Letters to the editor Nov. 19

Keep our schools open

Kalispell Public Schools made the difficult decision to deliver classes in person five days a week based upon recommendations from local and state medical infectious disease experts, as well as the Center for Disease Control on how to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Before making our decision, we heard from a significant number of parents, teachers, and staff asking that we implement these same recommendations.

The simple recommendations of wearing a mask, washing your hands and watching your distance have been clearly effective in limiting the spread in the schools. Contact tracing has indicated that KPS Covid cases have been due to spread outside the school buildings, and while the Flathead community has seen a large increase in cases, KPS has not.

As we approach Thanksgiving and the holiday season, the board of trustees are concerned about a resurgence of Covid cases in our community as families and friends come together. The board, our teachers, staff, and especially our students, work hard to keep our schools open and everyone safe. We ask everyone to do their part to slow the spread of this dangerous virus by using the same protective measures our students do at school and staying home if you are sick.

—Kalispell Public Schools Board of Trustees Chairman Lance Isaak, Vice Chairman Jack Fallon, Sue Corrigan, Will Hiatt, Mark Kornick, Rebecca Linden, Diane Morton Stout, Amy Waller, Scott Warnell, Ursula Wilde, Kim Wilson

Good sports

I just finished my first campaign for election to the House of Representatives in District 93.

It was a hard-fought race, and although I was deeply saddened not to win, I was grateful for the chance to run to represent the people of Lake County. Upon hearing the results, the leadership of the Democratic Party recommended I get in touch with my opponent, Joe Read, to congratulate him.

And, as difficult as it was, I understood the importance of this act — as an athlete who has played and coached in hundreds of games — it is the way we acknowledge the humanity of our competitor. It is a way of thanking them for the dance we just went through, together. Because without him, there would have been no competition. The win would not feel so good, the loss not hurt so badly.

I was surprised the next day when Joe and his wife, Jill, came by with flowers. Looking each other in the eye really made a difference and helped to bring the campaign to its completion. I was glad for the chance to be able to have had this opportunity. Thanks to all of the people of Lake County and everyone who left their hearts out on the field of this campaign.

Looking forward to the next time.

—Lisa Pavlock, St. Ignatius

‘Defund the police’

I listened with great interest to Fox News host Tucker Carlson regarding the issue of “Defund the Police. I think there is a reason for this “slogan” that traces its origins to the Russian Revolution in 1917 and the downfall of Tsar Nicholas II.

Russia’s first organized political parties were formed around the turn of the century (1900). They were all illegal, but they flourished anyway. Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin brought about the launching of the Social Democratic Party in 1898 (Marxist). The Social Democratic Party split into the right-wing Menshevicks and the left-wing Bolsheviks. Nicholas was a weak Tsar who basically ignored the assessment of his Minister of the Interior who stated “the strength of the revolutionaries lies solely in the weakness of the police.” The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, launched a nearly bloodless coup d’etat against the government. The Bolsheviks would later become the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Fast forward to Summer 2020 when you have riots (peace protests) in the streets of Portland, etc., and the police are essentially neutered/stand down (fed up and retiring) and allowing the protesters (revolutionaries?) to run rampant. The police were/are out-numbered in almost every city and just stand around observing the chaos. No matter what the police do they are accused of using excessive force.

Defunding the police is a sure way to ensure “the weakness of the police” and “the strength of the revolutionaries.”

Similarities between 1917 and 2020 are interesting. For more on the History of The Romanovs see ‘The Tragic Dynasty’ by John Bergamini.

—Harry Solomon, Bigfork

Help stop the spread

I’d like to respond to “Senseless Masks” contention that “they are ignoring the true science that indicates that masks don’t work.”

We likely agree that 1) Medical-grade masks provide substantial protection but 2) even N95 masks aren’t foolproof (95% filtering). 3) Cloth masks are not as effective as N95’s. 4) Completely staying away from all other people is safer than masks. 5) The virus is deadly, mostly to the elderly or those with pre-existing conditions (about 40% of Americans).

Where do we disagree? 1) He contends DIY masks “are only 3% effective” according to Dr. Brousseau. For the worst ones, maybe, but not for the best ones. It seems like virus would pass through the mask’s filter like marbles through chicken wire, but particles smaller than about 300 nm are mostly captured electrostatically (attracted to and stick to the fibers of the filter), not mechanically (won’t fit between the fibers of the filter). A National Institute of Health study found various single-layer fabrics trap 5-80% of particles smaller than 300 nm. Good DIY masks are at least two layers. When source and victim wear masks with 30% filtering, exposure is reduced by about half.

According to the CDC, wearing masks reduces the spread of Covid-19. “Senseless Masks” referenced Dr. Brousseau, whose website says, “Despite the current limited scientific data detailing their effectiveness, we support the wearing of face coverings by the public when mandated and when in close contact with people whose infection status they don’t know. However, we also encourage everyone to continue to limit their time spent indoors near potentially infectious people and to not count on or expect a cloth mask or face covering to protect them or the people around them. The pandemic is not over and will not likely be over for some time. As states and local jurisdictions reopen, we encourage people to continue to assess and limit their risks. Cloth masks and face coverings likely do not offer the same degree of protection as physical distancing, isolation, or limiting personal contact time.”

If you feel that masks are ineffective and think self-isolation is the only safe way to go, I can respect your decision.

—Chuck Cummings, Kalispell

Do the right thing

Since the County Commissioners, the Board of Health and City Council members refuse to do their jobs by enforcing the state mask mandate, I think that their pay checks should go to the hospitals that have to handle the outbreak of the COVID-19 we are experiencing now. That money should be put to good use for supplies, and helping pay for patients’ care. These folks do not deserve to be paid for just sitting back and listening to a few vocal souls spouting baseless hype about constitutional issues.

We all want to get though this without anymore people getting ill or dying. Enforcing these few mandates is for every single person in this county. After all, the Constitution gives the governor the authority to declare state emergencies in case of natural disasters, of which the pandemic is one. He can also put a curfew in place if necessary.

So please, for the sake of all the people of Flathead County, do the right thing for everyone, not just the few.

—Merry Rosholt, Whitefish

Election integrity

If there was no vote fraud in the 2020 elections, then why did all the key swing states where Trump had commanding leads suddenly and simultaneously stop counting votes on election night? Why did the mainstream media stop reporting the election results?

Why in these same key swing states did Democrat-controlled polling places prevent authorized Republican poll watchers from verifying the authenticity of mail-in ballots as required by law?

Why did these same key swing states employ a foreign-owned vote-counting computer system that flipped and deleted votes for Trump? Where is the transparency in all of this? Why are the Democrats and mainstream media giving the American people the bum’s rush to install Biden as president before all the legal votes are counted and all the illegal votes are discarded?

Those with a modicum of common sense and integrity know none of this passes the smell test. Leaving those without a recessive gene for intelligence to believe this election is just a continuation of the coup attempt against Donald Trump that began in 2016 by the Democrats and their accomplices in the Deep State and mainstream media. If this sedition and illegality are allowed to stand, then the “land of the free and the home of the brave” has become another banana republic.

—Richard S. Grozik, Kalispell