Letters to the editor April 6

Shelter system

Thanks for the good article (Facing Homelessness, April 2) by Adrian Knowler. The jump was labeled “portraits” and the article did a good job of creating portraits of people using stories and pictures.

I am glad that these folks found a place in the Flathead Warming Center. Two concerns stand out: The shelter closes this month and even when it is open there is not room for everyone. I like the idea of shelter space for those who need it. My reasons are partly good: it gladdens my heart to know that people are housed. And partly self-serving: I don’t want to bump into folks in the park who are using the public space as their home.

Any interest out there for a more thorough shelter system?

— Laura Reynolds, Kalispell

Local business

When we opened Backslope Brewing seven years ago we hoped to provide a community gathering space. We recognize that a community’s resiliency is built on relationships, and it is those relationships that make a strong community.

This meant that when we looked for the support we needed for our business, whether it was banks, grains, hops, food, we first reached out to those in our community.

As a small business one of our most important relationships are those we have with our bankers at our local banks. We appreciate the ways that legislation led by Sen. Jon Tester, made accessing capital from our local community banks seamless. His Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act made it easier for Montana’s small financial institutions to lend to small businesses like ours. Tester worked with Republicans and Democrats in 2018 to cut bureaucratic red-tape for Main Street, because he understands that in order for small businesses like ours to thrive, we need strong local banks that are invested in our community.

It appears that in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank some people are trying to use the failure of bank executives in California as a justification for imposing burdensome regulations on Montanans. As Montana small business owners who have directly benefited from Tester’s work, we want to set the record straight.

The truth is that Tester’s bipartisan legislation provided relief to small businesses like ours, along with countless other Montana farmers, ranchers, and homebuyers who have been able to rely on our local community banks for capital. It simply makes no sense for Freedom Bank in Columbia Falls to face the same regulations as JPMorgan. Fortunately, Tester used Montana common sense to push back against Washington bureaucrats’ one-size-fits all policy that was wrong for rural America and for Montana small businesses.

The success of our local brewery is a testament to what can happen when we focus on local relationships and local institutions. Thanks to Tester’s work keeping our local banks strong, we’ve been able to invest in our community and keep the beer flowing.

— Carla and Darin Fisher, Columbia Falls

Library book selections

Commenting on Valeri McGarver’s March 28 letter (Soft censorship) took some thinking and I’m still not sure what her final complaint was. She said she was embarrassed for our community that there were two books on racism on the “parent resources” shelf later implying that they should be in the children’s section. She checked out two books for children about God and supplied quotes from them that were outrageously misleading in their telling of several Bible historical narratives.

McGarver reasoned that to be consistent, these books should also be put on the “parent resources” shelf. I agree! The books about God are at least as problematic in promoting misinformation as the two supposedly anti-racist books are. Had she checked out those two books, she would have found that they would teach her children to feel guilty if they are white and how to not be oppressors or angry and oppressed if they are not white. They exemplify the evils of teaching the flawed critical race theory.

It seems to me that she is against censoring which books the library has available. Now, while I’m also against censoring, the reality is that at a bare minimum, at least 600,000 new book titles are produced in the U.S. yearly and someone has to decide which ones to acquire for the library. Are the ones not chosen censored? I think our librarian and trustees do a fine job. They walk a fine line choosing a variety of books, hopefully not offending too many people. As far as celebrating Black History Month goes, many would consider this a form of reverse racism; best to let it alone.

Lately, there have been numerous reasons to feel embarrassed for our community and country; our library staff isn’t one of them.

— Gary Goers, Kalispell