Letters to the editor Nov. 28
Health board openings
Have you noticed the traffic around here? It’s crazy! Where would we be without the bypass and other transportation improvements for public safety?
Another aspect of public safety that is just as important is our health care system. Even with the high quality of care from Logan Health and the valley medical community, our facilities and health-care workers have been heavily overburdened by coronavirus.
It’s not just Covid. It’s all communicable diseases that are concerning. Covid is only a sample, and disease spread, just like slippery roads, isn’t about to end.
Our population is burgeoning, to say nothing of the 2 million-plus visitors to Glacier Park this year. Whatever communicable diseases are in circulation are apt to end up here.
Good health planning and prevention are as essential as long-range transportation plans.
One place that happens is the Flathead County Board of Health. I have the utmost respect and appreciation for the ongoing efforts of the health department to vaccinate our population, and that’s only one of many tasks they carry out to keep us all healthy. Hats off the health officer Joe Russell for sure, but also kudos to the health board members who keep up with best practices in health science. Those who want to ignore modern medicine can do so at their personal peril, but they really don’t have a place at the table when the overall well-being of the community is at stake.
Several terms on the health board are up for renewal at year-end. The people who fill those seats must be up to the task of protecting our growing population. Personally, I support renewing the terms of Dr. Pete Heyboer, Jessica Malberg-Fiftal and Bill Burg. Please tell our county commissioners to choose board members whose credentials and standards fit our current and future needs.
— Susan How, Somers
Local health care
I wish to thank the Inter Lake for running the article on the antibody infusion treatment for Covid patients. I also wish to thank the staff at Logan Health for their provision of this treatment. Within two days of receiving this treatment from Logan Health, my fever and symptoms broke and I was on my way to recovery. I am grateful to live in a community where medical care is on the cutting edge.
— R.D. Ross, Kalispell
Montana roads
The new U.S. 93 Bypass overpass at Foys Lake Road is now open. I know because my property is situated in such a way that we’ve had an unobstructed front-row view of the construction.
Over the last year we saw the entire structure take shape from start to finish. My hat is off to the workers. We saw them working late into the night on many occasions, and also often working throughout the weekends. On top of them putting in long hours to get the job done fast in order to quickly help traffic flows for everyone who uses the bypass, they did a great job in safely directing traffic around all the construction. We should all be very thankful to the men and women who created this wonderful new section of highway. So, well done you guys, its beautiful!
As our area gets inundated with new drivers from other states, I have a message for everyone: slow down! One rainy night just a few days after the double teardrop-shaped roundabout overpass, we heard screeching tires. A few days later we drove the area and found tire skid marks going up into the gravel center of one of the turnabouts. There was also brand new curbing on the second level of the gravel that was chipped from the vehicle. The concrete was barely dry before this first accident happened!
It seems each time I drive into town, I find myself being tailgated. This is Montana, what’s the hurry? Vehicles with Texas plates seem to be the worst speeders followed closely by California and then Washington state.
My wife and I ventured out across America in November of 2020. I was surprised to notice that driving through big cities, the traffic was bumper to bumper and any gaps were quickly filled up with a speeding vehicle. As a comparison, when we were out on open roads with very little traffic, everyone seemed to be driving the speed limit and the following distance between vehicles was far apart. Isn’t it interesting that where you can easily drive beyond the speed limit, few did, and when traffic was tight, we found most of the speeders.
So again, my message is simple, respect the speed limits, don’t bunch up by tailgating and be a courteous driver. And finally, winter roads in Montana are no place to catch up on your texting!
— Chris Zarcone, Kalispell