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East-side avenues — the bigger picture

The return of two-way traffic to Third and Fourth Avenues East is a positive effort to reduce through traffic in Kalispell’s close-in residential neighborhoods.

The original plat of the city made it possible to convert streets to one-ways. These orderly streets also allowed the city and county to ignore better traffic solutions to accommodating growth and development.

With completion of the U.S. 93 Bypass, there is a good alternative for through traffic on the west side of the city. The east-side counterpart foundered due to landowner objections and lack of political will in the late 20th century.

City and county transportation routes have been influenced by a lack of local government coordination, money and vision. Developers have filled the void by putting residential and commercial neighborhoods near major highways and roads with little regard for connectivity to the rest of the community or county. Opportunities for critical rights-of-way were lost or inadequate. Priorities have also been skewed by city Tax Increment Financing districts.

Flathead County’s population growth is second highest in the state, yet improvements to roads like Reserve, Whitefish Stage, Willow Glen, Four Mile/Grandview/Evergreen, connector(s) between Two Mile and Three Mile hardly get more than lip service.

In an area increasingly reliant on seasonal visitors and tourism, retaining a modicum of charm, historic integrity, and pedestrian friendly ambiance will contribute to future economic vitality. Any transportation initiative should consider these factors. —Margaret S Davis, Kalispell homeowner

Too hard to build a wall?

I read the article where Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke was quoted as saying there was logistic problems with building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Have to wonder what they are. Didn’t the Chinese build their wall? And didn’t the Egyptians build the great pyramids? And both cultures did it with far less technology than what we have today.

We put men on the moon and built bridges that defy imagination, and he thinks a border wall might be a problem? Oh, he did mention the Mexican wolves and the jaguar cross back and forth and I assume he thinks they need access, but that’s not a problem — just ask any Arizona rancher about the wolves the government has imported to feed on their livestock. Big brother can always find a way.

I really wonder what he is trying to set up? Not going to build that big beautiful wall after all? —Glen Hook, Kalispell

Zinke’s not TR

I was at my reloading bench the day Ryan Zinke, wearing cowboy hat and jeans while on a rent-a-horse, rode up to his new office to start his first day as secretary of the interior. His first task was to sign an order revoking a gradual phase-out of lead ammunition on our National Wildlife Refuges. The phase-out was put in place by President Obama. Waterfowl hunters have been using non-toxic steel shot since the early 1970s.

Ironically, I was loading some ammunition for next hunting season using Nosler E-tip bullets and Barnes “tried and true” X bullets. Both are lead-free and extremely accurate in many of my hunting rifles. Cost wise, they are comparable to the better quality lead-core bullets. Not all riflemen and hunters agree with Zinke’s decision. I believe the majority of sportsmen would support the studies showing the harm caused to non-target wildlife ingesting lead.

Not surprisingly, the National Rifle Association led the charge, pushing Zinke to revoke the gradual phase-out on lead ammunition on our wildlife refuges. The majority of gun owners in the United States are not NRA members. So who is Zinke actually representing? Is this what we can expect from him for the duration of his term as secretary of interior — the person who should honor and protect the public trust, land, water and wildlife?

His voting record was questionable while he served in Congress. He publicly stated that North American bison should be managed as livestock. Yet the bison — our national mammal and the emblem of the National Park Service — are wildlife and should be managed as such. He voted on a bill that would make the transfer of public lands easier. He also voted against a bill that would have redirected money for fighting wildfires to FEMA. Instead he chose to drain the U.S. Forest Service budget. Over 60 percent of the Forest Service budget goes to firefighting costs which means the agency doesn’t have enough funding for other management. He then stated that the Forest Service has done a poor job managing its lands.

Zinke claims that he is a “Teddy Roosevelt” conservative. I hardly think so. Teddy Roosevelt fought to save the last of our wild bison herds. Teddy fought to save the last of our vanishing wilderness and other wildlife. If Teddy Roosevelt were here today, I believe he would use lead-free ammunition in his Winchesters. —Frank Vitale, Columbia Falls

Citizen initiated zoning ironically is not new thing

As I gathered signatures for ballot initiative 17-01, regarding the Creston area farmers and the water bottling factory proposed for their neighborhood, I encountered an extremely vociferous person who screamed “It’s his property, Let him do whatever he wants!” I was frightened, and I left without further ado. However, I would like to address this issue here for those who MIGHT be thinking this way.

First, let me say that there is ONE man you would likely NEVER hear those words from ... Lew Weaver, the fellow who owns the property. You see, he knows that is not the case. Because of his very own actions in 2002, when he felt the “rural characteristic” of the area was being threatened by a nearby property owner, he urged his neighbors to come together and zone themselves. The threat back then was a potential subdivision and youth camp. Mr. Weaver pleaded with the property owners who wished to develop their land to reconsider “any structural invasion,” and anything that might not allow the “wildlife to move freely” in the area, as there had “been too much of this (development) now in our beautiful valley.”. He also stated that he “would like to see it remain agricultural as all our surrounding land.”

When it seemed his pleas were being ignored, he and his neighbors created the first and, to this day, the ONLY citizen-initiated Part One zoning district in the Flathead Valley. With only 60 percent of neighboring landowners’ approval needed to put the plan into action, 1,150 acres were deemed to be a protected agricultural environment. After presenting the zoning proposition to the commissioners in office at the time, the Creston farmers were successful in stopping the development.

Fast forward to 2016 and there is a new threat. A water-bottling facility, completely incompatible with rural, agricultural character. So, neighbors banded together again, asked for an expansion of the zoned area, using all the same requirements as in 2002, only one difference ... three new county commissioners who flatly turned them down, even though there was ONE SOLE OBJECTOR ... Mr. Weaver.

So, how is it that things went his way in 2002 and now that he is on the other side of the fence, things are STILL going his way? This has been a complete injustice to those living at the epicenter of this proposed industrial invasion, as well as an acute misrepresentation of the majority of residents around the valley. So, actually, Mr. Weaver does NOT have the right to do as he pleases with his property in this case. He has simply somehow managed to get three commissioners to vote in his favor, completely ignoring outraged constituents and precedents that had been in place from 2002. Please visit Facebook page Yes For Flathead Farms And Water and find a petition-signing event near you. Help these farmers add more agriculturally zoned acreage to their district, and help keep non-compatible industries at bay. —Jean Rachubka, Kalispell