Letters to the editor Jan. 6
Weyerhaeuser deal
I am greatly concerned about the sale of the 630,000 acres of land Weyerhaeuser is in the process of selling to a private investment company.
Much of this land is already in a checkerboard pattern with national forest land. The land is being sold at a very low price. Certainly there must be a better plan for this massive piece of property that is so important to the people of Montana. Certainly agencies like the Conservation Agency, the National Forest Service, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, The Montana Wildlife Federation, and maybe even the Montana Legislature, should be looking at this and realizing this sale cannot be beneficial to anyone other than the private company buying it. Why was it sold in such a private manner? Why was it not advertised? What was it not offered to the agencies listed above? Why did Weyerhaeuser not say a word to the public until what appears to be a “done deal” was accomplished?
Please, will the heads of the agencies listed above jump into this situation and stop what is going to be a disaster for the people of Montana.
—Philip Gregory, Kalispell
War with Iran
The assassination of a top Iranian general ordered by our president is reckless and dangerous. We are now perilously close to a war with Iran, which would be a much more intense war than that with Iraq or Afghanistan with many more casualties on both sides. And we are still in Iraq and Afghanistan after all these years.
One of Donald Trump’s campaign promises was to bring home most of the troops from the Middle East. Yet his actions speak louder than his words. He tore up our agreement with Iran concerning nuclear weapons and has repeatedly poked and prodded Iran to the point of bombing the airport in Iraq in order to assassinate an Iranian general. What would the U.S. do if the Iranians did that to us?
In my lifetime I have seen us drawn into a war in Vietnam that basically accomplished nothing (my husband is a combat veteran of that war). I’ve seen how the knee-jerk reaction to 9/11 led us to start a war with Afghanistan. Meanwhile, we continue a chummy, very profitable relationship with Saudi Arabia, the home of most of the 9/11 hijackers, without any consequences for them. Then I have seen Bush/Cheney drum up a war in Iraq based on flimsy and faulty intelligence, another war we are still involved in and another country still not at peace.
Our president may be commander in chief, but that doesn’t mean he has the right to order the assassination of a top general of a country we are not at war with. His action is basically a declaration of war with Iran. Congress needs to be consulted before any such action is taken. The last thing our nation needs right now is another war!
—Landreth H. Fehlberg, Eureka
New Year’s fireworks
It’s New Year’s and once again we have numerous persons setting of large fireworks displays in their backyards. While these displays are dazzling, they are also dangerous and cause a trauma to many pets and animals in the neighborhood. It’s a fact that some horses have been injured when they panic after a fireworks explosion nearby, run into a fence and, and are cut up in the wire. Some dogs are traumatized and shaking for hours after the last explosion, even when its distant.
Large aerial fireworks used to be only done by city or county at fairgrounds or waterways, such as at Bigfork. That was appropriate and fine ... but nowadays, everyone seems to think they need their own backyard display. For those of us who have animals, it has become a big problem. Who will pay my vet bill? Who will take responsibility if one has to have a large animal euthanized due to extensive injuries? What about fire danger in July?
It’s time to ban the sale and use of fireworks used in aerial displays, large overhead explosions. Those types of fireworks should be reserved for professional displays. The city of Kalispell has already taken that action, it’s time for the county to follow suit.
—Darrell Christofferson, Kalispell