Letters to the editor Oct. 30

Unity exists here

[Editor’s note: This letter is in regard to an Oct. 25 Washington Post article by reporter Lisa Rein “A Montana town fractures under political pressure.”)

Upon reading your article on the Flathead Valley, I could not help but feel aghast at your lack of empathy and understanding by trying to weave our tragedies into a political argument. I believe that you missed the mark with your article and ignored the major factors regarding suicide in our hometown.

You have a disconnection from the reality of this valley and the people we call friends. If you truly wanted to understand the main factors in our valley, you should have interviewed local high school students and surveyed what they see as the main problem impacting their mental health. I understand why you did not. You did not truly want an answer, you wanted clickbait to fuel the fire for individuals outside our glacial lakes and quiet woods.

Suicide is not a subject that this valley ignores. We are aware of the prevalence that it has here. We have always had a united front against a disease robbing us of our young. This is not just with suicide. I implore you to look into how our valley has unified behind health care workers, first responders, our beloved public lands, our youth, and specific individuals like our hometown hero Maverick Bench.

I would invite you to travel to the Flathead Valley and see the unity that exists here. While we disagree on our politics, you will still find supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement protesting peacefully alongside the Flathead Patriot Guard. You will find both parties fighting alongside one another to keep our waters clean. And if you’re lucky enough, you will have what you describe as, “pickups lined with Trump flags, Confederate flags and “Don’t Tread on Me” flags,” helping you with your flat tire.

— Matthew Knuffke, Kalispell

Kuntz is best for Ward 3

I’m voting for Rod Kuntz for Kalispell City Council, Ward 3. Not because he’s my friend. Not because I’ve worked with him and seen how he gives 100% on everything no matter how large or small. Not because he represents a political philosophy. I’m voting for Rod because he’s the best person for the job.

He was excellent before and he’ll be excellent again. He will always know the issues and will always be prepared. Remember the off-campus parking problem near Kalispell High School? Rod took that under his wing and spearheaded a solution where others had failed. He looks at both sides of an issue and tries to make a fair and positive decision. He truly cares about the people and the future of the city of Kalispell. Vote for Rod Kuntz for Kalispell City Council, Ward 3.

—Justin Boylan, Kalispell

Boland will represent Whitefish

Phil Boland is running for Whitefish City Council. What I appreciate most about him is his desire to represent the citizens of Whitefish and their vision for their city. Unlike some of the other candidates who hype their own vision for Whitefish. A thoughtful councilor should strive to represent the people in their community as I know Phil Boland will do.

Two of the people running for the Whitefish City Council have their signs prominently displayed on the large vacant lot at the corner of U.S. 93 and Highway 40. This affiliation makes me very uncomfortable because whomever owns this lot has displayed signs that are against supporting our nurses in their bid to get better wages and benefits, and during that sad day of the Jan. 6 insurrection at our Capitol fireworks were being set off seemingly to celebrate the attack on our democracy.

Acquiescing to these actions are not a good fit for the citizens of Whitefish or our country.

—Barbara Palmer, Whitefish

Consider a new library

I am thrilled about our new Parkline Trail. Thank you to everyone involved in making it happen. The contractor for the Parkline Trail, Sandry Construction has done a spectacular job of creating the trail through the heart of Kalispell. It is the spine for the rejuvenation of Kalispell.

As community members plan for development along the trail, a new library would be a tremendous addition. The timing is perfect. A few weeks ago, I rode my bike along the trails in Bozeman to return a library book for my granddaughter. The Bozeman library is not only beautiful, but it is the centerpiece of the community and right along the bike path, so accessible to everyone. Missoula also has a spectacular new library.

While I love our current ImagineIf library, the burgeoning population in our valley has vastly outgrown its capacity. It’s time to pressure our county commissioners and the library board of directors to move forward with a new library for our county.

Building it along the Parkline Trail would be a wonderful addition to our community and would become the center piece of the Parkline Trail. Community volunteers are ready to help make it happen, but we need the county commissioners and the library board to launch the process. Our community deserves a beautiful, state of the art library. Now is the time to move forward.

— Carol Minnick Santa, Kalispell

Dems’ sneaky tricks

The Montana Redistricting Commission is back to their sneaky tricks again, but this time they aren’t even trying to hide their intentions. By attempting to carve out a congressional district that is not representative of the majority of Montanans, they are once again showing that making sure Montanans have fair representation in Congress is not their priority. Democrats on the Commission want to put Missoula, Bozeman,and Whitefish in the western district, but leave the rest of Flathead County in the east.

You have the chance to stand up against this gerrymandering. Make sure your voice is heard.

This decision will impact the future of Montana for years to come. To put this in perspective, the children who are in third grade right now will be casting their first ballots in 2032 based off of these maps. Don’t let the Democrats get away with this. We need your voice and action!.

—Al Wilson, Kila