Letters to the editor Nov. 23

You matter

Mental health, and the understanding of your brain is a huge part of this life we all live. Mental health, in my experience, has been stigmatized, billboarded and manipulated into something that needs to be “fixed.”

First and foremost, I am not here to argue, or void anyone of their opinion. I am simply here to give my feedback on the experience I have had with mental health. I have not been through further education on the brain, and I am not omnipotent.

However, I have experienced the good, the bad and the ugly of mental health within myself for 30 years. I have also witnessed friends, family and damn near everyone I’ve shared time with, battle with mental health in one way or another. Whether it be autism, depression, ADHD, addiction or any other diagnosis, we have all encountered, and live with the battle of mental health. 

It is a very real thing and there is no switch to shut it off. Thank God for medication and science to help maintain “normality,” and most importantly, sanity. 

Life can be a cold dark lonely place. Life can also flourish at times. Life can also be stagnant and full of anxiety and wonder. Life is not easy, for anyone. 

Fortunately, there is a very simple way, in my opinion, to make a difference. Be patient, be kind, be understanding, most important, love yourself. We are all on the same piece of rock floating through space for a very short amount of time. Enjoy it, and help others to do the same. 

If you think you are alone, you’re not. There are so many people willing to help in any way they can. If you think that you are different and not normal, well join the club! We are all unique and all live a different life with a different purpose. 

Don’t ever give up, and remember that you matter.

— Nicholas Johannes, Kalispell

Unwarranted constraint

I write in support of removing the master’s degree requirement for library director from the Montana Public Library Standards. The vast majority of Montana libraries don’t have to satisfy this requirement, since this requirement only applies to libraries who serve more than 25,000 people, and these libraries are functioning just fine.  

Consider this: you can run for president of the United States if you are 35 years old or older, born in U.S. and a U.S. resident for at least 14 years. To run for Montana governor, lieutenant governor or secretary of state, you need only be at least 25 years old, a citizen of the U.S. and a Montana resident for a mere two years preceding election. Want to run for the Montana Legislature? You only need be 18 years or older and a resident of Montana for one year. You don’t even have to be a high school graduate. No degrees required.

The Montana State Library Commission will vote Dec. 6  whether to remove this unreasonable degree requirement for directors of large libraries, and the deadline for public comment is Dec. 1.  

Please join me in helping to eliminate this unwarranted constraint. Let us leave this decision to our excellent local library board so they may hire the person best qualified to serve our community. 

— Laura Lee O’Neil, Kalispell

Excellent service

Hats off to the crew at Norm’s News. 

I had lunch there on a busy Saturday. There were seven of us and all of the tables were taken, so we sat up at the counter. 

There must have been at least eight or nine people working, all doing various jobs and very proficient at all of them from making sodas, shakes and phosphates, cleaning trays, washing dishes, scooping ice cream, waiting tables, busing tables, taking orders, delivering orders all with smiles on their faces. The fry cooks never stopped flipping burgers or making fries. 

It was such a nice experience in a day where people complain about not enough help in restaurants, grumpy waiters, and not too clean floors. If you have the opportunity to have a nice lunch at Norm’s, do so. You won’t be disappointed.

— Ann Hoagland, Kalispell