed and the bill was tabled there. Forcing a blast by the Republican sponsor, a majority of 51 votes supported the measure but less than the 60 votes required.

SB305, having passed the Senate, would have given Montanans fair access to the polls with voting at the county election office and by mail and save money. These Republicans don’t care about our state or our county budget or you. Next time you go to vote — vote for the person who has your best interest in mind. —Joan Vetter Ehrenberg, Whitefish

State investment board needs to have experience

Who do you seek for advice when you have money to invest? Do you call up the local farmer, a teacher and a couple of lawyers? Most people use professionals who know markets and can give good advice on trends.

I carried Rep. Virginia Court’s (D-Billings) House Bill 533 on the floor of the Senate last week. Virginia and I have both served on Legislative Audit Committee and agree that the changes in HB533 will modernize the Board of Investments since the makeup of the nine members hasn’t changed in 40 years.

This board invests $16 billion for the taxpayers each year and has the sole authority to invest our funds. HB533 would require that three of the members have at least five years of investment experience.

Some members of the board came to our Senate committee hearing and opposed the bill. There were many reasons, including a belief that not enough people are qualified in the state to serve under the new requirements. I could name 15 people in the Flathead who would meet the experience level and know there are many more across the state. They also claimed there was no reason to change because the current board is doing such a good job.

Fluctuations in market conditions are part of every investment picture. Several states with similar assets, however, have outperformed Montana over the past decade. We ranked in the 8th percentile among peers in 2015 but in the 58th percentile in 2016 with the same board membership.

Alarming to me is that the board voted last fall to allow investments in hedge funds. The board member who has been opposed to this strategy in the past was absent from the meeting in November. It is also possible that nobody at a meeting would have financial knowledge if the only board member with the background was absent.

Forty years ago the Board of Investments dealt solely with fixed income and domestic stocks. They now invest in a far wider mix of investments including international stocks and real estate. Terms commonly used are merger arbitrage, mezzanine finance, European waterfall and mean variance optimization. I don’t think the European waterfall is the same we’d like to see on a yearly vacation.

Times have changed in the investment world. It only makes sense that we keep up with the modern times and require a third of this board to have background in these complex issues. Our $16 billion are depending on modernization of the Board of Investments. —Dee Brown, Hungry Horse Republican, SD2

Please learn about autism

What is autism?

First, understand the misconceptions about autism. People with autism do not have a disease, and they aren’t broken, so they don’t need to be fixed. There is no way to protect your child from it and no diet or vaccine that will prevent it. Kids can’t catch autism at a play date, and no racial, social or economic class is safe from autism. There is no medical test for autism, and there isn’t a “cure,” despite what a celebrity talking head says on TV to sell her books.

Autism is a neurological disorder that can be diagnosed by observing an individual’s communication, behavior and development levels. A child can be diagnosed as early as 1 year old, and symptoms can lessen with early diagnosis, therapy and treatment — but people don’t outgrow autism. The Centers for Disease Control recently published their latest statistics in which they determined the rate of having a child with autism is now 1 in 68 — up from 1 in 500 in 1995. It is 4.5 times more common in boys than in girls.

No two people with autism are alike, because autism is a spectrum disorder. Symptoms and characteristics for people with autism may be mild to severe, but it’s not the same for every person. People on the autism spectrum don’t look any different than neuro-typical people, and most are quite intelligent. Autism usually appears in the first three years of life and can affect a person’s social interaction and communication skills. Historical figures who displayed behavioral patterns associated with the autism spectrum include Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson, Sir Isaac Newton, Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Darwin, Michelangelo, Nicola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Mozart and Andy Warhol. Some believe both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have showed symptoms of undiagnosed autism.

April is Autism Awareness Month, so please take the opportunity to reach out to any family affected by autism and show them compassion. Take time to explain what autism is to your children. Chances are, more than one of their classmates has been diagnosed with autism and arming your child with information will help them to exercise compassion, rather than assign labels when a classmate is having difficulties in the classroom, the cafeteria, the auditorium, or the schoolyard. Building compassion in each other builds bridges to awareness and understanding. —Tim Tepas, Kalispell