Letters to the editor Aug. 29

Comic flub

I was extremely disappointed to see this supposed “cartoon” from Mallard Fillmore in the Sunday Inter Lake. Especially as 30 seconds of research would have shown it to be inflammatory and false.

Inflation is not unique to the U.S., it was worldwide these last years. Inflation in the U.S. is currently sitting around 3% versus 8.5% a year ago. That is a considerable reduction.

By comparison, inflation in Canada is also now around 3% but the UK and Germany are both still over 6%. And avoid Argentina at 113%!

Please don’t print crap like this.

— Monica Martin, Whitefish

Tunnel cleanup

The Police Report in the Daily Inter Lake continues to mention complaints about the graffiti in the Glacier High School tunnel.

Rails-to-Trails of Northwest Montana is aware of the spray painting and is gearing up to remove it.

Unfortunately, it will be mid-September before the cleanup can be organized and the order of additional cleaning fluid arrives.

Through community donations, Rails-to-Trails and KALICO Art Center had paid $4,250 to cover the tunnels’ artwork with anti-graffiti sealant. Last year a graffiti attack in the Lone Pine tunnel was successfully washed off, and the effort has discouraged repeat vandalism.

The Glacier High School tunnel graffiti is especially disturbing, It is a homophobic attack on one individual, and verges on a hate crime. There are also obscenities, a swastika, and crude drawings of genitalia.

Rails-to-Trails volunteers and others play a major role in keeping the local trail system family friendly.

Personally I remove at least three, and as many of 13 leaf bags of trash weekly from the Fenn Way trail entrance east of Meridian Road. The beer cans, used deli food containers and discarded clothing are collected by others, including the homeless, and brought to the location.

Many unsung heroes maintain the trails. However they are constrained by the county’s restrictions on volunteer labor and total ban on the use of any power tools, such as weed wackers.

If you wish to support the tunnel cleanup and other Rails-to-Trails projects, the organization’s address is P.O. Box 1103, Kalispell, MT 59903, and the email is railstotrailsofnwmt@gmail.com.

— Richard Hull, Kalispell

Never-ending requests

First, thanks to the City Council for recognizing the needs of its taxpayers during this unprecedented economic downfall.

Now, It’s apparent that the apathetic school district is again attempting to shove down our throats more school levies. Every single time Kalispell has an election cycle these apathetic, Democrat-supported idealists want hard working, tax paying citizens to “suck it up” at their expense and pay for non levies that do absoulutely nothing for us.

The current economy is in economic shambles with over 60% of people polled saying the economy is in poor to fair shape. Families and retirees are struggling just to survive on a daily basis.

The Kalispell school district needs to stop the never ending request for levies. We’ve all paid through the nose, and are still paying for levies previously passed. Stop the carnage and vote no.

— Steve Allen, Kalispell