Letters to the editor July 25
Don’t diminish our feelings
After reading and rereading the letter from Roseanne Feckete (“The others” July 5), I feel compelled to join in the discussion.
My family is in its sixth generation, right here! We have deep and ever-lasting love and reverence for our home. The “others” (your words) generally do not feel the same way, which is understandable. Do not diminish, or ridicule the feelings of the people who have been here their whole lives. We pay our taxes, too.
Our day-to-day lives have been greatly affected by some (not all) people who have decided to live here. You can’t expect us to change our entire way of life to accommodate new folks. There are responsibilities that come with living here.
We expect you to be kind, respectful and teach your kids to respect others property, respect our wild life, and the traditions of generations. Be polite, a smile, a wave or say thank you — it goes a long way. Don’t take things that don’t belong to you. Don’t presume that you know more than all the ”Stump Jumpers.” You are not invited to take over.
Most real Montanans are reasonable, generous and intelligent. We survived very well without the massive crowds. In fact we used to have wonderful shopping, until some thought we needed a mall. Please treat us like you want us to treat you!
—Valerie Sollars, Kalispell
Child care funding
Kudos to Gov. Gianforte for dedicating $31 million in ARPA funds to increasing availability of child care for working parents. These funds will be directed to grants to increase capacity and hours of service for existing day care businesses.
The issue of child care is personal for us, as we are able to significantly subsidize our 2-year-old granddaughter’s childcare. Most Montana families are not so fortunate. According to the Montana Budget and Policy Center, both parents work in 60% of Montana families. A lack of stable day care means that parents must take time off from work or choose poor quality day care. A resulting loss of income compromises a family’s ability to pay bills. And the economic fallout is significant; businesses lose up to $4.4 billion each year due to their employees’ child care issues.
The distinction between hard and soft infrastructure is silly – building roads and providing quality child care will both stimulate the economy. The argument that the market rather than taxpayers should address the child care problem doesn’t hold water when most businesses are paying $10-12 an hour.
The APRA funds for child care are a good start, but we need more permanent solution to help Montana parents get back to work.
—Caryl Cox, Polson