Letters to the editor Oct. 7

Get back to civility

I want to go on record saying I support public health and the Sanders County Health Board.

I also want to thank Nick Lawyer for his service on the Board of Health, and his passion for the health of others.

It’s been said I’m a public serpent, an evil person. I’m not! I’ve dedicated 37 years of my life, with the support of family and friends to serve the people of Sanders County. One person and maybe 150 followers aren’t going to take my good works away from me.

There have always been diverse ideas in Sanders County, we have always agreed to disagree. Never have we resorted to calling others degrading names, in a public meeting.

We need to get back to civility in our county. Let’s help others to succeed, not tear them apart. Let’s serve each other and our community to help make this a better place to live.

The distrust in the federal government doesn’t have to trickle down to local government, the government closest to the people. The folks elected to county, city and school boards are your neighbors, relatives and friends.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my supporters over the years.

— Carol Allen Brooker, Sanders County Commissioner

Library needs

I recently attended a meeting of the Flathead County library trustees, who were discussing personnel issues and changes among other pressing items.

Having lived in the Flathead Valley, beginning in 1982, I have been consistently amazed and appreciative of the quality of services our library offers. So much of this success and ability to meet the requests and needs of our community is dependent on adequate resources and quality staff members. I am sure our directors and library staff have struggled over the years, but they have consistently delivered quality services, despite budget crunches.

The feeling I had when I left this meeting on Sept. 23, was deep concern and sadness that we are not providing the support and resources needed by the staff to continue their good work. A few of the trustees even challenged the acting director when she expressed worries that her staff are experiencing a crisis in morale and minimized her concerns. The staff members have lost so many of their trusted colleagues to resignations, and changes, and are working very hard to keep up their high standards, while feeling that the community is ready to cut salaries and positions to satisfy the uninformed and uncaring demands of our county commissioners.

Thanks to the staff and members of the board of trustees who are speaking up for the needs of our library, and challenging the misguided efforts of some trustees, and our county commissioners.

We will know how vital the library is to young families, children, teens and adults when services begin to be cut. Can we stop this decline before it happens? Will we as a community demand better human and learning services, or wait until we lose them?

—Barbara Myers, Kalispell

Wilderness threat

What are we doing to protect the best ground in Lincoln and Sanders counties in Northwest Montana? The Cabinet Mountain Wilderness Area is under threat from at least two copper mines. The wilderness is extremely special for reasons in every direction. High mountain scenery, considerable wildlife, streams, waterfalls, birds, wildflowers, and great trails.

Jobs do not mean we destroy our best features of the wilderness. Mining laws have changes considerably in the last 100 years. Special ground and water quality are much more valuable than copper mines. The Clark Fork River downhill from the proposed mines has been damaged enough from past mining in the Butte and Anaconda areas. Past mining in these areas turned the river into one of the worst damaged rivers in the world. The dams contained the metal waste behind them. Our mission on planet Earth is to protect our best.

Please call or write your local commissioners, state senators and Gov. Greg Gianforte to support the safety of our beautiful wilderness.

— Lon LaBelle, Thompson Falls

Attention dog owners

Despite overwhelming opposition, the majority of the FWP Commission (Patrick Tabor of Whitefish, Leslie Robinson of Dodson and Brian Cebull of Billings) in its zeal to cull the wolf population, recently enacted trapping and snaring rules that could easily impact our dogs.

Baited traps and snares are allowed on both public and private land from Nov. 29 to March 15.

Baited traps and snares can be within several feet of a Forest Service road or within 50 feet of a trail.

Those who hunt birds, move livestock, hike, horseback ride, snowshoe or Nordic ski with their dogs need to be acutely aware of the trap/snare danger on public lands; signage is not required.

Carrying trap release tools like bolt cutters, pliers, wire cutters and rope might be a good idea when recreating on Montana public land.

—Joane Bayer, Canyon Creek