Letters to the editor April 18

Montana mudflaps

I would like to remind people purchasing trucks that it is a state law to have mud flaps in the rear wheel well. Montana uses a lot of gravel in the winter to keep our roads safe and is just a basic Montana courtesy to have mud flaps on your vehicle to help prevent windshield damage from flying rocks to vehicles behind you.

See Montana Code 61-9-407 which basically says all trucks, truck-tractors, trailers or semi-trailers moved on the highways of Montana shall be equipped with fenders, splash aprons or flaps designed, constructed and attached to the rearmost wheels or set of wheels so as to arrest and deflect dirt, mud and water, rocks and other substances that may be picked up and thrown into the air by the rear wheels. If the vehicle is in excess of 8,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight, such fenders, splash aprons, or flaps shall extend downward to a point that is not more than 10” above the surface of the highway when the vehicle is empty.

—Dugan Reber, Whitefish

School levies

So, here we go again with proposed school levies for Kalispell Public Schools. Two separate levies in fact that will, again, raise taxpayer amounts.

Doesn’t it seem really strange that our current U.S. (socialist) president is budgeting over $1 billion to the education system? So, maybe our current board of so called “trustees” should learn how to apply for federal grants instead of thinking we are all dumb enough to give them what they want on top of federal illicit funds. I guess they think we are really too stupid to pay attention.

I’m not that dumb and I hope the rest of you aren’t either. It’s time to say NO again and let these so called experts learn how to apply for free federal funding rather than shoving it down our throats, again. After all, when all is said and done, we will still have to pay through the nose when the federal government increases our taxes again. I hope we all wake up in time to stop this debacle.

—Steve Allen, Kalispell